Re:Why Beautiful Women Marry Less Attractive Men
by yters on Thursday April 17, 2008 @07:04AM
(#166225)
If that were the case, then the happiness of the couple would be independent of the attractiveness of the man, or at least have little correlation.
Anyways, it's probably because the match hits an equilibrium. Men are statistically much more likely to commit adultery than women (22%:14%).
http://answers.google.com/answers/main?cmd=threadview&id...
A difference in attractiveness in the woman's favor means there is much less incentive for the man to cheat, since a woman more attractive than his wife is unlikely to try and seduce him. Consequently, it isn't worth the risk for the man.
"About a third of the couples had a more attractive wife, a third a more attractive husband and the remaining partners showed matching looks."
Regardless, the article is stretching pretty far to make its conclusions. The study just showed couples where the woman is more attractive than the man were happier. That doesn't mean women should "marry down". It could just mean that men care more about looks, and therefore an attractive woman contributed more to the couple's happiness than an attractive man.