More attractive women get bigger engagement rings, and more unattractive men buy them

How does the size and impressiveness of the engagement ring relate to how attractive you consider your partner to be? This was the question posed by Jaime Cloud and Madalyn Taylor of Western Oregon University in their latest study It turned out that a man was more likely to buy an expensive ring for a more attractive woman, while a woman was more likely to choose an expensive ring if her partner was a less attractive man "Few material goods entail as high a cost and carry as little practical value as an engagement ring," wrote the scientists.

Women had to select the smallest rings they could settle for if given by the presented men The results indicate that men would get bigger, costlier rocks if they were to be paired with an attractive woman In their turn, women would want larger rings if their partners weren't so good-looking.

Interestingly, women who thought themselves physically attractive were more likely to expect and get more expensive rings, no matter what their partners' looks. . Source