Wide-Faced Men Are More Successful in Negotiating Larger Signing Bonuses

A new study finds that wide-faced men are more successful in negotiating larger signing bonuses but may not do too well when the deal includes compromise and collaboration.

Being good looking comes with its own share of perks and it's an established fact that wide-faced men are generally perceived to be more attractive. A new study by researchers from the University of California found that such men may also be better negotiators. The study found that men with wider faces are successful when negotiating for themselves, but not so when the situation requires compromise and collaboration.

"We negotiate everyday whether we think about it or not," paper co-authored by Michael P. Haselhuhn said in a press statement. "It's not just the big things, like a car or a home. It's what time your kid is going to go to bed or what you or your spouse are going to have for dinner."

The study was divided into many parts. In the first, researchers found that wide-faced men generally negotiated a signing bonus of nearly $2,200 more than men with a more narrow face.

In the second part of the study, the researchers found that when wide-faced men were selling a chemical plant they negotiated a higher sale price than men with a more narrow face. However, when they were the buyers, they successfully negotiated a lower buying price than narrow-faced men.

The study also noted that wide-faced men didn't always have things going their way when it came to negotiations. In the third part of the study, the participants were divided into pairs and required to use creative solutions to bridge the gap in a real estate deal. In such circumstances, wide-faced men were less successful in the negotiations. Alternatively, attractive men that were not wide-faced were more successful in handling such negotiations.

In a 2011 study, researchers found that wide-faced men tend to lead more financially successful firms. Last year, UC Riverside researchers found that men with wider faces are more aggressive and less trustworthy, compelling others around them to act selfishly too.

Earlier this year, researchers from Singapore Management University found that women generally see wide-faced men as more attractive but not husband material. Wide-faced men are considered to be more dominant and hence, are perceived as more attractive for short-term relationships by women. Other reasons for why wide-faced men are preferred only for short term relationships may be because a previous study found that such men are less trustworthy and prone to lying. Some people wonder how the width of a man's face should have anything to do with his behavior.

"There seems to be an evolutionary basis for it," researcher Michael Haselhuhn said in a telephonic interview with ABC News. "Men tend to have a wider facial ratio than do women, which suggests it must be a good thing for guys to have. Wide-faced guys must be doing something right."

The study was published online in the journal The Leadership Quarterly.