Men ‘more likely to be perceived as unfaithful’ by their faces

‘Perceived unfaithfulness may indeed contain some kernel of truth in male faces’

Hugh Grant as Daniel Cleaver in 'Bridget Jones's Diary' (Miramax/Universal/Kobal/REX)

Men are more likely than women to be labelled as cheaters just by looking at their faces, a new study has found.

According to research conducted by the University of Western Australia, both women and men are able to identify men who have cheated on their partners just from analysing their facial expressions.

Published in journal Royal Society Open Science, the team of scientists conducted an online study of more than 1,500 women and men aged between 18 and 75.

The participants were presented with photographs of 189 Caucasian adults pictured with neutral expressions, 101 of whom were men.

The men and women whose photographs were used provided information regarding the number of times they had cheated on their respective partners.

Those taking part in the study were asked to rate how likely each of the pictured individuals were to be unfaithful on a 10-point scale.

Overall, 293 men and 472 women rated pictures of women, while 299 men and 452 women judged images of men.

According to the study's authors, the finding that women and men are both able to identify cheating males from their faces came as a surprise.

"We found above-chance accuracy in unfaithfulness judgements of same-sex faces - but only for men rating men's faces and not women rating women's faces. Our results were not as expected," says corresponding author Dr Yong Zhi Foo.

"Taken together, both men and women showed above-chance accuracy for men's faces but not women's faces."

The scientist states that this indicates that perceived unfaithfulness "may indeed contain some kernel of truth in male faces".

Dr Foo adds that perceived unfaithfulness may also be affected by cosmetic procedures more frequently undertaken by women, such as eyelash extensions and eyebrow shaping.

"We found above-chance accuracy in impressions of unfaithfulness from men's faces," the scientist states.

"The level of accuracy could have biological significance as an evolved adaptation for identifying potential cheaters and poachers."

Nonetheless, the researchers state that "we should not rely on our first impressions to make diagnostic judgements of unfaithfulness in everyday situations".

Finding out whether a partner has cheated could bottle down to noticing a change in habits or an excessive amount of time working overtime, private investigator Tom Martin claims.

Other red flags in a relationship, according to Martin, can include hidden credit card bills, absences from family events and missed calls from an unknown number.

However, the private investigator adds that it's important not to jump to conclusions, as doing so may "jeopardise a valuable relationship over what may be unfounded anxieties".