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Integrating Evolutionary and Social Exchange Perspectives on Relationships: Effects of Gender, Self-Appraisal, and Involvement Level on Mate Selection Criteria
Abstract
Two studies examined which traits males and females desire in partners at various levels of relationship development in an attempt to integrate evolutionary models (which emphasize sex differences) and social exchange models (which emphasize self-appraisals). In Study 1, male and female students specified their minimum criteria on 24 traits for a date, sexual partner, exclusive dating partner, marriage partner, and 1-night sexual liaison. They also rated themselves on the same dimensions. Sex differences were greatest for casual sexual liaisons, with men's criteria being consistently lower than women's. Men's self-ratings were generally less correlated with their criteria for a 1-night stand, as well. Study 2 replicated the findings of Study 1, adding several modifications, including a measure of Ss' sex typing. Sex typing had few effects. The advantages of combining social psychological and evolutionary perspectives are discussed.
... Women seem to be more discriminating on most criteria than are men, with the exception of attractiveness and youth (Buss, 1989). However, men are also highly selective, particularly when they are selecting a long-term partner (Kenrick, Groth, Trost, & Sadalla, 1993;Kenrick, Sadalia, Groth, & Trost, 1990). ...
... Men's ratings of these traits were also high, although significantly lower than women's. It is possible that the importance of these traits to both men and women may have been amplified, and sex differences minimized, by the instructions to consider only a long-term or marital partner rather than a short-term partner (see Kenrick et al., 1993;Kenrick et al., 1990). ...
Men and women value different characteristics in potential partners. It was hypothesized that women feel they have less control over traits relevant to their desirability than men feel they have over traits related to male desirability. In Study 1, undergraduates (N = 150) completed questionnaires measuring (a) the importance they attributed to 64 characteristics when choosing a mate and (b) their perceived control over these traits. Men selected partners on the basis of traits that are relatively uncontrollable (e.g., youth, attractiveness), whereas women selected partners on the basis of traits that are more controllable (e.g., status, industriousness; d = 1.75). In Study 2, these findings were replicated in an older, representative community sample (N = 301; d = 1.03). Greater uncontrollability of traits relevant to female mate value may place women at elevated risk for negative affect, depression, low self-esteem, and body dissatisfaction.
... According to Buss and Schmitt (1993), women, as well as men, have different standards of attractiveness for short-term and long-term relationships (see also Buss, 2003;Schmitt, 2014). Data support this distinction showing that women are primarily focused on a men's masculine appearance when ovulating, choosing a short-term partner (Gangestad & Thornhill, 2008;Kenrick et al., 1993), while they find masculine men less attractive for long-term relationships (Buss & Schmitt, 1993;Gangestad & Simpson, 2000;Rhodes et al., 2005;Wiederman & Dubois, 1998). Generally, in the transition from short-term to long-term relationships women reduce the minimal standards of male attractiveness Fig. 1 Hypothetical distributions of attractiveness (full line) and unattractiveness (dashed line). ...
... The average size does not correspond with the highest attractiveness which is slightly shifted toward supernormal sizes (see the text for details, cf. Marković & Bulut, 2017a) from about the 70th to approximately 60th percentile (Kenrick et al., 1993;Regan, 1998). The period of the menstrual cycle also influences a woman's choice of partner and the preference for masculinity. ...
In the present study, we investigated the differences in the experience of attractiveness and unattractiveness of human bodies. A total of 101 participants (55 females) were asked to create the most attractive and the most unattractive female and male figures using a computer animation. They performed this task by adjusting the size of six body parts: shoulders, breasts/chest, waist, hips, buttocks, and legs. Analyses indicated that attractive body parts were distributed normally with the peak shifted to moderately supernormal sizes, while unattractive body parts had mostly U-shaped or skewed distributions with extremes in super-supernormal and/or subnormal sizes. Generally, both male and female attractive bodies had prominent “sporty” look: supernormally wide shoulders and long legs. Gender differences showed that men prefer more supernomal masculine and feminine sizes, while women show an ambivalence toward both groups of traits. Principal components analysis revealed gender differences on the multitrait level: males focus on prominent masculine and feminine traits, while women focus on traits that make both male and female bodies more elongated and slender. Gender differences were in line with specific male and female positions in the partner selection process, while a certain tendency toward masculinization of the female body required the inclusion of social factors, such as the influence of the culture of a sporty and fit look.
