Fancy tall men? You're also likely to rate yourself as attractive, new study claims

Whether it’s a sense of humour, a good job or a bodybuilding physique, every woman has a different concept of their ideal man.

But a new study suggests that how a woman perceives herself can influence what traits she looks for in a partner.

The research suggests that women who rate themselves as good-looking are more likely to be drawn to taller men.

It's possible that women who consider themselves attractive think they deserve a tall man – because tallness is a desirable trait. 

On an evolutionary level, a taller man may be perceived by the woman as someone with who can protect them against danger or produce healthy offspring. 

Researchers have found a link between women's preference for tall men and how attractive they consider themselves to be. And this could be because those who have higher self-esteem set higher standards for potential partners, experts say (file photo)

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'It is suggested that these sexually dimorphic features are a reflection of men’s genetic quality, in addition to the ability to provide direct benefits (e.g., protection, resource provisioning),' say the experts in their paper. 

The researchers, from Texas A&M International University, recruited 247 straight women with an average age of 24 for their study. 

Participants were shown a range of images depicting men of varying heights and 'shoulder-to-hip ratios'.

A high shoulder-to-hip ratio' is where there's a bigger circumference around the shoulders than there is around the waist.

High shoulder-to-hip ratio is generally seen as an attractive trait because it means bulky, muscly arms and low fat around the stomach. 

In the images, the male heights ranged from 160cm (5ft3in) to 190cm (6ft3in), and each male was pictured next to a 172cm (5ft8in)-tall woman as a comparison. 

Pictured, a male with a low height of 160cm (5 feet 3 inches) but with a higher shoulder-to-hip ratio - where there's a bigger circumference around the shoulders than there is around the waist

Pictured, a tall male - with a height of 190cm (6 feet 3 inches) - but with a lower shoulder-to-hip ratio. The male figures were shown next to a female for comparison 

Analysis revealed that overall, the women rated men as more attractive, masculine, dominant and higher in fighting ability as the men’s height and shoulder-to-hip ratio increased. 

However, women who rated themselves as more attractive tended to give higher ratings to taller men.

This suggests that women with higher self-esteem or confidence in their attractiveness set higher standards for their potential partners, particularly valuing height, the researchers said.

Writing in the journal Evolutionary Psychological Science, they said it has been suggested that being tall and having a higher shoulder-to-hip ratio are a reflection of a man’s ability to protect and provide resources for a mate.

They added that their finding did not extend to all increases in men’s height, but it was only in relation to men who were taller than the woman they were pictured next to.

‘This might suggest that women with higher mate value calibrate their preferences specifically to men who are taller than them,’ they wrote.