Study a Man's Face to Determine Whether He Will Make a Good Partner

9.02.2012 | By: T. B.

A man's face tells a lot of stories. Check how to read a potential boyfriend or husband's face to learn about his main characteristics.

Our parents often don't agree with our choosing of our partner. What is actually at play here is often simply what they see in a man's face. (PhotoXpress)

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The eyes aren't the only mirror of the soul. According to the principles of physiognomy, our whole face reveals our character. We sometimes, without wanting to, infer what a person is like solely on the basis of what they look like. Many people say that such approach to people is unfounded and that it can be unjust, but studies that focus on connections between a person's appearance and their personality traits point out that some general laws do exist. Men with very male features are supposed to be different from men with more gentle ones. This finding can help us decide whether someone is worth of our time and efforts. No wonder it often happens that we have a whole series of lovers who are a total opposite to and look very different from the man we finally settle with and with whom we start a family.

It's testosterone's fault

At the University of Michigan, a psychologist Daniel J. Kruger undertook an experiment where the participants had to decide on the basis of photographs whether a person present in it is suitable for a friend, a partner, a lover, a parent … They also had to attribute certain personal characteristics to people on photos. The researchers have modified the pictures and even negligible changes changed the participants' opinion of the persons and made them come up with different conclusions and assessments. Scientists believe that the answer to the mystery is testosterone. A man's face and its specific features are supposed to be related to his level of testosterone. Testosterone is associated with infidelity, divorce and violence.

Parents and children often see things differently

Physiognomy explains why we often have very different opinions about who is suitable for us as a partner than our parents. Parents usually have a more mature, prudent and sober perception, which means that they tend to like men with gentler facial features, for which we assume that they are more reliable, more faithful and that they take a better care of their children. Such predictions are confirmed by some research studies. Daughters tend to prefer men who radiate the potential of a good, potent and passionate lover, men who are full of testosterone which makes them more competitive and who know how to "fight" for attention. Older faces generally make us more trustful. When men were asked with whom would they let their girlfriends spend the weekend together, they also tended to choose men with gentler facial features.

Physiognomy - pseudo-science?

Connecting facial features with personality is called physiognomy. Physiognomy used to be very popular in China and Japan. We all engage in it as lay persons when we make judgments based on people's appearance. We can't talk about an irreproachable scientific method in this case. However, criminalists do use physiognomy in their work, just as do businessmen when establishing business contacts.