Evolutionary Psychology, Workshop 4
Mate Preferences.
The Reality!
Learning Outcomes.
 At the end of this session you should be able to:
 Discuss the findings from journal articles concerning
general human mate preferences.
 Carry out a small-scale questionnaire on mate preferences.
 Discuss the findings in relation to evolutionary predictions.
 Critically evaluate the methodology used.
 Key Skills: 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.7, 2.1, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3,
3.4, 4.2, 6.1.
Study of Mate Preferences.
 Mating is a universal human behaviour as all known
societies conduct formal engagement and marriage
ceremonies and more than 90% of all people will form a
long-term relationship at some point in their life (Buss,
1994).
 Buss (1985) pointed out that assortative mating (the
tendency for individuals to form pairs based upon similar
characteristics such as age, ethnicity, social background
etc) is very common in human societies.
 Husbands and wives tend to be similar in terms of age,
race, religion, socioeconomic status, education level, and
geographic location.
 Couples also tend to be similar in terms of attractiveness
and in terms of personality characteristics.
Sex Differences in Mate Preferences.
 Some characteristics are highly valued by both sexes,
however due to the forces of sexual selection acting slightly
differently on males and females they display slightly
different preferences.
 E.g while both sexes seek 'kindness', 'understanding', and
'intelligence' in a potential partner males place higher
emphasis on 'physical attractiveness', while females place
more emphasis on 'higher earning capacity' than males.
Buss & Barnes (1986).
 They presented 92 married couples with 76 mate
characteristics to which they had to rank in order of
desirability.
 Both sexes rated the following characteristics highly:
 'good companion', 'considerate', 'honest', 'affectionate',
'dependable'.
 Sex differences emerged in that females ranked the
following characteristics higher than males:
 'fond of children', good earning capacity', 'ambitious'
 Males ranked the following characteristics higher then
females:
 'physically attractive', 'good looking', 'good cook', and
'frugal'.
Cross-Cultural Surveys.
 In a survey of 37 cultures involving more than 10,000
participants, Buss (1989) tested predictions concerning sex
differences in mate preferences.
 Participants were asked to rate the importance of each of
18 characteristics in a potential mate using a 4-point scale.
 In 36 out of 37 cultures females preferred 'good financial
prospects' and ‘industriousness’.
 In every culture males preferred females who were
younger than them while females preferred males who
were slightly older.
 This was mirrored in marriage records in 27 countries, as
women consistently married men several years older than
themselves.
 In all 37 cultures males highly valued physical
attractiveness over females.
Problems With the Buss (1989) Study.
 The samples may not have been representative with rural
and less-educated individuals being under represented.
 Male and female preferences overlapped considerably.
 Neither 'earning potential' nor 'physical attractiveness'
were regarded as being the most important, both sexes
valued 'kind' and 'intelligent' as being more important.
 Self-report data using single item statements may lack
ecological validity.
Sprecher et al., (1994).
 They measured mate preferences in 13,000 single adults.
 Respondents considered 12 possible assets or liabilities in a
potential marriage partner using a 7-point scale and
indicated their willingness to marry someone possessing
such traits.
 As in previous studies they found that women were more
willing to marry someone who was slightly older than
themselves, who was employed, who earned more, and
who was better educated, good looks were not high on
their list.
 Males showed the opposite pattern (i.e. someone younger,
attractive, not necessarily employed or intelligent).
Short-Term Mating Preferences.
 Buss & Schmitt (1993) pointed out that while long-term
relationships are common, they tend not to last long with
divorce rates of around 50% being common in many
societies.
 Serial marriages are common and adultery while difficult to
quantify is assumed to be very common.
 Both sexes thus engage in short-term matings and their
preferences for characteristics in a short-term partner may
differ to those preferred in a long-term partner.
Buss & Schmitt (1993).
 Assembled characteristics undesirable in a long-term
partner e.g. 'boring', 'bad breath', 'no sense of humour' etc.
 Women still rated these characteristics as being highly
undesirable in a short-term partner, but males did not.
 Characteristics which males normally find very unattractive
in a long-term partner ('promiscuous', 'sleeps around')
were positively valued in a short-term partner.
 Males disliked characteristics that signalled a lack of sexual
interest ('lack of sex drive') or desire for commitment.
 Both sexes placed a high premium on ‘attractiveness’ in a
short-term partner.
 Females placed a high value on characteristics signalling
resource delivery e.g. 'spends a lot of money', 'is
extravagant', 'gives gifts' and found 'stinginess' very offputting.
