The researchers showed 40 women a series of photographs: A first set where four women were described in pleasant or unpleasant terms, a second set where men were paired with those same women (some of them smiling, some not), and a third set where the men were standing alone.
When asked in the third set which men were most attractive, the women ranked the guys who were with the pretty, smile-sporting girls as the best looking. Women consider men more attractive when a pleasant female reacts positively to their presence, the researchers explain.
