Alex O'Brien
Relationships

The trait women find most attractive in men

When it comes to desirable traits in a partner, things like appearance, bank balance and perhaps a penchant for spoiling their significant other tend to rate highly on opinion polls. An entire movie was devoted to the concept of ‘What women want.’ It turns out however that those popular assumptions are quite a long way off the mark.

A new psychological study published in the Evolutionary Psychology journal found that women cared far more about a potential partner’s selflessness and concern for others than their looks or income bracket. Altruistic tendencies were deemed as desirable as outward physical appearance by participants who were considering a long term relationship.

To assess this, researchers showed female participants a series of photos of men with a description of them and how they might act in different situations. The men who ranked the highest were the ones who’d managed the golden duo of good looks and altruism but men who were assessed purely based on their altruistic tendencies rated higher than men who only displayed good looks. It’s the first study of its kind to support the view that altruism acts as an important trait in partner choice, particularly for long term relationships.

What character traits made you fall in love with your partner? Let us know in the comments below.

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Tags:
love, relationships, romance, trait, attractiveness