Interesting article

I came across this article from Yahoo News, What do you guys think?

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.

ADVERTISEMENT

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."

I believe 'stunning looks' yes play a role at the beginning yet it's personality that play a role from then on....

I don't know. Once the passion stage fades I think it comes more down to personality and wether or not the guy is a jerk. Nice guys are supportive, even if their wife looks like medusa.

Also, we males have an innate desire for "new sex". So regardless of how attrative our wife is, we still tend to look. This is again why I think personality and disposition are more important than looks.

Cyran0

It makes me wonder...

If the female is the more attractive of the two in a relationship, wouldn't this make the guy feel somewhat insecure or more inclined to have suspicions of his spouse's infidelity? I agree that this is probably a better combination than the man being better-looking, but really. Maybe the guy would be more prone to being jealous and/or restrictive of her hanging out with guys that he thought were possibly better-looking than himself?

I don't know, I'm not a guy, nor am I married. I'm just hypothesizing here. Any thoughts?

</font><blockquote><div id="quote"><font class="small">Quote:</font>
[b]
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.

</div></font></blockquote><font class="post">

Gee I wonder how low I am on that scale....

I guess it fits that song.

If you wanna be happy for the rest of your life, better pick a pretty one for your wife, so from my personal point of view, get another girl to marry you.

I'd like to believe that not all men are this shallow but hey I guess this just proves it.

we are all different, I have never been paticularly interested in women that society considers really pretty. I find most of those to be rather shallow, since many of these women have been able to get what they want in life by simply looking good, they fail to develop themselves on the inside. I prefer someone who wants to love me for the person I am, who will rock my world spirtually, and intellectually as well as just physically. I would also want someone who actual appreciates who I am and things I do for them.

I have known many "trophy wives" and a lot of them are unhappy. Over time they realize they are nothing more than objects to be owned, and not people to be loved. I pity them.

So take heart ladies, there are plenty of men out there who look well below the surface. He may be that kind next door neighbor, who you exchange a few words with, that shy co-worker who obviously worships your every step, the guy that hands that fleeting glance at the neighborhood bar and grill. Sometimes we are just shy, but worth the effort.