Swipe left for those short, wide-faced men, study suggests

Are people with faces like, say, American actor Danny DeVito more likely to cheat on their partners than, say, those who look more like English actor Benedict Cumberbatch?

A new Canadian study, with a relatively small sample size, seems to suggest that's a possibility.

We're talking about facial width-to-height ratio, so short, wide faces compared with long mugs.

The study's author says there appears to be a relationship between wider-faced men and certain behaviours.

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"Sex drive seems to be a little bit higher, they endorse more short-term mating and they are more likely to, at least report being willing to be unfaithful to their partner," researcher Brian Bird told The Homestretch.

"Guys with shorter and wider faces seem to endorse having more aggressive and dominant attitudes."

The study, The Facial Width-to-Height Ratio Predicts Sex Drive, Sociosexuality, and Intended Infidelity, included 459 men and women around the age of 20. It was recently published in the International Academy of Sex Research.

Bird, a psychology researcher at Simon Fraser University, says some of the traits may have been learned or conditioned over long periods of time.

"From an evolutionary perspective, we know that dominance and aggression can be important for dealing with other men, other rivals, but there are also other traits that are important for seeking mates, including sex drive and if you are willing to engage in short-term relationships."

The study involved subjects self-reporting, as opposed to observed behaviour, so Bird warns it's important not to draw sweeping conclusions.

"It's important not to take this asthis applies to every single person and therefore we should not use it to make judgments."

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With files from The Homestretch