Lighter hair linked to perceptions of youth, health & attractiveness, leads to more positive perceptions of relationship & parenting potential

Women’s hair as a cue to desired relationship and parenting characteristics. David C. Matz & Verlin B. Hinsz. The Journal of Social Psychology, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00224545.2017.1395791

ABSTRACT: We investigated how women’s hair color (blond, brown, black) and length (short, medium, long) influences males’ judgments about the women’s age, health, physical attractiveness, relationship potential and parenting capability. Results, which are generally consistent with evolutionary psychology approaches, indicate that hair color and to a lesser extent length can affect perceptions of personal characteristics. More specifically, we found that lighter hair (blond and brown) compared to darker hair (black) is generally associated with perceptions of youth, health and attractiveness, and generally leads to more positive perceptions of relationship and parenting potential. Furthermore, the relationships between variables suggest that characteristics directly related to reproductive potential may be inferred from more obvious indirect characteristics. These results suggest that males are able to make complex judgments about women concerning their desirable relationship and parenting potential based on discernable characteristics such as hair color and length.

KEYWORDS: Mate selection, person perception, physical attractiveness, hair color and length