It has been discovered by researchers that women seek older and more attractive male partners as they grow up and become financially independent. And there is a difference in this "George Clooney effect" and the approach of older, well-off men who tend to go for younger women.

On what a man can provide for them when they are choosing a new partner, previous work has found that women place greater emphasis.

Greater confidence in choosing a partner is experienced by women when they have greater financial independence, the latest study stated. Also less importance is given to instinctive preferences for material stability and security.

Lead researcher Dr Fhionna Moore, a psychology lecturer at the University of Abertay Dundee, said, "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. However, the preferred age difference did not change as we had expected."

Before concluding the above findings, people were asked by researchers about their level of financial independence, personal situation and their background.