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Men need 8.2 seconds to fall in love

By Lucy Halfhead on Wednesday 25 March 2009

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Couple, Man and Woman, Marie Claire News

The time needed for a man to fall in love at first sight is 8.2 seconds, scientists claim.

The longer a man's gaze rests on a woman when they meet for the first time, the more interested he is. If it lasts just four seconds, he may not be all that impressed. But if it breaks the 8.2 second barrier, he could already be in love.

However the same is not true for women. They let their eyes linger on men for the same length of time whether they find them attractive or not, the journal Archives of Sexual Behavior reported.

Hidden cameras were used to secretly track the eye movements of 115 students as they spoke to actors and actresses. They were then asked to rate their conversation partner’s attractiveness.

The men looked into the eyes of actresses they considered beautiful for an average of 8.2 seconds, but that dropped to 4.5 seconds when gazing at those they rated less attractive. The female students, however, looked at the actors for the same length of time.

The researchers believe that men use eye contact to seek out fit and fertile mates. But women are more wary of attracting unwanted attention because of the risks of unwanted pregnancy and single parenthood.

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