... Overall, unexpectedly, men's preferences did not seem to correlate as strongly with their sociodemographic potential as women's preferences did, although women's higher preferences for status and resources in men are widely reported (e.g., Buss, 1989;Kenrick et al., 1993;Li, 2007). In other words, while women value men's status more than men value women's status in the mating context (Jonason et al., 2012), men with lower status indicators did not decrease their preferences (because of lower mate choice power) as much as women did. ...
While there is substantial research on what people want in their romantic and sexual partners, much of this work focuses on WEIRD, youthful samples, fails to consider the role of undesirable characteristics (i.e., things people do not want in partners) at all, or in conjunction with desirable characteristics (i.e., things people do want in partners), and may be overly reliant on psychometric approaches to pivotal variables in mating psychology like mate value and sociosexuality. In a nationally representative (online) sample of 2280 people from Czechia (aged between 18 and 50 years old), we examined linear and quadratic age, education, and self-perceived mate value (desirability) effects on the desired levels in mate choice of eight undesirable and seven desirable characteristics in men and women in relation to ostensible metrics of mate value. Self-perceived mate value alone explained little variance (men 1%, women 2%), while all mate value and mating strategy indicators together explained little variance of mate preferences and aversions (men 3%, women 5%). Desirable characteristics were better explained by mate value than undesirable ones. Our results are in line with evolutionary predictions suggesting that women are more demanding. Also, more qualities to offer correlate with more expectations in a partner.
... Indeed, some studies find only perceived intelligence, but not actual intelligence, to be attractive (Driebe et al., 2021). Further, displaying social facility and warmth via humor production may be a useful mating strategy because those traits are highly valued by both sexes (Kenrick et al., 1993), particularly for long-term relationships (Didonato et al., 2012). Across several studies, Hall found stronger associations between humor production and warmth than with intelligence, assessed via data culled from Facebook profiles, grade point average, and ACT scores. ...
This chapter summarizes the theories and research on the evolutionary bases of humor. We aim to explain the potential adaptive value of humor, what functions humor serves, and how a sense of humor can help increase fitness. We will focus our explanations on the two central mechanisms, natural selection and sexual selection, that are deeply rooted in our evolutionary history. Using these mechanisms, we will explore how production and appreciation of humor can contribute to survival and enhance mating success.
Several evolutionary explanations have been offered over the years, starting with Charles Darwin’s view of humor as “tickling of the mind”. The theories vary in scope, with some focusing on a specific aspect of humor or laughter, while others are more comprehensive. Each theory illuminates important tenets of humor, but not all. We will critically review and evaluate the various evolutionary theories, highlighting the strengths and weakness of each, and suggest directions for future research – including exploring humor’s links to other uniquely human capacities like intelligence, creativity, and artistry. Humor is a multifaceted phenomenon, and understanding it requires insights from disparate academic fields. Only a multidisciplinary approach could provide a complete understanding of such a unique human experience.
... Given their physiological and psychological investment in offspring (Archer, 2015c;Archer et al., 2015;Buss, 2016a;Trivers, 1972), females face greater risk when mating with low-status males when pregnancy is possible. As such, theories of evolutionary fitness suggest that females tend to be more selective with respect to reproductive outcomes compared to males (Antfolk, 2017;Buss & Barnes, 1986;Buunk et al., 2002;Kenrick et al., 1993;Shoemake, 2007;Trivers, 1972). Our results are consistent with respect to heterosexual individuals, where females were more selective in the age of their ideal partners compared to heterosexual males, but not compared to gay and bisexual males (H2). ...
... For casual or short-term sexual liaisons, women desire strong, powerful and courageous men (or 'cads') who can provide them with genetic qualities that are likely to be passed on to offspring (Gangestad & Simpson, 2000). Traits indicative of the genetic quality that are prioritized when choosing a short-term mate include physical attractiveness (Kenrick et al., 1993) and a masculine physique (Little et al., 2007). Conversely, for long-term relationships, women place greater value on industriousness, relationship commitment and resource potential (Buss, 1989;Buss & Schmitt, 1993, 2019Li et al., 2002). ...
