Attractive female faces make men behave more honestly, study suggests

Attractive female faces make men behave more honestly, a study has suggested.

Researchers found male participants in an experiment cheated less often when presented with a picture of a beautiful woman.

However, female participants behaved less honestly when shown the same image.

A total of 110 men were given a die and a questionnaire with an image of a woman attached.

Half were shown an attractive woman's face, while the others saw someone plain-looking.

Researchers found male participants in an experiment cheated less often when presented with a picture of a beautiful woman. However, female participants behaved less honestly when shown the same image (stock image)

A total of 110 men were given a die and a questionnaire with an image of a woman attached. Professor Zeev Shtudiner, who led the study, said: 'The men who rolled the die in the presence of a highly attractive photo cheated less – if at all' (stock image)

They were told the woman in the photo was leading the study and would give them some money, but that they would have to return some depending on the number they rolled on their die.

The researchers did not check the die, so it was possible for the men to lie and say they had thrown a lower number, meaning they would give less money back. The average roll for men shown the beautiful woman was 3.14. And the average for those who saw the other photo was 1.98.

Professor Zeev Shtudiner, who led the study from Ariel University in Israel, said: 'The men who rolled the die in the presence of a highly attractive photo cheated less – if at all.'

He said the results align with beauty premium theory where positive moral judgments are made about beautiful people. This made the men studied mirror a perceived trait of honesty.

But when the researchers studied female behaviour they found participants were less honest when shown a beautiful woman.

It was suggested this was because women were more likely to determine their worth by how they stack up against others.