When women are few, men settle down: Study

PARIS (AFP) - Women want to settle down while men prefer to play the field, right?

Not quite, said a study on Wednesday that challenged long-held views of sexual selection.

It turns out the dynamics of sex are partly driven by the law of supply and demand: a man's fidelity depends to a large degree on the number of available women.

"When women are rare, men respond by desiring long-term committed relationships with a single partner," University of Utah anthropologist and study lead author Ryan Schacht told AFP.