There has been some research indicating that men who are interacting with babies are perceived as more attractive by women. Some key findings on this topic include:
Women find men holding babies cute
Studies have shown that when women are shown pictures of men holding babies, they rate them as cuter and more attractive compared to pictures of the men alone. This effect seems to be due to our evolved caregiving instincts. The sight of a man carefully holding a vulnerable infant may subconsciously signal to women that he would be an invested, devoted father.
Interacting with babies signals nurturing abilities
Research has found that both men and women find potential partners more attractive when they are interacting with infants compared to other activities. Evolutionary psychologists argue that this effect is because an interest in infants and skill at caring for them indicates that the person has good parenting abilities. Being a skilled and attentive parent has been an important factor in survival and reproductive success throughout our evolutionary history.
Women perceive baby-holding men as more desirable long-term partners
Studies have shown that women find men more desirable as long-term romantic partners when they are shown images of them holding a baby compared to images of them alone or engaging in other activities. Researchers believe this is because on a subconscious level, a man’s willingness to care for an infant demonstrates his commitment to family and ability to invest in offspring, which have been attractive traits for women seeking long-term mateship throughout our evolutionary history.
Possible Explanations
There are several psychological and evolutionary theories that may explain this phenomenon of babies making men more attractive.
Signal of paternal investment
Evolutionary psychologists propose that a man’s caretaking of an infant acts as a signal to women that he would make a devoted father who is willing to invest time and resources in his offspring. throughout evolutionary history, choosing a mate who was willing and able to provide this paternal care would have increased the survival chances of a woman’s children.
Demonstration of nurturing capabilities
A man who handles babies, especially young infants, with care demonstrates that he has experience with and capabilities for infant care. This suggests he has good paternal instincts and parenting skills, which could increase his mate value in the eyes of women.
Activates feelings of protectiveness
The sight of a man gently caring for a baby may spark protective feelings in women and the desire to care for both the vulnerable infant and the man demonstrating his nurturing skills. This could translate into attraction toward the man.
Indicates prosocial personality traits
Willingness to patiently engage with babies may indicate that the man is gentle, kind, empathetic, and has other prosocial personality traits often found attractive in long-term mates.
Observing paternal behavior is arousing for women
Some research has found that women find images of men with children arousing. Evolutionary psychologists theorize that observing paternal behavior may activate arousal systems in women related to assessing potential mates on an unconscious level.
Studies on How Babies Influence Attractiveness
Various experimental studies have provided support for the idea that interacting with babies makes men more attractive.
Study 1
– Conducted by researchers at SUNY-Albany in 2017
– 150 female college students rated attractiveness of men in photos
– Some photos showed men holding an infant
– Others showed men alone or holding objects like a textbook
– Results: Men holding an infant were rated significantly more attractive than the other photos
Study 2
– French researchers in 2015 had nearly 200 women view male silhouette drawings
– Some silhouettes included an infant in arms
– Others did not include a baby
– Women rated the men as more attractive when they were holding an infant
Study 3
– Researchers at the University of Oklahoma in 2014
– Women viewed Facebook profile photos of men with babies, men with dogs, or men alone
– Men with babies were rated most attractive potential long-term partners
– Attractiveness was mediated by perceived level of nurturing capabilities
How Interacting with Babies May Influence Perceived Attractiveness
There are some key ways that interacting with babies may unconsciously influence women to find men more attractive as potential romantic partners:
Demonstrates paternal skills
Carefully handling a baby demonstrates a man has experience with infants and capability for paternal care, signaling he may invest in offspring.
Shows prosocial personality traits
Patience, empathy and gentleness required to interact with a baby conveys the man has attractive prosocial personality traits as a mate.
Activates feelings of protectiveness
Seeing a man with a defenseless baby may spark nurturing feelings and desire to care for both which translates into attraction.
Indicates commitment to family
Choosing to hold and care for an infant demonstrates the man’s comfort with babies and implied commitment to family life.
Suggests emotional bond with baby
Looking happy and comfortable interacting with the baby may suggest the man can form close emotional attachments and bonds, also desirable in a mate.
Do Babies Increase Male Attractiveness for all Women?
Some research indicates there may be differences in how effective images of men with babies are at increasing attractiveness depending on the woman’s own circumstances and desired traits in a partner.
Women seeking long-term mates
Images of men with babies seem most effective at increasing attractiveness ratings for women who say they are seeking long-term, committed romantic relationships rather than casual dates or short-term partners.
Women who want children
Unsurprisingly, women who say they want to have children someday show the strongest preferences for potential long-term mates displaying positive interactions with infants.
Younger vs older women
Some research found the baby effect on judgments of male attractiveness was stronger for women over age 30 than women in their early 20s. Older women tend to be more focused on finding long-term mates.
Effects stronger for crying vs smiling babies
Men holding crying babies tend to get higher attractiveness ratings than men with smiling babies, likely because caring for a distressed infant shows greater paternal skill.
Limitations and Criticisms
Some limitations and criticisms can be raised about research on babies influencing perceived male attractiveness:
Small sample sizes
Many studies on this topic have used relatively small samples of college student participants. Larger and more diverse samples could yield more generalizable findings.
Individual differences
There are likely substantial individual differences in how strongly images of men with babies influence women’s perceptions of attractiveness and mate preferences. More research is needed on potential moderators.
No behavioral measures
Almost all research has relied on attractiveness ratings, not actual mate choices. Studies don’t show women are more likely to pursue or choose men who have interacted with babies.
Unknown effectiveness outside the lab
It is unclear whether exposure to images of men with babies would increase attractiveness under naturalistic conditions outside controlled lab experiments.
Difficult to separate from “halo effect”
Positive attributes associated with caretaking may drive increased attractiveness, rather than baby interactions themselves.
Conclusions and Implications
Despite some limitations, evidence generally indicates that interacting positively with babies can increase men’s attractiveness, especially as long-term romantic partners. Some key conclusions and implications:
Evolutionary psychology theories supported
Findings overall are consistent with evolutionary-based theories related to signaling paternal investment and caregiving skills.
Useful for attracting long-term mates
Baby interactions seem to be an effective strategy for men seeking to display qualities that women prioritize in long-term serious romantic relationships.
Baby schema triggers caregiving motivations
The set of infantile physical features activating positive caregiving responses in adults (baby schema) likely plays an important role in the observed effects.
Paternal aptitude desired across cultures
The attraction to paternal traits is likely a cross-cultural universal, although the extent of increased attraction might differ between cultures.
Benefits babies through increased care
To the extent that appearing caring for babies increases mate opportunities for men, it could lead to greater male parental investment overall, benefitting infants.
Media depictions emphasize paternal traits
These findings may explain the prevalence of images emphasizing men’s paternal capabilities and bonding with babies in media and advertisements.