Studies have previously found that women place greater emphasis on whether a man can provide for them, while men place more importance on good looks. The new study revealed that as women earn more and become more independent, their tastes actually change.

The finding suggests that greater financial independence gives women greater confidence in choosing their partner. Instinctive preferences for material stability and security become less important, physical attractiveness becomes more important, and the age of a woman's partner also increases.

"Previous research shows that men place greater importance on physical attractiveness when picking a partner, whereas women focus much more on whether someone can provide material resources," said lead researcher Dr. Fhionna Moore. "We'd assumed that as women earn more, their partner preferences would actually become more like those of men, with a tendency towards preferring younger, more attractive partners rather than those who can provide and care for children.

Moore added, "However, the preferred age difference did not change as we'd expected - more financially independent women actually preferred even older men. We think this suggests greater financial independence gives women more confidence in partner choices, and attracts them to powerful, attractive older men."

The study was conducted online with 3,770 heterosexual participants, about equal numbers of men and woman, who were asked questions about their background and personal situation, and their level of financial independence. Participants ranked a series of criteria such as physical attraction, financial prospects and sense of humor in order of importance, with these results matched against their income and financial independence.

"The behavior of men and women does become more similar as women earn more, but only in terms of the importance of physical attraction," Moore added. "But the similarities stop there: Greater income makes women prefer even older men, and men prefer even younger women."

The popular stereotype of powerful women adopting male patterns of behavior is strongly questioned by these new results.

The research is published in the latest online issue of the journal Evolutionary Psychology.

苏格兰心理学家研究发现，女性经济地位越独立，就越想寻觅较年长、更有魅力的男性为伴。有些人称之为乔治?克鲁尼效应。

此前研究表明，女性择偶时更注重男性能否养家糊口，而男性择偶时则更重外表。而这项新研究则表明，女性收入越高、越独立，她们的择偶品味也会随之变化。

研究结果表明，女性经济越独立，择偶时越有自信，对伴侣经济实力的稳定和生活保障的本能偏好会变得次要，她们会更关注外表，也更偏爱年长男性。

首席研究员菲恩娜?摩尔博士说：“此前研究表明，男性则偶时更重视外表，而女性更重视对方的经济实力。我们曾认为，女性收入越高，其择偶偏好就越类似于男性，倾向于选择年轻、有魅力的伴侣，而不是可以养好孩子的人。”

摩尔补充道：“但择偶的年龄偏好却没有出现预期的变化，经济越独立的女性其实更喜欢较年长的男性。我们认为这表明更独立的经济地位使女性在择偶时更自信，因而更偏爱有实力、有魅力的年长男士。”

该研究共对3770名异性恋者进行了网上调查，男女人数各半。他们被问及生活背景及个人状况，以及经济独立水平等问题，并对一系列择偶标准按照重要程度进行排序，例如外貌、经济前景、以及幽默感等。研究人员将调查结果与被调查者的收入和经济独立状况进行了对比。

摩尔补充说：“女性收入越高，与男性的择偶行为越趋同，但这仅限于对外貌的看法。有一点是不同的：高收入女性喜欢年长男性，而高收入男性则喜欢年轻女人。”

这项最新调查结果也对女强人的行为方式男性化这一传统观念提出了强烈质疑。

研究结果发表在最新一期《进化心理学》期刊网络版上。