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Who Cares About Marrying a Rich Man? Intelligence and Variation in Women’s Mate Preferences
Abstract
Although robust sex differences are abundant in men and women’s mating psychology, there is a considerable degree of overlap
between the two as well. In an effort to understand where and when this overlap exists, the current study provides an exploration
of within-sex variation in women’s mate preferences. We hypothesized that women’s intelligence, given an environment where
women can use that intelligence to attain educational and career opportunities, would be: (1) positively related to their
willingness to engage in short-term sexual relationships, (2) negatively related to their desire for qualities in a partner
that indicated wealth and status, and (3) negatively related to their endorsement of traditional gender roles in romantic
relationships. These predictions were supported. Results suggest that intelligence may be one important individual difference
influencing women’s mate preferences.
... Generally, women hold certain preferences in choosing a mate and calibrate their preferences for a potential mate based on their own characteristics and personal qualities. For example, physical attractiveness (e.g., Buss and Shackelford 2008), intelligence (e.g., Stanik and Ellsworth 2010), religiosity (e.g., Schmitt and Fuller 2015), socio-economic status (e.g., Khallad 2005), and cultural variables (e.g., Schmitt 2005) can impact women's long-term mate preferences and mating strategies. ...
... The present study can provide scholars with descriptive and inferential data on individual difference and cultural correlates of long-term mate preferences in Iran as a non-Western culture. Considering the body of literature, we made the following a priori hypotheses: (H1) Religiosity would be positively associated with preference for religiosity/ chastity (see Buss 1985); (H2) Socio-economic status would be positively associated with preference for status/resources (see Buss 1985;Khallad 2005); (H3) Self-perceived attractiveness would be positively associated with preference for status/resources (H3a), attractiveness/sexuality (H3b), kindness/dependability (H3c), and education/intelligence (H3d) (see Buss and Shackelford 2008); (H4) Self-rated intelligence would be positively associated with preference for education/ intelligence (see Stanik and Ellsworth 2010); (H5) Selfrated intelligence would be negatively associated with preference for status/resources (see Stanik and Ellsworth 2010); (H6) The desired Mahr would be positively associated with preference for status/resources (see Introduction); (H7) The desired number of children would be associated with preference for religiosity/chastity (see Atari and Jamali 2016); (H8) The desired number of children in the current sample is lower than that of Iranian women in 1980s as reported in Buss, Shackelford, and LeBlanc (2000). ...
... The present study can provide scholars with descriptive and inferential data on individual difference and cultural correlates of long-term mate preferences in Iran as a non-Western culture. Considering the body of literature, we made the following a priori hypotheses: (H1) Religiosity would be positively associated with preference for religiosity/ chastity (see Buss 1985); (H2) Socio-economic status would be positively associated with preference for status/resources (see Buss 1985;Khallad 2005); (H3) Self-perceived attractiveness would be positively associated with preference for status/resources (H3a), attractiveness/sexuality (H3b), kindness/dependability (H3c), and education/intelligence (H3d) (see Buss and Shackelford 2008); (H4) Self-rated intelligence would be positively associated with preference for education/ intelligence (see Stanik and Ellsworth 2010); (H5) Selfrated intelligence would be negatively associated with preference for status/resources (see Stanik and Ellsworth 2010); (H6) The desired Mahr would be positively associated with preference for status/resources (see Introduction); (H7) The desired number of children would be associated with preference for religiosity/chastity (see Atari and Jamali 2016); (H8) The desired number of children in the current sample is lower than that of Iranian women in 1980s as reported in Buss, Shackelford, and LeBlanc (2000). ...
The present study investigated the link between long-term mate preferences and cultural and individual difference variables in 536 young Iranian women (mean age= 21.6, SD= 3.78). We tested a priori hypotheses on the relationships between the dimensions of women’s mate preferences (kindness/ dependability, status/resources, attractiveness/sexuality, religiosity/chastity, and education/intelligence) and other
study variables (the desired number of children, self-perceived attractiveness, self-rated intelligence, intrinsic religiosity, Mahr, and socio-economic status). Descriptive data suggested that young Iranian women do not endorse traditional and religious practices in marriage and long-term relationships as strongly as previously thought. Results were mostly in line with the hypotheses. Overall, the relationships between the study variables provided support for the similarity hypothesis and the notion of modernization of Iran. Limitations and future directions are discussed.
... Further, women low on tradition spent more on good parent traits, but there was no association between tradition and good parent spend among men. This is consistent with previous findings that, as societies become increasingly progressive and women gain parity with men, women increasingly favour good parents over good providers (Lu et al., 2015;Stanik & Ellsworth, 2010). As women gain economic independence, there is less pressure to secure a mate who can provide financially. ...
... Previous evolutionary-based accounts of mate choice have shown that individuals trade-off between mates offering genetic and parental quality (Pillsworth & Haselton, 2006;Li et al., 2002), and that this trade-off is influenced by environmental factors, such as disease prevalence, women's educational opportunities, and average birth weight (Trivers et al., 1999;Stanik & Ellsworth, 2010;Schmitt, 2002 dual-sexual strategy has been studied extensively (e.g., Buss & Schmitt, 1993;Gangestad & Simpson, 2000;Gangestad & Thornhill, 2008), the present findings challenge the conclusion that adoption of the dual-sexual strategy is homogenous across cultures. Instead, we provide preliminary evidence to suggest that strategies are contingent upon social norms, in addition to the genetic considerations. ...
When choosing a mate, humans favour genetic traits (attractiveness, high sex drive) for short-term relationships and parental traits (warmth, high status) for long-term relationships. These preferences serve to maximise fitness of future offspring. But this model neglects the role of social norms in shaping evolved mating strategies. For example, in conservative cultures, individuals are likely to face costs such as punishment for short-term mating. Here we show that conservatives over-perceive some mates’ suitability as long-term partners. Study 1 found that conservatives were less likely to use a short-term strategy that was distinctive from their long-term strategy. Study 2 showed that conservatives over-perceived hypothetical mates as long-term investing partners, despite their lack of commitment-compatible traits. Conservatism was measured at the regional- (India, USA, UK) and individual-level. Our results demonstrate how social norms may bias behaviour. We anticipate our findings to be a starting point for more sophisticated models, drawing on developments from evolutionary and social psychology.
... While most such features and qualities (e.g., being kind, loving, witty) were stated without elaboration, the issue of "intelligence" was hearably problematised, with multiple repairs, hedging, disclaimers, and reformulation. 1 On the face of it, a preference for an intelligent partner would not seem to be a controversial point. Social psychological research on attraction consistently highlights the importance of intelligence in both mate selection preferences (Buss, 1989;Greitemeyer, 2007;Lange, Zaretsky, Schwarz, & Euler, 2014;Prokosch, Coss, Scheib, & Blozis, 2009;Stanik & Ellsworth, 2010) and in strengthening and maintaining relational satisfaction (Botwin, Buss, & Shackelford, 1997;Dijiskira, Barelds, Groothof, Ronner, & Nauta, 2012;Escorial & Martin-Buro, 2012;Furnham, 2009). In addition, a large body of research has shown both the prevalence and the benefits of similarity between romantic partners on key dimensions, including intelligence, attitudes and values (Acitelli, Kenny, & Weiner, 2001;Brown & Brown, 2015;Klohnen & Mendelsohn, 1998;Montoya & Horton, 2012). ...
