Differences in the Perceived Attractiveness of Non-contact and Combative Athletes' Facial Pictures

Abstract

Abstract Female mating strategies and partner preferences are influenced by many factors. Depending on the life context, the preference for either a long-term or a short-term relationship, the willingness to have off-spring, or the current fertility conditions can be key factors. Differences can largely be traced to the perception of physical masculinity and the ability to provide and raise offspring. This study seeks to obtain data that will help to describe changes in the female perception of the attractiveness of facial photographs of male elite golfers (non-contact sport) and MMA fighters (combative sport) in connection with the following factors: age, sexual activity/passivity, use of hormonal contraceptives, duration of actual relation-ship, and number of children. Data for this study were collected using an anonymous questionnaire that included photos of the athletes in a random order and a 1-10 rating scale (10 indicating the most attractive). The research sample consisted of 1,035 female participants. The statistical significance was analyzed using the Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests, Eta2, and Cohen's d for the average ratings of the contact and non-contact athletes. The female participants slightly preferred the golfers’ pictures. This preference grew significantly with age and number of children. A possible explanation for these results may be the participants’ decreasing fertility or the willingness to have another child in the Czech socio-culture. In such cases, the strong masculine features typical of combative athletes could be less important. In contrast to some earlier findings, contraceptive use did not affect the perception of male attractiveness compared to the entire sample's average ratings, furthermore, neither did sexual activity/passivity.