—–Original Message—–
From: Cher_Ron_HO@lta.gov.sg [mailto:Cher_Ron_HO@lta.gov.sg]
Sent: Friday, May 09, 2008 12:46 PM
To: Ho, Jessie
Subject: Re: Why Beautiful Women Marry Ugly Men
uhmm.m .. they missed out 1 cat. ..leh. .
trophy-cum-supportive. ..
kekeke. ..
&. .. "drum-roll". … .. you loh. .
=)
"MeI tInG" <kogepanfan@hotmail.com>, <littlefootsmile@hotmail.com>,
"Ho, Jessie" <han_283@hotmail.com>, <ak_lin@hotmail.com>, <shermainetan@hotmail.com>,
<jessie.ho@starwoodhotels.co <annlim16@gmail.com>, <lammy1980@hotmail.com>
m> cc
<Cher_Ron_HO@lta.gov.sg>
Subject
Why Beautiful Women Marry Ugly Men
08/05/2008 10:32 AM
Women seeking a lifelong mate might do well to choose the guy a notch below
them in the looks category.
New research reveals couples in which the wife is better looking than her
husband are more positive and supportive than other match-ups.
The reason, researchers suspect, is that men place great value on beauty,
whereas women are more interested in having a supportive husband.
Researchers admit that looks are subjective, but studies show there are
some universal standards, including large eyes,
"baby face" features, symmetric faces, so-called average faces, and
specific waist-hip ratios in men versus women.
Past research has shown that individuals with comparable stunning looks are
attracted to each other
and once they hook up they report greater relationship satisfaction.
These studies, however, are mainly based on new couples, showing that
absolute beauty is
important in the earliest stages of couple-hood, said lead researcher James
McNulty of the University of Tennessee.
But the role of physical attractiveness in well-established partnerships,
such as marriage, is somewhat of a mystery.
The new study, published in the February issue of the Journal of Family
Psychology,
reveals looks continue to matter beyond that initial attraction, though in
a different way.
Supportive spouses
McNulty’s team assessed 82 couples who had married within the previous six
months and
had been together for nearly three years prior to tying the knot.
Participants were on average in their early to mid-20s.
Researchers videotaped as each spouse discussed with their partner a
personal problem for 10 minutes.
The tapes were analyzed for whether partners were supportive of spouses’
issues,
which included goals to eat healthier, to land a new job and to exercise
more often.
"A negative husband would’ve said, ‘This is your problem, you deal with
it,’" McNulty said, "versus
‘Hey, I’m here for you; what do you want me to do?; how can I help you?’"
A group of trained "coders" rated the facial attractiveness of each spouse
on a scale from 1 to 10,
with the perfect 10 representing the ultimate babe. About a third of the
couples had a more attractive wife,
a third a more attractive husband and the remaining partners showed
matching looks.
Trophy wives
Overall, wives and husbands behaved more positively when the woman was
better looking.
The finding "seems very reasonable," said Dan Ariely, a professor of
behavioral economics
at MIT’s Program in Media Arts and Sciences and Sloan School of Management.
"Men are very sensitive to women’s attractiveness. Women seem to be
sensitive to men’s height and salary," said Ariely,
who was not involved in the recent study.
In couples with more attractive husbands, both partners were less
supportive of one another.
McNulty suggests wives mirror, in some ways, the level of support they get
from husbands.
"The husband who’s less physically attractive than his wife is getting
something more than maybe
he can expect to get," McNulty told LiveScience. "He’s getting something
better than he’s providing at that level.
So he’s going to work hard to maintain that relationship."
Men who are more attractive than their partners would theoretically have
access to partners
who are more attractive than their current spouses, McNulty said.
The "grass could be greener" mentality could make these men less satisfied
and less committed to maintain the marriage.
Physical attractiveness of husbands is not as important to women, the
researchers suggest.
Rather, wives are looking for supportive husbands, they say. So it seems
the mismatch in looks is actually a perfect match.
"Equitable is unlikely to mean the same on every dimension," Ariely said
during a telephone interview.
"It just means that overall two people make sense together."