... Again, this appears to be equally the case for analyses that adopt a critical starting point and for those that take participant orientation as their point of departure; and again, it may be contrasted with the present study. While not denying a link between intellect and higher social status (Schmidt & Hunter, 2004;Stanik & Ellsworth, 2010) or the fact that people with learning disabilities have often experienced structural disadvantage, it is nonetheless the case that in most everyday contexts, intelligence per se does not provide a basis in which systematic disadvantage/hierarchy may be observed. ...
There is, today, a powerful social norm against the expression of prejudice. Hence, as shown in many discursive studies, speakers treat prejudice as an accountable matter and use various strategies (e.g., disclaimers, mitigation, denials, and reformulations) to avoid being seen as personally prejudiced. Analysts have identified this practice as a “new” form of discriminatory discourse, which allows expression of prejudice without negative identity repercussions. Relevant studies are generally undertaken from a critical perspective and focus on structural inequalities (particularly race and gender). However, speakers may also demonstrate sensitivity around unexpected issues which lack overt prejudice connotations. This article examines one such example of unexpected sensitivity to the anti-prejudice norm. It analyses how five young female academics problematise and resolve their preference for an “intelligent” romantic partner. Their preference is uncontroversial in relationship terms, but here, in the academic context, it is clearly treated as accountable and as possibly inviting negative attributions. The data show functional and lexical features of “new” discriminatory discourse. The speakers orient towards attributions of intellectual elitism and use various means to deflect these, while ultimately upholding their stated preference for an intelligent partner. The analysis demonstrates how the anti-prejudice norm extends across settings/topics and how accountability is occasioned and context specific. This has implications for how prejudice itself, as a discursive construct, may be identified and evidenced. Specifically, it might be argued that analysts only have empirical access to accountability (occasioned in specific contexts), rather than to exclusionary or prejudiced ideologies per se.
... One might also expect that previous relationships and life experiences could somewhat shape mate preferences (Brumbaugh & Wood, 2013). Furthermore, older individuals may have achieved greater socioeconomic stability over time, reducing the need to seek a partner for financial security (Stanik & Ellsworth, 2010). This can lead to the focus on other qualities in mate selection. ...
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.
... Many leadership positions in industrialized societies are associated with increased financial compensation (Tsui, Enderle, & Jiang, 2017). High social status, wealth, intelligence, and leadership status are also generally viewed as sexually attractive, particularly to women (Buss, 2006;Stanik & Ellsworth, 2010). Most measures of reproductive success are positively associated with male social status, independent of subsistence type or status measure (von Rueden & Jaeggi, 2016). ...
Many researchers have turned to evolutionary theory to better understand diversity in leadership. Evolutionary theories of leadership, in turn, draw on ethnographic cases of societies thought to more closely resemble the smaller-scale, face-to-face communities in which humans evolved. Currently, though, there is limited systematic data on the nature of leadership in such societies.
We coded 109 dimensions of leadership, including costs and benefits relevant to evolutionary models, in 1212 ethnographic texts from 59 mostly nonindustrial populations in Human Relations Area Files (HRAF). We discovered evidence for both cultural universals in leadership, as well as important variation by continental region, subsistence strategy, group context, and leader sex. Candidate universals included that leaders were intelligent and knowledgeable, resolved conflicts, and received material and social benefits. Evidence for other leader dimensions varied by group context (e.g., there was more evidence that leaders of kin groups were older and tended to provide counsel and direction), subsistence (e.g., hunter-gatherers tended to lack leaders with coercive authority), and sex (e.g., female leaders tended to be associated with family contexts). There was generally more evidence of benefits than costs for both leaders and followers, with material, social, and mating benefits being particularly important for leaders, and material and other benefits important for followers.
Shamans emerged as an important category of leaders who did not clearly conform to influential models that emphasize two leader strategies: using knowledge and expertise to provide benefits to followers vs. using physical formidability to impose costs. Instead, shamans and other leaders with supernatural abilities used their knowledge to both provide benefits and impose costs on others. We therefore propose a modified scheme in which leaders deploy their cognitive, social, material, and somatic capital to provide benefits and/or impose costs on others.
... A person with a high school degree is likely to view someone with a college degree as more than sufficiently intelligent, but a person with a Ph.D. is likely to evaluate that same person as insufficiently intelligent. For example, women who have more advanced education (e.g., medical students) struggle to find partners whereas men who are similarly educated experience a glut of mating opportunities (Kruger & Fitzgerald, 2011;Townsend & Levy, 1990; but see Stanik & Ellsworth, 2010). This effect is usually interpreted as men with more status (via their heightened education) are more attractive to women leading to more mating opportunities, but as women tend to want to commit hypergamy women with high levels of education experience a ceiling effect in who they consider desirable. ...
There has been a recent surge of research on the role of intelligence in mate preferences. To advance this area of research, in two online studies (N = 743), we manipulated relative, as opposed to absolute, intelligence and examined desirability in long-term and short-term relationships. In Study 1, we also examined the role of mate value towards understanding differences in desirability and, in Study 2, we also manipulated target's level of physical attractiveness. The sexes found less intelligent partners less desirable, a more intelligent partner was no more desirable than partner who was equal in intelligence, and intelligence was particularly valued as a long-term mate. In addition, mate value was correlated with rejecting less intelligent mates and desiring more intelligent ones in women only. And, last, we found that once men and women found sufficient rates of attractiveness for their short-term partners, they care about the intelligence of their partner.
... There is some evidence that sexual suppression is moderated via contextual factors, such as local levels of gender equality (Baumeister & Mendoza, 2011) and women's economic reliance on men (Price et al., 2014;Stanik & Ellsworth, 2010). In a recent paper, Blake et al. (2018b) found plasticity in sexual suppression, such that support of the Islamic veil is higher among men, as well as women with a higher number of sons relative to daughters. ...
Across human societies, female sexuality is suppressed by gendered double standards, slut shaming, sexist rape laws, and honour killings. The question of what motivates societies to punish promiscuous women, however, has been contested. Although some have argued that men suppress female sexuality to increase paternity certainty, others maintain that this is an example of intrasexual competition. Here we show that both sexes are averse to overt displays of female sexuality, but that motivation is sex-specific. In all studies, participants played an economic game with a female partner whose photograph either signalled that she was sexually-accessible or sexually-restricted. In study 1, we found that men and women are less altruistic in a Dictator Game (DG) when partnered with a woman signalling sexual-accessibility. Both sexes were less trusting of sexually-accessible women in a Trust Game (TG) (study 2); women (but not men), however, inflicted costly punishment on a sexually-accessible woman in an Ultimatum Game (UG) (study 3). Our results demonstrate that both sexes are averse to overt sexuality in women, whilst highlighting potential differences in motivation.
