Moody men are more attractive than happy men

New Scientist ^ | 25 May 2011 | Helen Thomson, biomedical news editor

[Slings and Arrows]

A man walks into a bar, catches a girl's eye, and immediately looks gloomy, moody and averts his eyes. The woman is overcome with sexual attraction. Not your usual love story but maybe a more realistic one. Turns out, a winning smile isn't the way to a woman's heart; men who swagger and look gloomy are more likely to set pulses raising.

That's according to Jessica Tracy at the University of British Columbia, Canada, who asked more than 1000 adults to rate the sexual attractiveness of hundreds of photos of the opposite sex.

The images showed men and women in various displays of happiness, with big smiles and puffed out chests or shameful glances, lowered heads and averted eyes.

In an interview with UK newspaper The Daily Telegraph, co-author Alec Beall, also at British Columbia said: "We did not ask participants if they thought these targets would make a good boyfriend or wife - we wanted their gut reactions on carnal, sexual attraction."

The study found that women were not attracted to smiling, happy men, preferring those who looked proud and powerful or moody and ashamed.

[Slings and Arrows]

Thanks, Anonymous-Sender-Inner!

[Slings and Arrows]

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[scorchedearther]

Who says so.

[Slings and Arrows]

Who says so.

"I do not!"

[Jonty30]

Happy guys tend to want to please, which is a sign of weakness and submission.

[TheOldLady]

That’s the age-old “bad boys get the gals” theory.

Then there’s “aloof and seemingly unobtainable” is attractive because women want men they can’t have and vice-versa.

[melsec]

That explains how my brother and son do so well with the ladies - at least on a short term basis.

Mel

[OB1kNOb]

This article seems to reinforce two general assumptions:

1. Women are sexually attracted to bad boys.

2. Women have the innate desire to want to fix what (they perceive) is wrong with a man.

[Colonel_Flagg]

Good Lord ... I’m gorgeous.

[tnlibertarian]

When I quit smoking, I must have been a Greek god.

[fish hawk]

But of course. Everyone knows that women love the mystic and mysterious. They want to find out how men tick so they can change him. LOL

[b4its2late]

No wonder why I can’t get a date. I smile too much....

[headstamp 2]

It’s the James Dean RWC thing.

[fish hawk]

I've always wondered why so many women that have been with an alcoholic drunk that bats them around every now and then, will finally leave him after years of abuse and find another man with the same problem to hitch up with??? I think that those women have a low esteem of themselves problem and there is always the ones that think they can change the person. Poor things are about as sick as the men they keep.

[Moonmad27]

They did a study to figure this out? Could have asked me!

[mamelukesabre]

I used to meet the most women when I was by myself and completely silent. They’d come to me if I sat there long enough. So I think there might be something to this.

[afraidfortherepublic]

Baloney! For example:

I ask the ladies, who would you rather spend the evening with?

Case closed.

[martin_fierro]

A man walks into a bar, catches a girl's eye, and immediately looks gloomy, moody and averts his eyes.

This is me, averting everything:

Women find me irresistable.

They just can't find me.

[Abathar]

After I bought a case of Axe now you tell me all I need is to act like an Emo??

[Siena Dreaming]

Actually, it's Bambi that usually walks around with that goofy, toothy smile on his face and Ryan who comes across as a sober thinker.

I'll take the serious one.