When we were younger, we looked at the opposite sex differently. Agreed?
The thing is, according to researchers at Queensland University of Technology, as men and women age, they start to look at the opposite sex in the same way.
The survey covered 7,325 Australians – all online daters – asking them to rate, on a scale of 0-100 – the importance of nine characteristics associated with sexual attraction – age, attractiveness, physical build/features, intelligence, education, income, trust, openness and emotional connection.
The research, published in the scientific journal Plos One, found men rated attractiveness and physical build as most important, whereas women placed more importance on education and intelligence.
As men age, the need for attractiveness and physical build drops offs and as both sexes aged, the need for openness and trust increases. The importance of emotional connection for both sexes remained at the same level across all ages.
The study’s lead author, Stephen Whyte, told The Guardian the survey showed the traits people were attracted to in a partner complemented their age-related lifestyle choices.
“(Older respondents) care less about aesthetics and more about personality,” he said. “Maybe there’s something to be said about the wisdom of age.”
He suggested the differences in preferences between men and women could be attributed to a theory in evolutionary psychology known as parental investment. It contends that women are choosier when picking partners because they invest more reproductively in the survival of offspring.
Food for thought and does the research reflect your life?