... As modern dating behavior is considered to reflect evolved adaptations (Stanik & Ellsworth, 2010), these mate preferences have been attributed to evolutionary mechanisms. According to evolutionary theory, as the reproductive costs are higher for women (e.g., internal gestation, extended parental care; Trivers, 1972), women have come to value a longterm mate who has the ability to contribute the resources necessary to ensure the survival of any resulting offspring (Buss, 2006;Buunk, Dijkstra, Fetchenhauer, & Kenrick, 2002). ...
The booty-call relationship is defined by both sexual characteristics and emotional involvement. In the current study, men's and women's preferences for a booty-call mate were explored. Men and women were predicted to exhibit different mate preferences depending on whether they considered a booty-call relationship a short- or long-term relationship. Participants ( N = 559, 74% women) completed an anonymous online questionnaire, designing their ideal booty-call mate using the mate dollars paradigm. Both sexes considered the physical attractiveness and kindness of a booty-call mate a necessity, expressing both short- and long-term mate preferences. The current study highlights the need to explore mate preferences outside the dichotomy of short- and long-term relationships, providing evidence of a compromise relationship.
... Pri izbora partnera za dugoročnu i kratkoročnu vezu žene su smatrale neambiciozne muškarce izrazito nepoželjnima, a pokazalo se da će vjerojatno prekinuti dugoročnu vezu s muškarcem ukoliko se on pokaže izrazito neambicioznim, lijenim i bez profesionalnih ciljeva ili posla (Betzig, 1989). U novije vrijeme, kada žene imaju veće mogućnosti vlastitom inteligencijom i sposobnostima postići veće obrazovanje i bolje zapošljavanje, preferencije žena za ambicioznim i bogatim muškarcima su smanjene, što se objašnjava ženskom fleksibilnošću u određivanju prioriteta osobina kod partnera kada njegovi financijski resursi ne moraju biti od presudne važnosti (Stanik i Ellsworth, 2010). S druge strane, poglavito zbog tradicionalnih spolnih uloga, postoje određeni negativni stereotipi o ambicioznim, odnosno uspješnim ženama (Fels, 2004). ...
Assessment of attraction of persons for short and long term relationship with regard to information about ambition and consumption of pornography
The aim of this research was to determine the differences in attractiveness evaluations of members of the opposite sex in terms of long-term and short-term relationship, considering the information whether the person of the opposite sex consumes pornographic material and whether he or she is ambitious. Evaluated physical appearance of members of the opposite sex was taken as a covariate. The task of the participants was to estimate the attractiveness of the member of the opposite sex by filling out the online questionnaire that was constructed for purpose of this research. Females attractiveness in terms of long-term and short-term relationship was not determined neither by ambitiousness of the females nor by the given
information on the females' pornography consumption. Evaluated physical appearance was the only variable that significantly determined attractiveness of the females for both types of relationships. More ambitious males were estimated as more attractive for both types of relationships, whereas males that consume pornographic material were estimated as less attractive in terms of longterm relationship. Male’s attractiveness was not determined by the information about his consumption of pornographic materials, except when the male was described as ambitious, then his attractiveness in terms of long-term relationship was decreased.
... It is noteworthy that this effect does not merely reflect sociosexual differences It is also worth noting that the observed effect sizes for sociosexuality and nationality, plus the interaction with relationship context, are small to medium (with η 2 p ranging from .01 to .05). As with many observations within the mating literature, this supports the claim that multiple factors, such as intelligence (Stanik & Ellsworth, 2010), personality traits (Quist et al., 2012) and ecological factors (Kandrik et al., 2015), interact to form an individual's mate preference. ...
The dual-sexual strategy hypothesis claims that women select different men for short- and long-term relationships. In short-term relationships, women are attracted to good genes (e.g., masculinity, attractiveness); in long-term relationships, material traits (e.g., good income, patient) are favoured. A potential predictor of women's mating strategy is sociosexuality, a measure of an individual's willingness to engage in casual, uncommitted sex. We asked whether women high in sociosexuality (i.e., unrestricted sexuality) would demonstrate greater distinctiveness between short- and long-term mate preferences. In an online study, participants (N = 459) from India and the USA were apportioned a ‘mate budget’ to construct their ideal short- and long-term partners. Mate Dollars could be spent on either genetic or material traits. As expected, genetic traits were favoured for short-term relationships; material traits were favoured for long-term relationships. However, women with a more restricted sexuality preferred short-term mates who closely resembled their long-term preferences. Women from the USA (with typically less restricted sexuality) showed more distinctive preferences than women from India (with typically more restricted sexuality). Overall, a woman's sociosexuality influences the distinctiveness of her short- and long-term mate preferences.
... More interesting are situations where people are transacting for nonstatus resources (e.g., athletic skill, fame, love). There is still a limited insight into the moderating factors that result in exponential valuations of the last few units of these resources (e.g., trading life expectancy for athletic skill, trading sex for fame, trading lifestyle for love; Bellis et al. 2007;Mazanov and Huybers 2010;Stanik and Elsworth 2010). ...
... However, other studies suggest that the football players may hold an erroneous perception of the women in their lives. For example, Stanick and Ellsworth (2010) found in their study on the correlation between a woman's intelligence and her emphasis on status and wealth and choosing a mate that women with access to education, career opportunities, and higher intelligence affects the characteristics they look for in a mate. Their study of college women found that as a woman"s education and intelligence level increases, her desire for traits in a long-term partner, such as status and wealth decreases. ...
The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the ways that the high social status gained through sports participation, and the competitive pressures surrounding hypermasculinity and male bonding influenced the behavior and attitudes of college football players in their sexual relationships with women. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 male college-football athletes at a Southeastern NCAA football bowl subdivision university. Findings indicate that the college football players feel a sense of sexual power over women, which fuels their sense of entitlement to do what they want with women, and get what they want from women. Many of them viewed women as sex objects, and discussed how common it was for them to have multiple women as sexual partners. Their reference to women as “cleat chasers”, “hunters”, and “gold diggers” further suggests that they may be adhering to a traditional masculine script in which they believe that women use their sexuality as a resource to help them gain status and financial stability.
... Evolutionary theory of sex differences in mate preferences. Evolutionary theory contends that human mate selection is governed by evolved mechanisms that developed to overcome reproductive obstacles (Stanik & Ellsworth, 2010). Parental investment theory (Trivers, 1972) states that men and women differ in reproductive strategies, based upon the minimum level of parental investment they must make to ensure an offspring's survival. ...
In comparison to biological sex differences and mate preferences, differences in sexual orientation and mate preferences have received limited attention in the literature. The aim of the current experiment was to explore the relationship between biological sex and sexual orientation on the necessity of a long-term and short-term mate's physical attractiveness and social level. Three hundred and seven participants recruited from an Australian university and the wider community completed an online questionnaire assessing necessities of mate characteristics. Results of independent-measures ANOVAS showed that heterosexual men considered a long-term mate's physical attractiveness significantly more of a necessity than heterosexual women. Additionally, individuals of a homosexual sexual orientation considered the social level of a long-term mate significantly more of a necessity than individuals with a heterosexual sexual orientation, but not individuals of a bisexual sexual orientation. Finally, results showed that individuals of a heterosexual sexual orientation considered the physical attractiveness of a short-term mate significantly more of a necessity than did individuals of a homosexual sexual orientation and individuals of a bisexual sexual orientation. Results of the current study suggest research should not just assume equivalence of mate preferences between individuals of differing sexual orientations.
