There’s an art to choosing your dating profile pictures.
And if you’re a man hoping to date a woman, science says it’s best to leave your cat out of the picture.
A study by Colorado State University showed that responses were noticeably worse for men with pictures of cats.
The researchers showed 708 women aged 18 to 24 pictures of two men with and without a feline friend through an online survery.
For one man, 38% of the women asked said they were likely or very likely to causally date him, and 37% said they would consider a serious relationship of him.
But as soon as they were shown a picture of the same man with a cat, the numbers dropped to 33% for each category.
The percentage of women who said they would never have any sort of relationship with him rose from 9% to 14%.
For the second man, 40% said they would be unlikely or certain not to date him but this rose to 45% when he was pictured with a cat.
Previous studies have shown pictures of dogs in a dating profile can help get a date but this study says the opposite is true for men and their cats.
The authors of the Colorado State University study wrote: ‘Prior research suggests that women view pet owners as more attractive and dateable than non-pet owners; however, this effect was strongest with dog owners.
‘We hypothesized that men posing with cats would be more attractive than those posing alone.
‘Women viewed men as less masculine when holding the cat; higher in neuroticism, agreeableness, and openness; and less dateable.
‘These findings suggest that pets continue to play a role in women’s mate choices and dating preferences, but that a closer look at the effects of different species of pets is warranted.’
Of course, the study only looked at a small group of women who want to date men so it’s impossible to say it’s the same for everyone – there’s sure to be someone out there who will love you with and without the cat.
Do you have a dating story?
Get in touch at metrolifestyleteam@metro.co.uk.
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source https://metro.co.uk/2020/06/24/women-less-likely-swipe-right-men-posing-cats-study-says-12897645/
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