16 June 2007, ST
Daddy's girl tends to pick partners who resemble him, study shows
LONDON - THERE is more to it than meets the eye for some women, at least on Father's Day tomorrow.
A new study has found that women with happy childhood relationships with their fathers are more likely to select partners who bear a strong resemblance to them.
By contrast, women whose experiences with their fathers were less than positive are likely to steer away from going out with men who look like them.
The findings of the study were published in the July edition of Evolution And Human Behaviour.
Dr Lynda Boothroyd, lead researcher at Durham University, said the parental sexual imprinting process was a fast form of learning, best exemplified by newborn ducklings that bond with the first object they see.
'Sexual imprinting' is a process in which, psychologists say, 'daddy's girl' uses his facial characteristics as a template when choosing a mate.
While previous studies did suggest the link, the latest one was the first to concentrate solely on facial measurements, eliminating all 'emotional clues' such as hairstyle and clothes which may influence a daughter's choice, according to reports in the British press.
To test whether women used such imprinting, a team of British and Polish psychologists used facial measurements to give a clear view of how fathers' facial features related directly to the faces their daughters found attractive.
A total of 49 Polish eldest daughters were asked to choose the most attractive face from 15 men whose ears, hair, neck, shoulders and clothing were hidden.
The male stimuli's facial measurements were taken, and compared with those of each woman's father. The women were asked to rate their paternal relationships to make up an overall 'positivity' score.
As a group, there was no correlation between the fathers' faces and those of the male stimuli.
But when the daughters were split into two groups based on positivity, those who had better relationships with their fathers were most likely to prefer the faces of men who looked like them.
'If fathers think that they look like the son-in-law, they should take it as a compliment.
'These controlled results show for certain that the quality of a daughter's relationship with her father has an impact on whom she finds attractive,' said Dr Boothroyd.
'It shows our human brains don't simply build up prototypes of the ideal face based on those we see around us. Rather, they build them based on those to whom we have a strongly positive relationship.'
Dr Boothroyd believes that the latest study, supported by Britain's Economic and Social Research Council and The Royal Society, gives further insight into the complex issue of attraction in humans.
LOOKING GOOD
'If fathers think that they look like the son-in-law, they should take it as a compliment. These controlled results show for certain that the quality of a daughter's relationship with her father has an impact on whom she finds attractive.'
DR LYNDA BOOTHROYD
Daddy's girl tends to pick partners who resemble him, study shows
LONDON - THERE is more to it than meets the eye for some women, at least on Father's Day tomorrow.
A new study has found that women with happy childhood relationships with their fathers are more likely to select partners who bear a strong resemblance to them.
By contrast, women whose experiences with their fathers were less than positive are likely to steer away from going out with men who look like them.
The findings of the study were published in the July edition of Evolution And Human Behaviour.
Dr Lynda Boothroyd, lead researcher at Durham University, said the parental sexual imprinting process was a fast form of learning, best exemplified by newborn ducklings that bond with the first object they see.
'Sexual imprinting' is a process in which, psychologists say, 'daddy's girl' uses his facial characteristics as a template when choosing a mate.
While previous studies did suggest the link, the latest one was the first to concentrate solely on facial measurements, eliminating all 'emotional clues' such as hairstyle and clothes which may influence a daughter's choice, according to reports in the British press.
To test whether women used such imprinting, a team of British and Polish psychologists used facial measurements to give a clear view of how fathers' facial features related directly to the faces their daughters found attractive.
A total of 49 Polish eldest daughters were asked to choose the most attractive face from 15 men whose ears, hair, neck, shoulders and clothing were hidden.
The male stimuli's facial measurements were taken, and compared with those of each woman's father. The women were asked to rate their paternal relationships to make up an overall 'positivity' score.
As a group, there was no correlation between the fathers' faces and those of the male stimuli.
But when the daughters were split into two groups based on positivity, those who had better relationships with their fathers were most likely to prefer the faces of men who looked like them.
'If fathers think that they look like the son-in-law, they should take it as a compliment.
'These controlled results show for certain that the quality of a daughter's relationship with her father has an impact on whom she finds attractive,' said Dr Boothroyd.
'It shows our human brains don't simply build up prototypes of the ideal face based on those we see around us. Rather, they build them based on those to whom we have a strongly positive relationship.'
Dr Boothroyd believes that the latest study, supported by Britain's Economic and Social Research Council and The Royal Society, gives further insight into the complex issue of attraction in humans.
LOOKING GOOD
'If fathers think that they look like the son-in-law, they should take it as a compliment. These controlled results show for certain that the quality of a daughter's relationship with her father has an impact on whom she finds attractive.'
DR LYNDA BOOTHROYD
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