... However, research in the same area has shown that initial preferences do not inspire the desire for romantic partners in actual speed dating contexts (Eastwick & Finkel, 2008) Additionally, some researchers have suggested that gender-specific mate preferences may be at least partially due to socially constructed views of men and women (Wood & Eagly, 2002). A study conducted by Stanik and Ellsworth (2010) found that in environments where women could acquire advanced education, women were more likely to engage in short-term relationships, less likely to desire men with high wealth and status, and less likely to promote traditional gender roles. Women may be less likely to depend on the support of a long-term romantic partner, then, if they are able to provide for themselves and create stability through their own lifestyles and career choices. ...
The possible sex difference in preferred mate characteristics is a domain that is receiving more attention as of late, due to the increases in new forms of dating and new conceptualizations of attraction. Evolutionary theory posits that men are attracted to cues signaling reproductive value and women are attracted to resources and personality traits, while more social-based theories rely on societal pressures explaining the way men and women behave when it comes to attraction. The present study found that men and women may not differ in terms of how important they rate general physical attractiveness and shared values. However, women did value long-term relationships more and monetary potential more, while men rated characteristics like eye color, hair color, and weight as more important. Further, relationship longevity was only predicted partially by certain aspects of real-life relationships, but not ideal mate preferences. These findings suggest that a simple evolutionary approach to mate preferences research may not be completely sufficient in today's society. The literature on young-adult mate preferences and relationships is extensive, yet many of the reported findings are contradictory and inconclusive. This study was designed to provide additional information regarding several issues of interest to relationship researchers, including the correlation between expressed preferences and demonstrated preferences; sex differences in preferred mate characteristics; and factors associated with relationship duration in young adults. Recent research on expressed preferences and demonstrated preferences has yielded inconclusive results. For example, Eastwick, Finkel, and Eagly (2011), compared self-reported mate preferences with preferences demonstrated in live-interaction situations and found significant differences. In contrast, Burris, Welling, and Puts (2011) found that women who express a preference for more masculine faces tend to have more masculine partners. Methodological differences between the studies make it difficult to draw definitive conclusions about the correlation between expressed and demonstrated mate preferences. Research on attractiveness tends to focus on initial attraction. In relationship research, though, changes in ratings of attractiveness are also of interest. Reis et al. (2011) found that simply spending more time with someone in a live-interaction can make that person seem more attractive. The traditional view of sex differences in mate preferences is that men tend to value traits signaling physical attractiveness and reproductive capacities, and women tend to value traits signaling stability and resource acquisition (Buss, 1989; Li & Kenrick, 2006, Li et al., 2013; Sprecher, Sullivan, & Hatfield, 1994). Much of the theory in this area stems the work of Trivers (1972), who argues that women invest more in parenting and are therefore more discriminating in mate selection. Men, who traditionally carry less of the responsibility of having and raising a child, are less selective. From an evolutionary perspective, the cost of wasting one's reproductive resources is less for men than it is for women. Women are thought of as the choosier sex because they can spread their genes to the next generation best by securing resources over the 9 months of pregnancy. Men, however, may be better suited pursuing other sexual partners in that time, in order to enhance their chances of progeny in the next generation (Trivers, 1972; Feingold, 1992; Bjorklund & Shackelford, 1999). Just as sex differences in mating preferences have been interpreted from an evolutionary perspective, so have sex differences in relationships. This could be thought of as the difference between relationship preferences and pursuit, and actual relationship maintenance once in a committed relationship. Some relationships are found to involve jealousy induction, an intentional tactic used to make a romantic partner jealous. This type of behavior is typically correlated with lower relationship satisfaction and commitment (Mattingly, Whitson, & Mattingly, 2012). Other relationships are potentially volatile because of too much jealousy in particular domains. Many studies have shown that men are more distressed by potential sexual infidelities, while women are more distressed by potential emotional infidelities (Buss, Larsen, Westen & Semmelroth, 1992; Edlund & Sagarin, 2009; Sagarin, Becker, Guadagno, Wilkinson, & Nicastle, 2012). In comparison to men, women have been found to show heightened jealousy in romantic relationships. Sagarin and Guadagno (2004), for example, found that women more often than men report " extreme jealousy ". These studies lend support to evolutionary models of human mating behavior. As would be expected from an evolutionary perspective, meta-analytic work has shown that women prefer taller partners, or partners who are at least as tall as
... Because we did not measure participants' socioeconomic status, we cannot say conclusively whether this played a role in our findings. Second, women's degree of intelligence is related to mate preferences, such that the more intelligent a woman is, the less she cares about a partner's ability to provide financially (Stanik & Ellsworth, 2010). Again, we did not measure our participants' intelligence, but given that we used a college sample, a high intelligence level in our female sample may have resulted in a lack of emphasis on status in potential mates. ...
Research has shown that people select securely attached individuals as their first choice when asked to choose among secure or insecure partner prototypes. Despite this pattern, not everyone chooses a secure partner in real life. The goal of the reported studies was to examine factors that lead people to select insecure mates. Specifically, the roles of flattery, appearance, and status were assessed. In the first study, we found that flattery increased attraction to insecure partners. Study 2 showed that men preferred physical beauty over security. In Study 3, anxious women were attracted to high-status insecure men. These findings help explain why people may sometimes end up with insecure partners despite their professed preference for secure companions.
Sexual orientation and sexual fluidity are examined in this chapter. The antecedents and the environmental and cultural influences on our sexual orientation are described, along with the difference between sexual orientation, identity, behavior, and preference. The chapter ends with an attempt to provide an answer as to whether changing one’s orientation is possible.
Past research suggests that undergraduate women have faced educational cultures in which their college experience is defined through romantic experiences. This study expands this literature by investigating how heightened achievement expectations for undergraduate women inform their broader conceptions of intimate relationships, by asking the following research question: how do high-achieving undergraduate women conceptualise intimate relationships? Through qualitative analysis of 76 semi-structured interviews, I find that study participants reject gendered narratives of romance and instead preserve their achievement by constructing two ideal relationship logics: independent and companionate logics. I suggest that participants’ conceptions of relationships have undergone a notable inversion: students’ constructions of positive intimate relationships centre on the maintenance of academic achievement and autonomy, and show the long reach of neoliberal, ‘post-feminist’ ideologies into women’s everyday lives.
Research has extensively considered the sex differences that arise in mate preferences; specifically, men desire the physical attractiveness of a mate more than women do, and women desire the status and resources of a mate more than men do. To date, these sex differences in mate preferences have been explained by appealing to evolutionary and social-economic theory origin theories. The aim of the current study was to examine sex differences in mate preferences in long term relationships by exploring independent factors of social-economic theory. Specifically, the current study sought to examine, for the first time, the combined effect of gender roles and individual socioeconomic status on the characteristics men and women consider a necessity in a long term mate by employing a refined mate budget methodology. Participants (N = 854) were recruited from an Australian university campus and the wider community and completed an online study that measured their gender role and factors of SES, and required the design of a hypothetical long term mate. Results indicated interactions of SES and gender roles on characteristics women considered a necessity in a long term mate. Results of this study suggest that women's mate preferences for a long term mate may have more interactive social influences than previously thought, and directions for future research to further explore these social elements are presented.