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Risk taking is more commonly shown by males than females and has a signalling function, serving to advertise one's intrinsic quality to prospective mates. Previous research has established that male risk takers are judged as more attractive for short-term flings than long-term relationships, but the environmental and socioeconomic context surrounding female preferences for male risk takers has been overlooked. Using a survey instrument, we examined female preferences for male risk takers across 1304 females from 47 countries. We found preferences for physical risk takers to be more pronounced in females with a bisexual orientation and females who scored high on risk proneness. Self-reported health was positively associated with preferences for high risk takers as short-term mates, but the effect was moderated by country-level health, i.e. the association was stronger in countries with poorer health. The security provided by better health and access to health care may allow females to capitalise on the genetic quality afforded by selecting a risk-prone male whilst concurrently buffering the potential costs associated with the risk taker's lower paternal investment. The risk of contracting COVID-19 did not predict avoidance of risk takers, perhaps because this environmental cue is too novel to have moulded our behavioural preferences.
Supplementary information:
The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40806-023-00354-3.
... We read and studied numerous studies on mate selection criteria as well as items used in international personality inventories and well-referenced studies to develop the coding scheme for this study [23,24,[51][52][53][54]55]. ...
Sexual selection has become an important research topic in behavioral ecology, human behavior, and evolution. The study of mate selection preferences across cultures and countries has gradually received increasing attention. The present study was aimed to reveal the differences of long-term and short-term mate selection preferences between young people in Chinese and South Korean. An questionnaire survey method was followed to obtain the aim of the study, and a total of 273 Chinese (M = 22.07, SD = 1.75) and 181 Koreans (M = 21.75, SD = 2.05) unmarried university students were chosen to participate the study. We summarized the important core factors of individual mate preferences and revealed the long-term and short-term mate preferences of young men and women in both countries through quantitative analysis. The results indicated that education played a crucial role in the long-term mate selection for both Chinese males and females. Contrastingly, Koreans valued friendliness and easygoingness in long-term mate value and liveliness in short-term mate value. There were differences found in mate preference by gender between Chinese and Koreans, influenced by cross-cultural factors. These findings strongly supported cultural differences in mate selection and provided practical suggestions for future cross-cultural mate selection research.
Introduction. The study aims to investigate the factors of women’s choice of partner in an online dating situation. In the period of digitalization, many women seek to expand their opportunities to find a suitable partner through the use of online dating services. At the same time, many women have certain concerns and do not know what exactly to pay attention to when dating so that it leads to the creation of a romantic relationship. This is the first time that the question of the existence of a relationship between the factors of partner selection and the consequences of online dating is considered, which determines the novelty of the study. Its results will help to identify the most successful strategies for choosing a potential partner that lead to the establishment of long-term relationships.
Objective. To identify the most common factors among women in selecting a potential partner in an Internet dating situation.
Materials and Methods. A translated version of Liesel Sharabi’s questionnaire-questionnaire was used to establish the peculiarities of women’s use of dating services. Binomial criterion, Fisher’s exact test, and conjugacy test were used as methods of statistical data analysis.Results. The empirical object of the study was women aged 18 to 60 (n = 61). It was found that women are quite selective in the situation of choosing potential partners in dating services. The majority of women feel apprehension regarding the use of dating services, which is associated with the fear of not meeting a suitable partner there. At the same time, women remain convinced of the effectiveness of dating services and hope to get married through their use. The main factor in choosing a partner among women is the way he or she shows himself or herself in correspondence. At the same time, women who got married as a result of online dating also took into account such a factor as the appearance of the chosen one.
Discussion. The obtained data are confirmed by the results of other authors’ studies. Thus, women’s selectivity in the situation of Internet dating is explained by the increase in their self-confidence, as well as by the desire to demonstrate themselves from the “right” side. At the same time, women’s fears seem to be quite justified, taking into account that men are much more likely to describe their desired, rather than real, characteristics in questionnaires. Women more often make a choice based on the features of correspondence, since most of the criteria important for selection are revealed in the course of communication.
