IANS
13 May 2015, 17:00 GMT+10
Contrary to popular perception, researchers have found that after being rejected by an attractive man, a woman does not jump into accepting a proposal offered by an unattractive man.
Rejection by an attractive man actually led women to socially distance themselves from an unattractive man, even when he offered acceptance, the findings showed.
"We had not expected to see derogation of the unattractive male when women had been rejected by the attractive male," said lead study author Geoff MacDonald from University of Toronto in Canada.
"But when we replicated the study, the effect was still there," MacDonald noted.
The new study turns the popular idea that acceptance is the goal after rejection on its head, highlighting that "what people want is not immediate acceptance per se but a sense of assurance that the person is acceptable to the sorts of people they want to be connected to", MacDonald said.
The researchers chose to use attractiveness as a measure of social value, based on a large volume of literature backing the idea that in a relationship formation context, attractiveness is a highly valued attribute.
The new study sought to replicate more real-world dating scenarios in the lab.
"A possible reason for this effect is that 'being affiliated with an unattractive man would make those women feel like that's the kind of man they 'deserve' which puts their larger social goals at risk," MacDonald said.
The study appeared in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science.Get a daily dose of Toronto Telegraph news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Toronto Telegraph.
More InformationREDMOND, Washington: Artificial intelligence is transforming Microsoft's bottom line. The company saved over US$500 million last year...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: A federal rule designed to make it easier for Americans to cancel subscriptions has been blocked by a U.S. appeals...
BASTROP, Texas: In a surprising turn at Elon Musk's X platform, CEO Linda Yaccarino announced she is stepping down, just months after...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: Former British prime minister Rishi Sunak will return to Goldman Sachs in an advisory role, the Wall Street...
LONDON, U.K.: Physically backed gold exchange-traded funds recorded their most significant semi-annual inflow since the first half...
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands: Some 32 percent of global semiconductor production could face climate change-related copper supply disruptions...
OTTAWA, Canada: With Canada Post struggling to maintain operations amid labour unrest, rivals like FedEx and UPS are stepping in to...
(Photo credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images) Cody Bellinger hit three homers for the first time in his career and drove in six runs,...
(Photo credit: Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images) Alejandro Kirk and Nathan Lukes each drove in two runs during a six-run fifth inning...
Washington, DC [US], July 12 (ANI): The Beatles legend Paul McCartney is hitting the road again. The singer-songwriter has announced...
(Photo credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images) Troy Lesesne paid the price for D.C. United's lackluster season and academy director Kevin...
Chinese FM calls for joint efforts in finding right way for China, U.S. to get along China and the United States should work together...