Objective
Men's and women's mate preferences in long-term relationships have been extensively considered in research. However, men's and women's short-term mate preferences have not received nearly as much attention. In particular, theoretical origins of men's and women's short-term mate preferences have received limited consideration in comparison to long-term relationships. Specifically, although evolutionary origins of short-term mate preferences have been discussed, elements of social-economic theory (i.e., socioeconomic status (SES) and gender roles) have not yet been explored. The current study sought to address the gap in the literature concerning short-term mate preferences and social-economic theory.Method
Seven hundred eighty-one participants were recruited to complete a questionnaire that included the mate budget paradigm.ResultsFor men, results showed significant independent effects of SES and gender roles on a short-term mate's physical attractiveness scores, but no significant interaction. Results also showed no significant main effect of SES and gender roles on short-term mate's social level scores, although there was a significant interaction between a masculine gender role and medium and high SES. For women, there were no independent or interactive effects of SES and gender roles on physical attractiveness and social level scores.DiscussionResults were interpreted in relation to both evolutionary and social-economic theories, specifically discussing strategic pluralism and sexual strategies theories. Results of the study highlight the need for increased awareness of independent and interactional effects of social-economic theory elements on men's and women's short-term mate preferences, and further exploration of relationships outside the dichotomy of long and short term.
We examined young Chinese women's mate preferences as a function of their self-perceived attractiveness and career attitudes. A total of 264 young Chinese women rated their own attractiveness, reported their attitudes toward career, and rated the importance of 20 mate characteristics. The characteristics encompassed four facets that individuals typically consider when seeking a long-term mate: good-genes indicators, good investment ability indicators, good parenting indicators, and good partner indicators. We found that both self-perceived attractiveness and attitudes toward career were positively associated with the importance attached to several of the characteristics. Moreover, women who had high career focus but low self-perceived attractiveness attached more value to intelligence, ambition, and industriousness than women who had low career focus but high self-perceived attractiveness; women with low career focus but high self-perceived attractiveness attached more value to physical attractiveness in a mate than women with high career focus but low self-perceived attractiveness. We discussed the limitations of our research and directions for future research.
Social exchange and evolutionary models of mate selection incorporate economic assumptions but have not considered a key distinction between necessities and luxuries. This distinction can clarify an apparent paradox: Status and attractiveness, though emphasized by many researchers, are not typically rated highly by research participants. Three studies supported the hypothesis that women and men first ensure sufficient levels of necessities in potential mates before considering many other characteristics rated as more important in prior surveys. In Studies 1 and 2, participants designed ideal long-term mates, purchasing various characteristics with 3 different budgets. Study 3 used a mate-screening paradigm and showed that people inquire 1st about hypothesized necessities. Physical attractiveness was a necessity to men, status and resources were necessities to women, and kindness and intelligence were necessities to both.
Evolutionary psychologists have hypothesized that men and women possess both long-term and short-term mating strategies, with men's short-term strategy differentially rooted in the desire for sexual variety. In this article, findings from a cross-cultural survey of 16,288 people across 10 major world regions (including North America, South America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Southern Europe, Middle East, Africa, Oceania, South/Southeast Asia, and East Asia) demonstrate that sex differences in the desire for sexual variety are culturally universal throughout these world regions. Sex differences were evident regardless of whether mean, median, distributional, or categorical indexes of sexual differentiation were evaluated. Sex differences were evident regardless of the measures used to evaluate them. Among contemporary theories of human mating, pluralistic approaches that hypothesize sex differences in the evolved design of short-term mating provide the most compelling account of these robust empirical findings.
Evolutionary psychologists have hypothesized that men and women possess both long-term and short-term mating strategies, with men's short-term strategy differentially rooted in the desire for sexual variety. In this article, findings from a cross-cultural survey of 16,288 people across 10 major world regions (including North America, South America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Southern Europe, Middle East, Africa, Oceania, South/Southeast Asia, and East Asia) demonstrate that sex differences in the desire for sexual variety are culturally universal throughout these world regions. Sex differences were evident regardless of whether mean, median, distributional, or categorical indexes of sexual differentiation were evaluated. Sex differences were evident regardless of the measures used to evaluate them. Among contemporary theories of human mating, pluralistic approaches that hypothesize sex differences in the evolved design of short-term mating provide the most compelling account of these robust empirical findings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
A sample of 460 low-income women completed a mate preference questionnaire and surveys that assessed family background, life history, conscientiousness, sexual motives, self-ratings (e.g., looks), and current circumstances (e.g., income). A clus-ter analysis revealed two groups of women: women who reported a strong prefer-ence for looks and money in a short-term mate and commitment in a long-term mate, and women who reported smaller differences across mating context. Group differences were found in reported educational levels, family background, sexual development, number of children, and motives for having sex. Implications for un-derstanding individual differences in women's mate-preference trade-offs are dis-cussed. F I or mammals, sex differences in potential reproductive rate and obligatory post partum suckling have resulted in the evolution of a strong female bias toward parental effort and a strong male bias toward mating effort (Clutton-Brock and Vincent 1991; Trivers 1972). The same general pattern is found for humans (Bereczkei and Csanaky Symons 1979), but our species is unusual in that many men invest heavily in parenting (Geary 2000) and many women invest heavily in mating effort, including extramarital and other forms of multiple mating relationships (Bellis and Baker 1990; Cerda-Flores et al. 1999; Essock-Vitale and
The Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test (K-BIT) is a motor-free screening measure of intelligence that yields Verbal, Nonverbal, and Composite IQ estimates. To determine its concurrent validity, the K-BIT and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale—Revised (WAIS—R) were administered as part of a neuropsychological examination to 200 clinical patients (aged 16–74 yrs). Correlations between the Verbal, Nonverbal, and Composite scales of the 2 measures were .83, .77, and .88, respectively. WAIS—R and K-BIT scores were also similar across age and educational levels, although mean K-BIT scores tended to be approximately 5 points higher than their WAIS—R counterparts. Differences between the 2 measures could not be attributed to psychomotor speed, expressive language, or manual dexterity. The K-BIT appears to be a promising screening measure of verbal, nonverbal, and general intellectual ability for use when time constraints preclude use of a longer measure. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Hypothesized that men prefer women around their own age, but that as they grow older, men develop a preference for women who, although not absolutely younger, are progressively younger than themselves and that women begin with a preference for older men, and compared with men, show less variation in that preference over their life span. Six studies support this gender-differentiated prediction in age preferences expressed in 218 personal advertisements, 1,189 marriages from 2 US cities, 100 marriages in 1923, matrimonial advertisements from 2 European countries and India, 1,789 marriages recorded from 1913–1939 on a small island in the Philippines, and 213 singles advertisements placed by financially successful American women and men. Limitations of normative and evolutionary explanations of age preferences are considered. 30 commentaries and an author response follow. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Examined the consequences of mate preferences for the processes of assortative mating and sexual selection. In Study 1, 92 married couples (aged 18–40 yrs) completed measures such as the California Psychological Inventory, Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, and Personal Attributes Questionnaire. Data were used to identify (a) the mate characteristics that were consensually more and less desired, (b) the mate characteristics that showed strong sex differences in their preferred value, (c) the degree to which married couples were correlated in selection preferences, and (d) the relations between expressed preferences and the personality and background characteristics of obtained spouses. Marital preference factors included Religious, Kind/Considerate, Artistic/Intelligent, and Easygoing/Adaptable. Study 2, with 100 unmarried undergraduates, replicated the sex differences and consensual ordering of mate preferences found in Study 1, using a different methodology. Alternative hypotheses are presented to account for the replicated sex differences in preferences for attractiveness and earning potential. (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Contemporary mate preferences can provide important clues to human reproductive history. Little is known about which characteristics people value in potential mates. Five predictions were made about sex differences in human mate preferences based on evolutionary conceptions of parental investment, sexual selection, human reproductive capacity, and sexual asymmetries regarding certainty of paternity versus maternity. The predictions centered on how each sex valued earning capacity, ambition— industriousness, youth, physical attractiveness, and chastity. Predictions were tested in data from 37 samples drawn from 33 countries located on six continents and five islands (total N = 10,047). For 27 countries, demographic data on actual age at marriage provided a validity check on questionnaire data. Females were found to value cues to resource acquisition in potential mates more highly than males. Characteristics signaling reproductive capacity were valued more by males than by females. These sex differences may reflect different evolutionary selection pressures on human males and females; they provide powerful cross-cultural evidence of current sex differences in reproductive strategies. Discussion focuses on proximate mechanisms underlying mate preferences, consequences for human intrasexual competition, and the limitations of this study.
