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Relative digit lengths predict men’s behavior and attractiveness during social interactions with women

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Abstract

Recent evidence suggests that the ratio of the lengths of the second and fourth fingers (2D:4D) may reflect degree of prenatal androgen exposure in humans. In the present study, we tested the hypotheses that 2D:4D would be associated with ratings of men’s attractiveness and with levels of behavioral displays during social interactions with potential mates. Our results confirm that male 2D:4D was significantly negatively correlated with women’s ratings of men’s physical attractiveness and levels of courtship-like behavior during a brief conversation. These findings provide novel evidence for the organizational effects of hormones on human male attractiveness and social behavior.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The University of Chicago, USA

    James R. Roney & Dario Maestripieri

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  1. James R. Roney
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  2. Dario Maestripieri
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Correspondence to James R. Roney.

Additional information

This work was supported by a Hind’s Fund Research Grant from the Committee on Evolutionary Biology at the University of Chicago to J.R.R. and by NIH grants R01-MH62577 and K02-MH63097 to D.M.

James Roney, Ph.D., is now an assistant professor of psychology at the University of California, Santa Barbara. His research interests are in human evolutionary psychology and behavioral endocrinology. Dario Maestripieri, Ph.D., is an associate professor of Human Development at the University of Chicago. He has broad research interests in behavior, development, and evolution.

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Roney, J.R., Maestripieri, D. Relative digit lengths predict men’s behavior and attractiveness during social interactions with women. Hum Nat 15, 271–282 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12110-004-1009-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12110-004-1009-5

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