Science Can Now Determine Whether Or Not You Are The Type To Get Married

When weighing pros and cons of guys with our friends, we always discuss if they are "marriage material."

But what does this even constitute? Is it being nice to our little brothers? Generously tipping the waiter? Looking sharp for an event?

Some women even have long checklists dedicated to the qualities necessary for a man to have before ever considering walking down the aisle with him on her arm.

A new study published in Social Science Research looked at how attractiveness, personality and grooming influence a person's marriage viability.

Researchers collected longitudinal data on 9,000 people between 1994 and 2009, and had interviewers rate the participants' looks, personalities and grooming habits. It's important to note, though, that one person's "sarcastic and arrogant" might be another's "charming and confident" and this study generalizes the traits into whether someone's personality is "attractive."

Of those three characteristics, the only statistically significant interaction was that men with an above-average attractive personality were perceived as particularly marriageable.

See, there's a reason Steve Buscemi can find love!

For the most part, however, participants who scored higher on the index overall were more likely to get married. So if you don't want to die alone, you have to be exceptionally good-looking, personable and maybe shower consistently.

There is some hope for the rest of us, though.

If you don't rate high enough in one category, researchers found that you can overcompensate in another category -- which is why incredibly hot but incredibly terrible people are still getting hitched before we are.

H/T: The Atlantic, Top Photo Courtesy: We Heart It