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Whatever Turns You On
Men agree on what is attractive in the opposite sex far more than women do, says a study.The survey of 4,000 adults found that most men liked women who were thin and posing seductively.
Women, in contrast, were enticed by a far wider range of male characteristics.
The results could explain why women feel pressured to conform to a narrow view of attractiveness, and suffer more eating disorders, the scientists said.
Participants in the study rated photographs of men and women aged 18 to 25 for attractiveness.
Men's judgments of women were based primarily around physical features, with a preference for the thin.
As a group, the women rating men showed some preference for thin, muscular subjects, but disagreed on how attractive many men in the study were.
Some gave high ratings to men that other women said were not attractive at all.
The study by U.S psychologists appears in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
One of the authors, psychologist Dustin Wood said: 'The study helps explain why women experience stronger norms than men to obtain or maintain certain physical characteristics.
'Men agree a lot more about who they find attractive and unattractive than women agree about who they find attractive and unattractive.
'This study shows we can quantify the extent to which men agree about which women are attractive and vice versa.
'As far as we know, this is the first study to investigate whether there are differences in the level of consensus male and female raters have in their attractiveness judgments.
'These differences have implications for the different experiences and strategies that could be expected for men and women in the dating marketplace.'
Before they judged the photographs for attractiveness, the members of the research team rated the images for how seductive, confident, thin, sensitive, stylish, curvaceous (women), muscular (men), traditional, masculine/feminine, classy, well-groomed, or upbeat the people looked.
The different factors helped the researchers figure out what common characteristics appealed most to women and men.
Mr Wood added: 'Women who are trying to impress men are likely to be found much more attractive if they meet certain physical standards, and much less if they don't.
'Although men are rated as more attractive by women when they meet these physical appearance standards too, their overall judged attractiveness isn't as tightly linked to their physical features.'
He said the age of the participants also played a role in attractiveness ratings with older participants more likely to find people attractive if they were smiling.