Women can tell whether a man will make a good husband for his wife and a good father for his kids. Researchers behind the discovery say they do this by looking at his face or simply studying a photograph of a man. (file photo)

BEIJING, May 11 (Xinhuanet) -- Women can tell whether a man will make a good husband for his wife and a good father for his kids. Researchers behind the discovery say they do this by looking at his face or simply studying a photograph of a man.

    The face of a man can give women subconscious clues as to whether he likes children or not and therefore whether he would  make a good long-term mate or a short-term partner, researchers at St Andrews University said lately. 

    The study was published Thursday in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.

    Dr Nick Neave, an evolutionary psychologist from Northumbria University, said: "It seems that women can tell an awful lot from a man's face. They can tell whether he likes children and his testosterone levels, and it may be that this involves two different signals. The paper is a step forward in our understanding, but it does not go all the way to answering the questions about just what makes someone a good parent or perfect partner."

    The team from the University of Southern California took 39 young men aged 18 to 33 years and tested their hormone levels.

    A group of 29 women aged around 18 were then shown "A perfect partner" digital photographs of each of the men and asked to rate them.

    They were told to say whether or not they thought the men liked children, was masculine, physically attractive or kind.

    They also rated them on how attractive they would be as a short-term partner and as a long-term mate. As expected, they found the masculine faces more attractive as short-term mates whereas those with softer features more likely as a good long-term partner to help care for offspring.

    By studying what appealed to women, researchers concluded that the ideal partner should have a symmetrical face, large deep and expressive eyes, with a straight nose and soft jaw. Researchers at St Andrews University have even come up with the face of the perfect man, whose softer feminised features reflected a more nurturing side. 

    Researchers believe the discovery adds an important dimension to knowledge about mate selection among humans. Enditem

    (Agencies)