During human evolutionary history, there were “trade-offs” between expending time and energy on child-rearing and mating, so both men and women evolved conditional mating strategies guided by cues signaling the circumstances. Many short-term matings might be successful for some men; others might try to find and keep a single mate, investing their effort in rearing her offspring. Recent evidence suggests that men with features signaling genetic benefits to offspring should be preferred by women as short-term mates, but there are trade-offs between a mate's genetic fitness and his willingness to help in child-rearing. It is these circumstances and the cues that signal them that underlie the variation in short- and long-term mating strategies between and within the sexes.
Seven hypotheses regarding sex differences in sexuality and partner selection were derived from evolutionary theory and tested among 400 college students. Subjects viewed color photographs of live models dressed in appropriate costumes and paired with descriptions of three potentially datable social types recognizable to college students. A MANOVA revealed significant sex differences in reported willingness to have sexual relations with stimulus persons compared to willingness to engage in higher-investment relationships, and in the effects of stimulus persons' status and physical attractiveness in determining thresholds of initial acceptability. Subjects also responded to the Attitudes Toward Women Scale (AWS), the Sociosexual Orientation Inventory, and statements concerning prospective spouses' relative income, occupational prestige, and physical attractiveness. Regression analyses revealed that males with more economic resources had more sex partners, lower AWS scores, and emphasized prospective spouses' physical attractiveness more and their socioeconomic status less than did their lessaffluent peers. Economic resources and AWS scores did not predict females' sexual behavior. Results from the MANOVA and the regressions suggested that the reported overlap of male and female selection criteria in higher-investment relationships masks sexual dimorphism in the process, criteria, and motivations underlying sexual attraction, mate evaluation, and selection.
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.
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.
Social psychologists have devoted considerable theoretical and empirical attention to studying gender differences in traits desired in a mate. Most of the studies on mate preferences, however, have been conducted with small, nonrepresentative samples. In this study, we analyzed data collected from single adults in a national probability sample, the National Survey of Families and Households. Respondents were asked to consider 12 possible assets or liabilities in a marriage partner and to indicate their willingness to marry someone possessing each of these traits. These data extended previous research by comparing men's and women's mate preferences in a heterogeneous sample of the national population and by comparing gender differences in different sociodemographic groups. The gender differences found in this study were consistent with those secured in previous research (e.g., youth and physical attractiveness were found to be more important for men than for women; earning potential was found to be less important for men than for women) and were quite consistent across age groups and races. However, the various sociodemographic groups differed slightly in the magnitude of gender differences for some of the mate preferences.
We examined six hypotheses derived from evolutionary theory regarding sex differences in mate-selection criteria. The subjects were 160 law students who viewed color photographs of live models that were paired with different status cues such as costume variation and descriptions of income and occupation. A multivariate analysis of variance and regression analyses revealed highly significant sex differences in the following responses: reported willingness to engage in unqualified sexual relations; reported willingness to have sexual relations with stimulus persons as compared with the willingness to engage in higher investment relationships such as dating and marriage; the effects of stimulus persons' status and physical attractiveness in determining thresholds of initial acceptability; and tradeoffs, that is the ability of high physical attractiveness to compensate for low status, and of high status to compensate for low physical attractiveness. Law students also responded to nine statements concerning prospective spouses' relative income, occupational prestige, and physical attractiveness. These responses exhibited sex differences consistent with those found in the experimental manipulation.
This article proposes a contextual-evolutionary theory of human mating strategies. Both men and women are hypothesized to have evolved distinct psychological mechanisms that underlie short-term and long-term strategies. Men and women confront different adaptive problems in short-term as opposed to long-term mating contexts. Consequently, different mate preferences become activated from their strategic repertoires. Nine key hypotheses and 22 predictions from Sexual Strategies Theory are outlined and tested empirically. Adaptive problems sensitive to context include sexual accessibility, fertility assessment, commitment seeking and avoidance, immediate and enduring resource procurement, paternity certainty, assessment of mate value, and parental investment. Discussion summarizes 6 additional sources of behavioral data, outlines adaptive problems common to both sexes, and suggests additional contexts likely to cause shifts in mating strategy.
Social exchange and evolutionary models of mate selection incorporate economic assumptions but have not considered a key distinction between necessities and luxuries. This distinction can clarify an apparent paradox: Status and attractiveness, though emphasized by many researchers, are not typically rated highly by research participants. Three studies supported the hypothesis that women and men first ensure sufficient levels of necessities in potential mates before considering many other characteristics rated as more important in prior surveys. In Studies 1 and 2, participants designed ideal long-term mates, purchasing various characteristics with 3 different budgets. Study 3 used a mate-screening paradigm and showed that people inquire 1st about hypothesized necessities. Physical attractiveness was a necessity to men, status and resources were necessities to women, and kindness and intelligence were necessities to both.
In some species, female condition correlates positively with preferences for male secondary sexual traits. Women's preferences for sexually dimorphic characteristics in male faces (facial masculinity) have recently been reported to covary with self-reported attractiveness. As women's attractiveness has been proposed to signal reproductive condition, the findings in human (Homo sapiens) and other species may reflect similar processes. The current study investigated whether the covariation between condition and preferences for masculinity would generalize to 2 further measures of female attractiveness: other-rated facial attractiveness and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR). Women with high (unattractive) WHR and/or relatively low other-rated facial attractiveness preferred more "feminine" male faces when choosing faces for a long-term relationship than when choosing for a short-term relationship, possibly reflecting diverse tactics in female mate choice.