Evolutionary social science is having a renaissance. This volume showcases the empirical and theoretical advancements produced by the evolutionary study of romantic relationships. The editors assembled an international collection of contributors to trace how evolved psychological mechanisms shape strategic computation and behavior across the life span of a romantic partnership. Each chapter provides an overview of historic and contemporary research on the psychological mechanisms and processes underlying the initiation, maintenance, and dissolution of romantic relationships. Contributors discuss popular and cutting-edge methods for data analysis and theory development, critically analyze the state of evolutionary relationship science, and provide discerning recommendations for future research. The handbook integrates a broad range of topics (e.g., partner preference and selection, competition and conflict, jealousy and mate guarding, parenting, partner loss and divorce, and post-relationship affiliation) that are discussed alongside major sources of strategic variation in mating behavior, such as sex and gender diversity, developmental life history, neuroendocrine processes, technological advancement, and culture. Its content promises to enrich students’ and established researchers’ views on the current state of the discipline and should challenge a diverse cross-section of relationship scholars and clinicians to incorporate evolutionary theorizing into their professional work.
Facial composites constructed from Identi-Kit materials were used to assess the impact of characteristically mature and immature eyebrows, eyes, lips, and jaws on perceptions of social dominance and attractiveness. Male and female faces were identically composed except for hair. Subjects rated faces on scales for dominance and attractiveness. Mature traits were hypothesized to make all faces look dominant and male faces appear attractive. Female faces were predicted to look attractive when displaying immature, nondominant facial cues. The results confirmed that mature traits generally raised dominance and attractiveness ratings for male faces. The traits that successfully raised dominance ratings for male faces made females look less attractive. Eye size had the most reliable effect on both dominance and attractiveness ratings for female faces. Eyes that make females look nondominant also made them look attractive. The results were generally consistent with sociobiological arguments generating predictions.
Investigated, in 2 quasi-experiments, the relation between specific adult female facial features and the attraction, attribution, and altruistic responses of adult males. Precise measurements were obtained of the relative size of 24 facial features in an international sample of photographs of 50 females. 75 undergraduate males provided ratings of the attractiveness of each of the females. Positively correlated with attractiveness ratings were the neonate features of large eyes, small nose, and small chin; the maturity features of prominent cheekbones and narrow cheeks; and the expressive features of high eyebrows, large pupils, and large smile. A 2nd study asked males to rate the personal characteristics of 16 previously measured females. The males were also asked to indicate the females for whom they would be most inclined to perform altruistic behaviors and to select for dating, sexual behavior, and childrearing. The 2nd study replicated the correlations of feature measurements with attractiveness. Facial features also predicted personality attributions, altruistic inclinations, and reproductive interest. Sociobiological interpretations are discussed. (73 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Open-ended questions were used to investigate mate selection criteria among male and female medical students (n = 40). Striking sex differences emerged in this sample's preferences concerning spouses' relative earning power and occupational status, partners' physical attractiveness, and the marital division of labor. The results supported the hypotheses: Increasing socioeconomic status (SES) of women does not eliminate and may not even reduce traditional sex differences in mate selection criteria and marital goals. Increasing the SES of women tends to increase their socioeconomic standards for mates, thereby reducing their pool of acceptable partners; increasing men's SES tends to enlarge their pool of available acceptable partners. Based on these interviews and pertinent literature, closed-ended questions were developed and administered to female (n = 212) and male (n = 170) undergraduates. Highly significant sex differences emerged in this sample; these sex differences mirrored those found among the medical students. The methodological implications of these results are discussed.
This review organizes ideas on the evolution of life histories. The key life-history traits are brood size, size of young, the age distribution of reproductive effort, the interaction of reproductive effort with adult mortality, and the variation in these traits among an individual's progeny. The general theoretical problem is to predict which combinations of traits will evolve in organisms living in specified circumstances. First consider single traits. Theorists have made the following predictions: (1) Where adult exceeds juvenile mortality, the organism should reproduce only once in its lifetime. Where juvenile exceeds adult mortality, the organism should reproduce several times. (2) Brood size should macimize the number of young surviving to maturity, summed over the lifetime of the parent. But when optimum brood-size unpredictably in time, smaller broods should be favored because they decrease the chances of total failure on a given attempt. (3) In expanding populations, selection should minimize age at maturity. In stable populations, when reproductive success depends on size, age, or social status, or when adult exceeds juvenile mortality, then maturation should be delayed, as it should be in declining populations. (4) Young should increase in size at birth with increased predation risk, and decrease in size with increased resource availability. Theorists have also predicted that only particular combinations of traits should occur in specified circumstances. (5) In growing populations, age at maturity should be minimized, reproductive effort concentrated early in life, and brood size increased. (6) One view holds that in stable environments, late maturity, broods, a few, large young, parental care, and small reproductive efforts should be favored (K-selection). In fluctuating environments, early maturity, many small young, reduced parental care, and large reproductive efforts should be favored (r-selection). (7) But another view holds that when juvenile mortality fluctuates more than adult mortality, the traits associated with stable and fluctuating environments should be reversed. We need experiments that test the assumptions and predictions reviewed here, more comprehensive theory that makes more readily falsifiable predictions, and examination of different definitions of fitness.
