According to a recent article in the UK’s The Telegraph, British psychologists claim that the “cougar” phenomenon doesn’t really exist in the real world.

The findings, published in the journal Evolution and Human Behaviour, focused on a number of online dating sites across 14 countries and two religious groups, analyzing the preferences of 22,000 men and women.  Results showed that men and women are still traditional when it comes to searching for their ideal partner.  Women generally seek an older, affluent men and men look for younger, attractive females.

Dr Michael Dunn, a psychologist at the University of Wales, who led the study says the study’s finding dispute the notion that female financial independence has resulted in women targeting men of any age group.

Furthermore, a strikingly different pattern of age preferences was evident in men.  Younger men, aged 20 to 25, either targeted females their own age or marginally younger.  But as males aged, they clearly expressed a preference for women increasingly younger than themselves, with this pattern also being cross-culturally consistent.

Toyboys, he says are limited to celebrities like Madonna and Demi Moore.  What do you think?  Do you agree with the study’s findings?  Would you date a younger man?