Blue-Eyed Men Prefer Blue-Eyed Women: The Role of Life History Strategies and Sociosexuality

Previous research (Laeng et al., 2007) conducted on Norwegian samples showed that blue-eyed men rate blue-eyed women as more attractive, while brown-eyed men and all the women show no differences in attractiveness assessments with respect to eye colour. Correspondingly, positive assortative mating was found for blue, but not brown eyes, and it most often occurred in blue-eyed men. We aimed to replicate this blue-like-blue effect in the Croatian population, which differs in the ratio of eye colour phenotypes (blue eye colour is the most prevalent in Norway while brown is the most prevalent in Croatia). Additionally, we examined whether this effect is moderated by life history strategies and sociosexuality. Our hypothesis was that the effect would be larger in those blue-eyed men who exert a slower life history strategy and who are sociosexually restrictive. One hundred and twenty-eight participants assessed the attractiveness of blue-eyed and brown-eyed models, whose eye colours were experimentally manipulated in such a way that participants were shown models with natural or artificially changed eye colours. The blue-like-blue effect was replicated in the context of preferences, although it was smaller than in the original study. However, unlike the original study, in a sample of 138 participants no assortative pairing by eye colour was found between participants and their romantic partners. Finally, the hypothesis about the moderation was supported for life history strategies, but not for sociosexuality. In addition to the rationale for the blue-like-blue effect based on the paternity uncertainty account, which was offered by the authors of the original study, we discussed other accounts of this phenomenon

Blue-Eyed Men Prefer Blue-Eyed Women: The Role of Life History Strategies and Sociosexuality

Previous research (Laeng et al., 2007) conducted on Norwegian samples showed that blue-eyed men rate blue-eyed women as more attractive, while brown-eyed men and all the women show no differences in attractiveness assessments with respect to eye colour. Correspondingly, positive assortative mating was found for blue, but not brown eyes, and it most often occurred in blue-eyed men. We aimed to replicate this blue-like-blue effect in the Croatian population, which differs in the ratio of eye colour phenotypes (blue eye colour is the most prevalent in Norway while brown is the most prevalent in Croatia). Additionally, we examined whether this effect is moderated by life history strategies and sociosexuality. Our hypothesis was that the effect would be larger in those blue-eyed men who exert a slower life history strategy and who are sociosexually restrictive. One hundred and twenty-eight participants assessed the attractiveness of blue-eyed and brown-eyed models, whose eye colours were experimentally manipulated in such a way that participants were shown models with natural or artificially changed eye colours. The blue-like-blue effect was replicated in the context of preferences, although it was smaller than in the original study. However, unlike the original study, in a sample of 138 participants no assortative pairing by eye colour was found between participants and their romantic partners. Finally, the hypothesis about the moderation was supported for life history strategies, but not for sociosexuality. In addition to the rationale for the blue-like-blue effect based on the paternity uncertainty account, which was offered by the authors of the original study, we discussed other accounts of this phenomenon

Why do Blue-eyed Men Find Blue-eyed Women More Attractive than Brown-eyed Women? The Moderation Role of Sociosexuality and Life History Strategies

U slučaju plavookih roditelja, boja očiju djeteta je predvidiv i pouzdan genetski mehanizam za određivanje nasljeđa. Ukoliko muškarci biraju partnerice s karakteristikama koje povećavaju sigurnost u očinstvo, plavooki bi muškarci morali atraktivnijima smatrati plavooke žene od smeđookih i u većoj se mjeri uparivati s njima od smeđookih muškaraca. Ovu su hipotezu na norveškom uzorku testirali i potvrdili Laeng, Mathisen i Johnsen (2007), a ovo je istraživanje pokušaj replikacije tog efekta na hrvatskoj populaciji koja se razlikuje s obzirom na omjer fenotipova boje očiju (u Norveškoj dominira plava, a u Hrvatskoj smeđa boja očiju). Sto dvadeset i osam ispitanika (po 32 plavookih i smeđookih muškaraca i žena) procjenjivalo je atraktivnost plavookih i smeđookih modela, pri čemu su boje očiju modela manipulirane na način da je svakom ispitaniku prikazano lice prirodne (npr. plave) ili manipulirane (npr. smeđe) boje očiju. Efekt je uspješno repliciran, iako je bio manji nego u istraživanju Laenga i sur. (2007). Plavooki su muškarci atraktivnijima procjenjivali plavooke žene, dok kod smeđookih muškaraca te kod žena, neovisno o vlastitoj boji očiju, nije bilo razlika u procjenama atraktivnosti s obzirom na boju očiju modela. Međutim, za razliku od originalnog istraživanja, na uzorku od 138 ispitanika nije utvrđeno asortativno uparivanje po boji očiju između ispitanika i njihovih romantičnih partnera. Dodatno je testirana hipoteza da će se efekt preferencije plave boje očiju javiti samo kod socioseksualno restriktivnijih plavookih muškaraca i onih koji primjenjuju sporiju strategiju životnih puteva, budući da ti pojedinci pokazuju veće roditeljsko ulaganje te je rizik od seksualne nevjere za njih veći. Hipoteza je potvrđena za strategije životnih puteva, no nije za socioseksualnost.In the case of blue-eyed parents, the color of a child’s eyes is a predictable and reliable genetic mechanism for determining inheritance. If men choose partners with characteristics that increase paternity confidence then blue-eyed men should find blue-eyed women more attractive than brown-eyed ones and mate with them to a greater extent than brown-eyed men. This hypothesis was tested and confirmed on a Norwegian sample by Laeng, Mathisen and Johnsen (2007). This study is an attempt to replicate this effect in the Croatian population, which differs in the ratio of eye color phenotypes (blue eye color is dominant in Norway while brown is dominant in Croatia). One hundred and twenty-eight participants (32 blue-eyed and brown-eyed men and women) assessed the attractiveness of blue-eyed and brown-eyed models, with the model's eye colors manipulated in such a way that each subject was shown a natural (eg. blue) or manipulated (eg. brown) eye color. The effect was successfully replicated, although it was smaller than in the study by Laeng et al. (2007). Blue-eyed men rated blue-eyed women as more attractive, while brown-eyed men and women, regardless of their own eye color, showed no differences in attractiveness assessments with respect to the model’s eye color. However, unlike the original study, in a sample of 138 participants no assortative pairing by eye color was found between participants and their romantic partners. Additionally, the hypothesis was tested that the effect of blue-eye preference will occur only in sociosexually restrictive blue-eyed men and those who exert a slower life-history strategy, since these individuals tend to show higher parental investment, so for them the risk of being cuckolded is higher. The hypothesis was confirmed for life-history strategies, but not for sociosexuality

