A group of evolutionary biologists looked at the science of bump and grind, and say they have figured out exactly which dance movements catch a woman’s eye.
Researchers at Northumbria University and the University of Gottingen wanted to know what women look for in a dancing partner, since “dancing ability, particularly that of men, may serve as a signal of mate quality.” But isolating specific dance moves is difficult – facial attractiveness, body shape and even perceived socioeconomic status play a role in how people judge the dancing ability of their peers.
So the researchers set up an experiment as follows: they recruited 30 men to dance to a core drum beat for 30 seconds. The dancers were given no specific instructions on how to dance beforehand, and their movements were recorded via a sophisticated motion-capture system. Each dancer’s 30-second routine was then used to animate a “featureless, gender-neutral” computer-generated avatar. Researchers asked 37 women to view each of the dancing avatars and rate their performance on a seven-point scale.
Read the full, original story: What women want on the dance floor, according to science
Additional Resources:
- Come to the Pheromone Party!, TNT
- Big Testicles Drive Genetic Evolution: Size Does Matter After All, International Business Times