The psychological construct of general mental ability (GMA), introduced by C. Spearman (1904) nearly 100 years ago, has enjoyed a resurgence of interest and attention in recent decades. This article presents the research evidence that GMA predicts both occupational level attained and performance within one's chosen occupation and does so better than any other ability, trait, or disposition and better than job experience. The sizes of these relationships with GMA are also larger than most found in psychological research. Evidence is presented that weighted combinations of specific aptitudes tailored to individual jobs do not predict job performance better than GMA alone, disconfirming specific aptitude theory. A theory of job performance is described that explicates the central role of GMA in the world of work. These findings support Spearman's proposition that GMA is of critical importance in human affairs.
Sexual harassment in the workplace, date rape, and domestic violence dominate the headlines and have recently sparked scholarly debates about the nature of the sexes. Concurrently, the scientific community is conducting research in topics of sex and gender issues. Indeed, more research is being done on the topics of sexual conflict and coercion than at any other time in the history of the social sciences. Despite this attention, it is clear that these issues are being addressed from two essentially different perspectives: one is labeled “feminist”, while the other, viewed as antithetical to the feminist movement, is called “evolutionary psychology”, which emphasizes the history of reproductive strategies in understanding conflict between the sexes. This book brings together leading experts from both sides of the debate in order to discover how each could offer insights lacking in the other. The editors’ overall goal is to show how the feminist and evolutionary approaches are complementary despite their evident differences, then provide an integration and synthesis. In fact, several of the contributors to this unique volume consider themselves advocates of both approaches. As a stimulating presentation of the dynamics of sex, power, and conflict--and a pioneering rapprochement of the diverse tendencies within the scientific community--this book will attract a wide audience in both psychology and women’s studies fields.
The finding that women are attracted to men older than themselves whereas men are attracted to relatively younger women has been explained by social psychologists in terms of economic exchange rooted in traditional sex-role norms. An alternative evolutionary model suggests that males and females follow different reproductive strategies, and predicts a more complex relationship between gender and age preferences. In particular, males' preference for relatively Younger females should be minimal during early mating years, but should become more pronounced as the male gets older. Young females are expected to prefer somewhat older males during their early years and to change less as they age. We briefly review relevant theory and present results of six studies testing this prediction. Study 1 finds support for this gender-differentiated prediction in age preferences expressed in personal advertisements. Study 2 supports the prediction with marriage statistics from two U.S. cities. Study 3 examines the cross-generational robustness of the phenomenon, and finds the same pattern in marriage statistics from 1923. Study 4 replicates Study 1 using matrimonial advertisements from two European countries, and from India. Study 5 finds a consistent pattern in marriages recorded from 1913 through 1939 on a small island in the Philippines. Study 6 reveals the same pattern in singles advertisements placed by financially successful American women and men. We consider the limitations of previous normative and evolutionary explanations of age preferences and discuss the advantages of expanding previous models to include the life history perspective.
Females' preference for resource-acquisition characteristics in mates has been explained as an evolved psychological mechanism that conveyed reproductive advantage to human ancestors. To explore the hypothesis that females express this preference more strongly when their educational opportunities and reproductive freedom are limited, we reanalyzed mate-preference data collected from 37 cultures by Buss et al. (1990). The results demonstrate that females (but not males) strongly prefer resource-acquisition characteristics in mates when they live in cultures low in both female reproductive freedom and educational equality between the sexes. Discussion focuses on how evolutionary, interactionist, and social-role theories might explain these results.
Recent theoretical perspectives concerning the structure of variation in human mating have focused less on conceptualizations of alternate mating strategies and more on the evolution of a conditional strategy. Empirical evidence suggests that this conditional strategy may involve the simultaneous pursuit of long-term and short-term mating tactics. Despite these developments, empirical measurement has proceeded using the Sociosexual Orientation Inventory (SOI), which measures restricted and unrestricted mating orientations along a single bipolar continuum. To fully capture the pluralistic nature of human mating, we suggest that a multidimensional empirical measure is required. To test our hypothesis, we subjected an expanded version of the SOI, which included items measuring psychological orientation toward short-term mating and long-term mating, to principal components analysis. A three-factor structure representing short-term mating orientation, long-term mating orientation, and previous sexual behavior emerged. In subsequent analyses, we demonstrate that our newly developed long-term and short-term dimensions (a) are largely independent and (b) correlate differentially with other theoretically relevant variables.
The Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test (K-BIT) is a motor-free screening measure of intelligence that yields Verbal, Nonverbal, and Composite IQ estimates. To determine its concurrent validity, the K-BIT and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R) were administered as part of a neuropsychological examination to 200 clinical patients ages 16-74 years. Correlations between the Verbal, Nonverbal, and Composite scales of the 2 measures were .83, .77, and .88, respectively. WAIS-R and K-BIT scores were also similar across age and educational levels, although mean K-BIT scores tended to be approximately 5 points higher than their WAIS-R counterparts. Differences between the 2 measures could not be attributed to psychomotor speed, expressive language, or manual dexterity. The K-BIT appears to be a promising screening measure of verbal, nonverbal, and general intellectual ability for use when time constraints preclude use of a longer measure.
According to cultural stereotypes, men are more eager for sex than are women; women are more likely to set limits on such activity. In this paper, we review the work of theorists who have argued in favor of this proposition and review the interview and correlational data which support this contention. Finally, we report two experimental tests of ihis hypothesis. In these experiments, conducted in 1978 and 1982, male and female confederates of average attractiveness approached potential partners with one of three requests: "Would you go out tonight?" "Will you come over to my apartment?" or "Would you go to bed with me?" The great majority of men were willing to have a sexual liaison with the women who approached them. Women were not. Not one woman agreed to a sexual liaison. Many possible reasons for this marked gender difference were discussed. These studies were run in 1978 and 1982. It has since become important to track how the threat of AIDS is affecting men and women's willingness to date, come to an apartment, or to engage in casual sexual relations.
This . . . book is the first to present a unified theory of human mating behavior. [It] is based on the most massive study of human mating ever undertaken, encompassing more than 10,000 people of all ages from thirty-seven cultures worldwide.
If we all want love, why is there so much conflict in our most cherished relationships? To answer this question, we must look into our evolutionary past, according to David M. Buss.
The book discusses casual sex and long-term relationships, sexual conflict, the elusive quest for harmony between the sexes, and much more.