Why do Blue-eyed Men Find Blue-eyed Women More Attractive than Brown-eyed Women? The Moderation Role of Sociosexuality and Life History Strategies

U slučaju plavookih roditelja, boja očiju djeteta je predvidiv i pouzdan genetski mehanizam za određivanje nasljeđa. Ukoliko muškarci biraju partnerice s karakteristikama koje povećavaju sigurnost u očinstvo, plavooki bi muškarci morali atraktivnijima smatrati plavooke žene od smeđookih i u većoj se mjeri uparivati s njima od smeđookih muškaraca. Ovu su hipotezu na norveškom uzorku testirali i potvrdili Laeng, Mathisen i Johnsen (2007), a ovo je istraživanje pokušaj replikacije tog efekta na hrvatskoj populaciji koja se razlikuje s obzirom na omjer fenotipova boje očiju (u Norveškoj dominira plava, a u Hrvatskoj smeđa boja očiju). Sto dvadeset i osam ispitanika (po 32 plavookih i smeđookih muškaraca i žena) procjenjivalo je atraktivnost plavookih i smeđookih modela, pri čemu su boje očiju modela manipulirane na način da je svakom ispitaniku prikazano lice prirodne (npr. plave) ili manipulirane (npr. smeđe) boje očiju. Efekt je uspješno repliciran, iako je bio manji nego u istraživanju Laenga i sur. (2007). Plavooki su muškarci atraktivnijima procjenjivali plavooke žene, dok kod smeđookih muškaraca te kod žena, neovisno o vlastitoj boji očiju, nije bilo razlika u procjenama atraktivnosti s obzirom na boju očiju modela. Međutim, za razliku od originalnog istraživanja, na uzorku od 138 ispitanika nije utvrđeno asortativno uparivanje po boji očiju između ispitanika i njihovih romantičnih partnera. Dodatno je testirana hipoteza da će se efekt preferencije plave boje očiju javiti samo kod socioseksualno restriktivnijih plavookih muškaraca i onih koji primjenjuju sporiju strategiju životnih puteva, budući da ti pojedinci pokazuju veće roditeljsko ulaganje te je rizik od seksualne nevjere za njih veći. Hipoteza je potvrđena za strategije životnih puteva, no nije za socioseksualnost.In the case of blue-eyed parents, the color of a child’s eyes is a predictable and reliable genetic mechanism for determining inheritance. If men choose partners with characteristics that increase paternity confidence then blue-eyed men should find blue-eyed women more attractive than brown-eyed ones and mate with them to a greater extent than brown-eyed men. This hypothesis was tested and confirmed on a Norwegian sample by Laeng, Mathisen and Johnsen (2007). This study is an attempt to replicate this effect in the Croatian population, which differs in the ratio of eye color phenotypes (blue eye color is dominant in Norway while brown is dominant in Croatia). One hundred and twenty-eight participants (32 blue-eyed and brown-eyed men and women) assessed the attractiveness of blue-eyed and brown-eyed models, with the model's eye colors manipulated in such a way that each subject was shown a natural (eg. blue) or manipulated (eg. brown) eye color. The effect was successfully replicated, although it was smaller than in the study by Laeng et al. (2007). Blue-eyed men rated blue-eyed women as more attractive, while brown-eyed men and women, regardless of their own eye color, showed no differences in attractiveness assessments with respect to the model’s eye color. However, unlike the original study, in a sample of 138 participants no assortative pairing by eye color was found between participants and their romantic partners. Additionally, the hypothesis was tested that the effect of blue-eye preference will occur only in sociosexually restrictive blue-eyed men and those who exert a slower life-history strategy, since these individuals tend to show higher parental investment, so for them the risk of being cuckolded is higher. The hypothesis was confirmed for life-history strategies, but not for sociosexuality