Are you sitting comfortably? Being a great storyteller makes men 'far more attractive' to women as long term partners
Are you sitting comfortably? Being a great storyteller makes men 'far more attractive' to women as long term partners
- Team say storytelling reflects a man's ability to gain resources
- Good storytellers more likely to influence others, or gain position of power
Men who are good storytellers are far more attractive to women, new research has found.
Researchers studied how people reacted to hearing how good a potential partner's storytelling ability was.
For women, it made them suddenly far more attractive as long term partners.
North Carolina researchers studied how people reacted to hearing how good a potential partner's storytelling ability was. For women, it made them suddenly far more attractive as long term partners.
'Results suggested that only women's attractiveness assessments of men as a long-term date increased for good storytellers,' concluded Melanie Green of the University of Buffalo and John Donahue of the University of North Carolina.
The researchers found storytelling ability did not affect men's ratings of women or short-term partners.
'Stories are not just mere conversation,' the researchers said.
'Storytelling ability appears to increase (a man's) perceived status, and thus helps men attract long-term partners.'
From an evolutionary perspective, 'women desire good storytellers because storytelling ability reflects a man's ability to gain resources,' Donahue and Green write.
'Good storytellers may be more likely to influence others, or to gain positions of authority in society.'
In the journal Personal Relationships, the researchers describe three studies that provide evidence of this dynamic.
In Study one, information about a potential partner's storytelling ability was provided.
Study two participants read a good or poor story supposedly written by a potential partner.
In the final study, 141 undergraduates were again presented with potential partners of varying storytelling ability.
As well as rating their attractiveness, they were asked whether they felt the person would 'be popular, be admired, be a good leader,' and 'be an inspiration for others to excel.'
The team concluded 'greater storytelling ability led to perceptions of higher status,' which clearly contributed to the higher attractiveness ratings.
Women were also found to be more attracted to good storytellers as a friend.
'In this instance the means suggest that being a good male storyteller helps in being considered a friend, but that being a poor male storyteller doesn’t hinder attractiveness as a friend, they wrote.
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