Buss's research leads to a radical shift from the standard view of men's and women's sexual psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
The origins of sex differences in human behavior can lie mainly in evolved dispositions that differ by sex or mainly in the differing placement of women and men in the social structure. The present article contrasts these 2 origin theories of sex differences and illustrates the explanatory power of each to account for the overall differences between the mate selection preferences of men and women. Although this research area often has been interpreted as providing evidence for evolved dispositions, a reanalysis of D. M. Buss's (see record
1989-32627-001) study of sex differences in the attributes valued in potential mates in 37 cultures yielded cross-cultural variation that supports the social structural account of sex differences in mate preferences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
ABSTRACT Considerable progress has been made in behavioral genetics toward providing theoretical accounts of individual differences One theoretical task, however, has been largely neglected—that of constructing evolutionary accounts of behaviorally relevant genetic variance We attempt to address this task with respect to the genetic variance underlying sociosexuality, that is, the differences in the implicit prerequisites (in terms of time, attachment, commitment, etc) to entering a sexual relationship Specifically, we argue that genetic variance on this trait for females could have been maintained through frequency-dependent selection In our evolutionary past, restricted females-those who require relatively more time, attachment, and commitment-could have benefited through paternal investment in their offspring Unrestricted females—those who require relatively less time, attachment, and commitment—could have benefited through the quality of their mate's genes passed on to their sons Moreover, the value of these alternate „strategies” could have been frequency-dependent One prediction that follows from this evolutionary history is tested and supported in three studies Those females genetically predisposed to be unrestricted are found to produce relatively more sons than females predisposed to be restricted Additional predictions are offered and alternative accounts are discussed
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.
Patterns in the data on human sexuality support the hypothesis that the bases of sexual emotions are products of natural selection. Most generally, the universal existence of laws, rules, and gossip about sex, the pervasive interest in other people's sex lives, the widespread seeking of privacy for sexual intercourse, and the secrecy that normally permeates sexual conduct imply a history of reproductive competition. More specifically, the typical differences between men and women in sexual feelings can be explained most parsimoniously as resulting from the extraordinarily different reproductive opportunities and constraints males and females normally encountered during the course of evolutionary history. Men are more likely than women to desire multiple mates; to desire a variety of sexual partners; to experience sexual jealousy of a spouse irrespective of specific circumstances; to be sexually aroused by the sight of a member of the other sex; to experience an autonomous desire for sexual intercourse; and to evaluate sexual desirability primarily on the bases of physical appearance and youth.
The evolutionary causes of human sexuality have been obscured by attempts to find harmony in natural creative processes and human social life and to view sex differences as complementary. The human female's capacity for orgasm and the loss of estrus, for example, have been persistently interpreted as marriage-maintaining adaptations. Available evidence is more consistent with the view that few sex differences in sexuality are complementary, that many aspects of sexuality undermine marriage, and that sexuality is less a unifying than a divisive force in human affairs.
Not all members of a sex behave in the same way. Frequency- and statusdependent selection have given rise to many alternative reproductive phenotypes within the sexes. The evolution and proximate control of these alternatives are only beginning to be understood. Although game theory has provided a theoretical framework, the concept of the mixed strategy has not been realized in nature, and alternative strategies are very rare. Recent findings suggest that almost all alternative reproductive phenotypes within the sexes are due to alternative tactics within a conditional strategy, and, as such, while the average fitnesses of the alternative phenotypes are unequal, the strategy is favoured in evolution. Proximate mechanisms that underlie alternative phenotypes may have many similarities with those operating between the sexes.
A number of sex differences in mate preferences have been reported across cultures. Women prefer partners who are older than them whereas men prefer partners who are younger than them. Women have stronger preferences for resource-acquisition characteristics whereas men have stronger preferences for physical attractiveness. Recently, studies have reported shifts in female preferences with increasing female empowerment and associated female attitudes. Other studies, however, report opposite effects of female wealth and income. In this study, we investigated the effects of female control of the resources necessary to raise offspring successfully on mate preferences. We developed measures of resource control at the level of the individual and investigated relationships between these and mate preferences using an internet survey. Resource control was associated with preferences for physical attractiveness over good financial prospects and greater maximum partner age tolerated. Resource control, however, was also associated with tolerance of younger partners. The results implicate the role of constraints on female access to and control of resources in sex-differentiated mate preferences and highlight differences between resource control and wealth.
Most studies demonstrating the contribution of economic constraints on women to sex differences in mate preferences have used samples from postindustrial societies with similar social structures. The authors investigate the effects of female status on female mate preferences in a subsection of the Standard Cross-Cultural Sample. Whyte's (1978) codes provide indicators of female status, and mate preferences are obtained through qualitative analysis of ethnographic data in the Human Relations Area Files. Two measures of female status are found to relate to the relative importance of physical appearance to access to resources in attraction to a partner: Domestic authority is associated with greater importance placed on appearance relative to resources, whereas ritualized female solidarity is associated with lower importance of appearance relative to resources. Results are discussed in the context of the contribution of social and economic constraints on women to sex differences.
Compendio de pruebas neuropsicológicas en que se ofrece también la información necesaria para seleccionar el test adecuado, cómo aplicarlo, cómo preparar al cliente, cómo interpretar los resultados y cómo ponerlos por escrito, así como duración, costo y validación de cada uno de ellos.
In more than 95% of mammalian species, males provide little direct investment in the well-being of their offspring. Humans are one notable exception to this pattern and, to date, the factors that contributed to the evolution and the proximate expression of human paternal care are unexplained (T. H. Clutton-Brock, 1989). The nature, extent, and influence of human paternal investment on the physical and social well-being of children are reviewed in light of the social and ecological factors that are associated with paternal investment in other species. On the basis of this review, discussion of the evolution and proximate expression of human paternal investment is provided.
Reported is the 20-year follow-up of 1,975 mathematically gifted adolescents (top 1%) whose assessments at age 12 to 14 revealed robust gender differences in mathematical reasoning ability. Both sexes became exceptional achievers and perceived themselves as such; they reported uniformly high levels of degree attainment and satisfaction with both their career direction and their overall success. The earlier sex differences in mathematical reasoning ability did predict differential educational and occupational outcomes. The observed differences also appeared to be a function of sex differences in preferences for (a) inorganic versus organic disciplines and (b) a career-focused versus more-balanced life. Because profile differences in abilities and preferences are longitudinally stable, males probably will remain more represented in some disciplines, whereas females are likely to remain more represented in others. These data have policy implications for higher education and the world of work.
During human evolutionary history, there were "trade-offs" between expending time and energy on child-rearing and mating, so both men and women evolved conditional mating strategies guided by cues signaling the circumstances. Many short-term matings might be successful for some men; others might try to find and keep a single mate, investing their effort in rearing her offspring. Recent evidence suggests that men with features signaling genetic benefits to offspring should be preferred by women as short-term mates, but there are trade-offs between a mate's genetic fitness and his willingness to help in child-rearing. It is these circumstances and the cues that signal them that underlie the variation in short- and long-term mating strategies between and within the sexes.
There is little evidence showing the relationship between the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) and g (general intelligence). This research established the relationship between SAT and g, as well as the appropriateness of the SAT as a measure of g, and examined the SAT as a premorbid measure of intelligence. In Study 1, we used the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979. Measures of g were extracted from the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery and correlated with SAT scores of 917 participants. The resulting correlation was.82 (.86 corrected for nonlinearity). Study 2 investigated the correlation between revised and recentered SAT scores and scores on the Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices among 104 undergraduates. The resulting correlation was.483 (.72 corrected for restricted range). These studies indicate that the SAT is mainly a test of g. We provide equations for converting SAT scores to estimated IQs; such conversion could be useful for estimating premorbid IQ or conducting individual difference research with college students.
Kaufman brief intelligence test manual
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