Individual differences in willingness to engage in uncommitted sexual relations were investigated in 6 studies. In Study 1, a 5-item Sociosexual Orientation Inventory (SOI) was developed. Studies 2, 3, and 4 provided convergent validity evidence for the SOI, revealing that persons who have an unrestricted sociosexual orientation tend to (a) engage in sex at an earlier point in their relationships, (b) engage in sex with more than 1 partner at a time, and (c) be involved in relationships characterized by less investment, commitment, love, and dependency. Study 5 provided discriminant validity for the SOI, revealing that it does not covary appreciably with a good marker of sex drive. Study 6 demonstrated that the SOI correlates negligibly with measures of sexual satisfaction, anxiety, and guilt. The possible stability of, origins of, and motivational bases underlying individual differences in sociosexuality are discussed.
The multiple motive hypothesis of physical attractiveness suggests that women are attracted to men whose appearances elicit their nurturant feelings, who appear to possess sexual maturity and dominance characteristics, who seem sociable, approacheable, and of high social status. Those multiple motives may cause people to be attracted to individuals who display an optimal combination of neotenous, mature, and expressive facial features, plus desirable grooming attributes. Three quasi-experiments demonstrated that men who possessed the neotenous features of large eyes, the mature features of prominent cheekbones and a large chin, the expressive feature of a big smile, and high-status clothing were seen as more attractive than other men. Further supporting the multiple motive hypothesis, the 2nd and 3rd studies indicated that impressions of attractiveness had strong relations with selections of men to date and to marry but had a curvilinear relation with perceptions of a baby face vs. a mature face.
This study investigated an increasing social phenomenon--newspaper advertising for dating or marital partners--in terms of the bargaining process involved. Content analysis of personal ads in a popular "respectable" singles newspaper revealed a pattern of offers and requests reminiscent of a heterosexual stock market. Exchange theory provided a theoretical context for analyzing the personal ads. Findings confirmed expectations that advertisers sought to maximize their profit by presenting a positive image of themselves. In addition, traditionally sex-appropriate characteristics were claimed and desired, suggesting that shifting sex role expectations are not evident in this type of mate-selection.
Recent studies have revealed numerous differences of degree between the behaviour of men and women in close personal relationships. For the most part these differences remain as isolated facts, in need of an integrative framework, and little consideration has been given to the question of why the differences take the precise form that they do. In this paper a possible framework for integrating the known facts about sex differences in close relationships are discussed. It points to parallels between the sex differences observed in present day societies and those that would have been expected in our environment of evolutionary adaptedness, but does not involve biological determinism and acknowledges that such parallels carry no necessary implications about the ontogenetic origins of the differences. Whilst recognizing the ubiquitous influences of socialization practices in producing sex differences in attitudes and behaviour, it suggests also that the reciprocal influences of sex differences on socialization practices must not be neglected. There is of course no implication that the sex differences discussed are more than differences in statistical tendencies, or that individuals can be placed on a unidimensional scale of masculinity/femininity. No value judgements are intended: the biological parallels may be useful in attaining the society we desire, but irrelevant to setting our goals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Past research has demonstrated clear gender differences in reported mate selection criteria. Compared to women, men place more importance on physical attractiveness and women place more importance than men do on the earning capacity of a potential mate. These gender differences have been explained using both sociobiological propositions and differences in the relative economic power of men and women. The present study tested the structural powerlessness hypothesis as an explanation for women's greater emphasis on the earning capacity of a potential spouse. Samples of college students (N = 997) and community members (N = 282) were asked to report expected personal income and to rate the importance of listed characteristics in a potential mate. Consistent with past research, men placed more emphasis on the item Good Looks, whereas women placed more importance on the item Good Financial Prospect. Contrary to the structural powerless model, women's expected income was positively related to ratings of the importance of a potential mate's earning capacity in the college sample and was unrelated to women's ratings of the item Good Financial Prospect in the community sample. Findings are discussed in terms of both evolutionary psychology and gender differences in access to financial resources.