How sexy are you?
How attractive are you? The answer could depend partly on your name.
Linguist Amy Perfors of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology placed photos that included prominent names on the "Hot or Not?" website, which allows viewers to rank strangers' photos. Each photo was posted at different times with different names. She found that men labelled with names including "front vowels" -sounds produced in the front of the mouth such as the "aaa" in Matt- were rated as more attractive than photos labelled with "back vowels" names, such as the "aw" sound in Paul. The opposite was true for women, she told the Cognitive Science Society meeting in Chicago last week.
While most linguists think there is no inherent relationship between the sound of a word and its meaning, there is some evidence to the contrary, says Perfors. Front vowels are often perceived as "smaller" than back vowels. It may seem counterintuitive, but other studies show that men with slightly feminine features are considered more desirible. "Maybe women are subconsciously looking for more sensitive or gentle men," says Perfors. But if you're thinking of changing your name, don't go too far -men with women's names were rated least attractive of all.
--from New Scientist magazine 14 August 2004
Linguist Amy Perfors of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology placed photos that included prominent names on the "Hot or Not?" website, which allows viewers to rank strangers' photos. Each photo was posted at different times with different names. She found that men labelled with names including "front vowels" -sounds produced in the front of the mouth such as the "aaa" in Matt- were rated as more attractive than photos labelled with "back vowels" names, such as the "aw" sound in Paul. The opposite was true for women, she told the Cognitive Science Society meeting in Chicago last week.
While most linguists think there is no inherent relationship between the sound of a word and its meaning, there is some evidence to the contrary, says Perfors. Front vowels are often perceived as "smaller" than back vowels. It may seem counterintuitive, but other studies show that men with slightly feminine features are considered more desirible. "Maybe women are subconsciously looking for more sensitive or gentle men," says Perfors. But if you're thinking of changing your name, don't go too far -men with women's names were rated least attractive of all.
--from New Scientist magazine 14 August 2004
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