Tell-tale Digits

A strange discovery was recently made—the shorter a man’s index finger in comparison with his ring finger, the more likely he would be nice to women. In contrast, those men whose index fingers and ring fingers are close in length, or whose index fingers are longer than their ring fingers, tend to be more quarrelsome with women.

According to the researchers, the hormones, chiefly testosterone, that men are exposed to in their mothers’ wombs have an impact on the length of their fingers. The same hormones that affect digit ratio also in all likelihood affect the development of the brain and body, resulting in other physical and behavioral differences, the researchers claim. They also found that men with smaller index fingers in comparison with ring fingers tend to have more children. The study, conducted by researchers at McGill University in Montreal and published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences, shows a link between a biological event in one’s foetal life and adult behaviour. For the study, the fingers of 155 men and women were measured, and their digit ratios, the length of the index finger to the length of the ring finger, were calculated. Every social interaction of the participants that lasted over five minutes for 20 days was kept track of. The behaviour of the participants in these interactions had to be classified either as agreeable or quarrelsome. The researchers, however, found no link between digit ratio and behaviour among women. But men with small digit ratios were found to have had one-third more episodes of agreeable behaviour and one-third less quarrels. Guys with small ratios also tended to be less quarrelsome with women than with other men.

Dr Debbie Moskowitz, the study’s lead author, says in a written statement, ‘When with women, men with smaller ratios were more likely to listen attentively, smile and laugh, compromise or compliment the other person.’ ‘These behaviours,’ she adds, ‘support the formation and maintenance of relationships with women… This might explain why they have more children on average.’

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