Men with angular jaw, square chin more likely to cheat: study

Signs of a male who is prone to cheating include classic masculine features, such as a wide, angular jaw, a square chin and a prominent brow, according to a new research.

Women with wandering eye, however, can rest easy, as the study showed men to be poor at reading female faces, the 'Daily Mail' reported.

Australian researchers recruited almost 200 volunteers and photographed them.

The men and women were also asked how attractive they thought they were and whether they had cheated when in a relationship in the past.

They were also asked about poaching - or embarking on an affair with someone who was already in a relationship.

While they might have been single themselves, this sort of behaviour could be a sign of 'low commitment to monogamous values', said the research team.

Sixty eight strangers were then shown the head and shoulders shots and asked to rate how likely they were to be unfaithful.

The women were 'modestly accurate' at picking out male love-rats, the Royal Society journal Biology Letters reports.

Analysis showed that they weren't simply drawn to faces they felt were generally not to be trusted. Instead, they were linking masculinity with infidelity.

In contrast, the men were poor at picking out the women who had a history of cheating.

The study's co-author, Professor Leigh Simmons, said that females may have become better at the task because they have more to lose if their lover leaves them holding the baby.

"We conclude that impressions of sexual faithfulness from faces have a kernel of truth, at least for women, and that they may help people assess the quality of potential mates about whom they have minimal behavioural information," the University of Western Australia research team concluded.

Their findings chime with a popular theory about testosterone-fuelled alpha males, the paper said.

It is thought that women choose these tall, good-looking men for flings. Their looks are a sign of good genes and their ability to sire healthy children.

However, the initial attraction of the macho man soon wears off, with good-looking men attracting more female attention and being at higher risk of having affairs. High testosterone levels may also make them moody and violent.

This means that women looking for long-term relationships tend to be drawn to 'wimpier' types. Their lack of looks means they are less likely to stray and more likely to provide a stable home-life.