Why Women Chase Other Women's Men?

KENTUCKY - Women grade a man on sex appeal under the same sort of peer pressure as guppy fish or quail, according to a new study by scientists.

They are more likely than men to be drawn to the charms of a sexual partner who is already spoken for, the tests show.

Similar effects have been observed in studies of guppies and quail: Females are more likely to choose a male sexual partner if they have seen him mating with a different female, reported The Times newspaper.

Research at the University of Louisville in Kentucky has found that women copy the preferences of their peers, rather than judge for themselves, when seeking a mate. Simply hearing that another woman wants to date a man can arouse their interest.

Men are much less severely affected by the phenomenon, according to Dr Lee Dugatkin, a biologist, and Dr Michael Cunningham, a psychologist.

In the study, reported in New Scientist, 166 women undergraduates were presented with a report ostensibly written by five of their peers about a male undergraduate called Chris. Both Chris and the women were fictional.

The fictional women graded Chris according to how attractive they found him, and said whether or not they were interested in dating him.

The real women were then asked to grade, on a scale of one to six, how interested they would be in a date with the man.

The researchers found the most persuasive factor was how much attention he was getting from their peers: When four women wanted to go out with him, dating interest rose.

Dr Cunningham said: 'The underlying assumption is that if other people are attracted to him, he must have something going for him.

' A similar study on male students found that they were much less bothered about whether their peers were interested in a date.

Dr Dugatkin said the phenomenon was probably caused by a genetic predisposition among females to seek out the strongest and most protective mate.
The decision of another woman, he said, could often therefore be taken as a good indication that a man is worth having.