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How your ring finger may indicate whether you're apt to 'stay or stray'
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Research from England says the ring finger on your right hand indicates whether you could be predisposed to faithfulness or promiscuity. - photo by Lois M. Collins
Research from England says the ring finger on your right hand indicates whether you could be predisposed to faithfulness or promiscuity.

The fact that men or women are individually prone to one behavior or the other sets them apart from other species, which are as a group inclined one way or the other. For instance, according to Mother Nature Network, swans, bald eagles, wolves and voles are among species that tend to mate for life.

Researchers from Oxford University looked at answers to a questionnaire on social and sexual attitudes collected from almost 600 North American and British people. They also measured the right index finger (the one nearest the thumb) and ring finger (nearest the pinky) and established a ratio. The shorter the index finger is compared to the ring finger called a "2D:4D ratio" the more testosterone exposure the person is believed to have had prenatally.

Their findings were published in the journal Biology Letters.

Earlier research indicates higher levels of fetal testosterone and greater sexual promiscuity as an adult seem to go together. "While not predictive of individual behavior, the length of the ring finger versus the index finger can help identify the group of people who are more likely to be promiscuous," the researchers said in a written statement.

This research suggests that there may be two distinct types of individuals within each sex, pursuing different mating strategies, Dr. Rafael Wlodarski, a postdoctorate researcher at Oxford University, told the Daily Mail. We observed what appears to be a cluster of males and a cluster of females who are more inclined to stay, with a separate cluster of males and females being more inclined to stray when it comes to sexual relationships.

But he added that "...these differences are very subtle and are only visible when we look at large groups of people. We cannot really predict who is going to be more or less faithful.

An article in The Blaze noted: "Males, overall, were found to be more promiscuous and to display more testosterone exposure in the womb than females; monogamy was slightly favored among females, according to the studys abstract."