London, Feb 9 (ANI): When it comes to their Mr Right, it seems that most women would rather settle for the average Joe than a man with a large salary, a fast car and a high-flying job.

In a new research, researchers at the University of Central Lancashire led by led by Simon Chu have found that the reason why women would rather be with Mr Medium, is because they find attractive successful men too good to be true, and believe that the relationship won't last.

Another fear, it seems when it comes to successful men, is that women are apprehensive that such men are more likely to stray, and will lack the time and dedication to help raise kids.

As a part of the study the researchers, asked a team of students to rate photographs of 60 men in their twenties on a physical attractiveness scale.

6 good-looking men, 6 average men and 6 unattractive men were then selected.

Alongside each photograph was information on the man's age, what he was looking for in a partner, and a randomly chosen profession.

The researchers then asked 186 female students with an average age of 23 to rate the attractiveness of each man as a long-term partner.

To their astonishment, the researchers found that though on a purely physical level the best-looking men were rated the highest, when it came to settling down to a long-term partnership women preferred average guys.

Those who were good looking and had a medium status job scored more highly than attractive men with more high-flying jobs.

While women might prefer men who score highly on both attractiveness and resource-holding potential, it remains possible that these men might be perceived as being too good to be true, the Daily Mail quoted Simon Chu, as saying.

In other words, a high level of physical attractiveness coupled with high status may be an especially attractive package to other women as well and men in this position may be more likely to pursue a mating rather than a parenting strategy, he added.

Chu suggested that another reason why women, especially those with careers, prefer average men, could be that they are subconsciously thinking about the time such men will be able to spend with the children.

While increasing status brings clear resource benefits, this may also bring a trade-off with the amount of child-rearing time that high status individuals have available. It is likely that high-status individuals can afford less time to devote to childcare than individuals of lower status, he concluded.

The study is published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences. (ANI)