What Attracts Women to Certain Men? - Watch WebMD Video

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Reviewed By: Louise Chang,

SOURCES: 2009 WebMD Medical Reference from Medstar Television. Thomas James, PhD, Cognitive Neuroscientist, Indiana University, Bloomington, Ind. Heather Rupp, PhD, Psychologist, Kinsey Institute/Indiana University, Bloomington, Ind.

© 1999-2011 Medstar Television

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Narrator:

Ever wonder why women gravitate to certain guys?

Thomas James, Ph.D.:

We're going to start the experiment in just a second, all right?

Narrator:

To break the code, functional MRI research is trying to get to the heart of decisions women make about men.

Thomas James, Ph.D.:

The functional images tell us a story that may be too subtle to pull out of, say, the behavioral data or the responses that they're making.

Narrator:

The study at Indiana University's Kinsey Institute looks at how hormone shifts affect a woman's perception of a potential mate.

Heather Rupp, Ph.D.:

Our original interest was capturing the idea that women's brains respond differently across the menstrual cycle.

Narrator:

Women viewed male faces that were altered to look more, or less, masculine.

Heather Rupp, Ph.D.:

There's a bit of a wider jaw. It's a little more extended versus this feminized jawline which is a little bit narrower.

Narrator:

During ovulation, women favored riskier, more masculine looking guys... Preferences that popped on the brain scans.

Heather Rupp, Ph.D.:

Women's reward system may be more responsive around ovulation.

Narrator :

While toward the end of the cycle, when progesterone levels increase, women opted for safer, more feminine men.

Heather Rupp, Ph.D.:

High levels of progesterone are also associated with differences in mood state and sensory processing and all sorts of things that it could also contribute to how you interact with people in general and certainly men.

Narrator :

And though hormones contribute to the perception of a male partner, past experience and other factors also play a role.

Heather Rupp, Ph.D.:

Hormones don't dictate your behavior, many factors come into your ultimate outcome.

Narrator:

But provide a window of insight into the dating game. For WebMD, I'm Damon Meharg.

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