Homosexual Mate Preferences.
 Most mate preference surveys have focused on
heterosexual individuals.
 Bailey et al., (1994) tested mate preferences in male and
female homosexual and heterosexual participants.
 All the scales produced sex differences in line with previous
studies, and homosexual participants generally provided
similar ratings to their same-sex counterparts.
 Some differences between homosexual and heterosexual
participants were found:
 Female homosexuals placed greater emphasis on 'visual
sexual stimuli' than did heterosexual females but less of an
emphasis on 'partner's status'.
 Homosexual men placed less value on ‘sexual jealousy’
than heterosexual men and slightly less value on ‘partner
youth’.
Mate Value and Relationship Context.
 Regan (1998) pointed out that mate preference surveys
typically ask people what they want in a partner rather
than what they will actually settle for.
 Participants estimated their own mate value, and identified
their ideal mate standards.
 In a short-term partner both sexes emphasised
‘attractiveness’ and were unwilling to compromise on this.
 Females preferred an older partner and someone high on
interpersonal responsiveness, males were more willing to
compromise.
 For a long-term partner both sexes emphasised and were
unwilling to compromise on interpersonal responsiveness.
 Female perceived mate value was related to their selection
criteria, the higher their self-perceived mate value, the
higher their ideal preferences in both mating contexts.
Problems With Self-Report.
 Wiederman & Dubois (1998) pointed out that the selfreport method might be unreliable as it might be tapping
into the individuals relationship schema or beliefs about
relationship development.
 They used 'policy capturing‘ in which respondents make
judgements in response to different scenarios.
 Multiple-regression is then used to 'predict' the
respondents' judgements so that the relative importance of
each cue can be quantified.
 They reported fewer sex differences when individuals were
asked to indicate their short- and long-term mate
preferences.
 Self-reports may be picking up biases from cultural
stereotypes or from social desirability concerns and may
give the impression of sex differences where none may
actually exist.
Mate Preference Survey.
 Look at the statements listed in the table provided in your
workbook and mark your predictions concerning:
 Which sex would place a higher value (+).
 Which sex would place a lower value (-).
 Or whether the sexes would give very similar values (=).
 Are there any items that you think should be included in
such questionnaires ?
 You gave these questionnaires to 2 males and 2 females
and made a note of their responses in the summary sheet
included.
 We will collect the data from everyone and discuss the
results in terms of evolutionary predictions concerning
mate preferences.
Results
 We had an N of ( M =97 ; and F =97 )
 The data for each item for both sexes in short- and longterm partners are as follows:
 The scale is out of 7 whereby 1 = strongly do not agree; 7 =
strongly agree.
Must Be Younger
7
6
5
4
male
female
3
2
1
0
STP
LTP
Must Be Physically Attractive
7
6
5
4
male
female
3
2
1
0
STP
LTP
Must Earn Good Money
7
6
5
4
male
female
3
2
1
0
STP
LTP
Must Be Promiscuous
7
6
5
4
male
female
3
2
1
0
STP
LTP
Must Be Intelligent
7
6
5
4
male
female
3
2
1
0
STP
LTP
Must Be Good With Children
7
6
5
4
male
female
3
2
1
0
STP
LTP
Must Be Taller
7
6
5
4
male
female
3
2
1
0
STP
LTP
Must Be Generous
7
6
5
4
male
female
3
2
1
0
STP
LTP
Must Have An Attractive Body
7
6
5
4
male
female
3
2
1
0
STP
LTP
Must Make Me Laugh
7
6
5
4
male
female
3
2
1
0
STP
LTP
References.
 Bailey, J.M., Gaulin, S., Agyei, Y., & Gladue, B.A. (1994). Effects of
gender and sexual orientation on evolutionary relevant aspects of
human mating psychology. Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology, 66: 1081-1093.
 Buss, D.M. (1985). Human mate selection. American Scientist, 73:
47-51.
 Buss, D.M. (1989). Sex differences in human mate preferences:
evolutionary hypotheses tested in 37 cultures. Behavioural and
Brain Sciences, 12: 1-49.
 Buss, D.M. (1994). The Evolution of Desire. Basic Books.
 Buss, D.M., & Barnes, M. (1986). Preferences in human mate
selection. Journal of personality and Social Psychology, 50: 559570.
 Buss, D.M., & Schmitt, D.P. (1993). Sexual strategies theory: an
evolutionary perspective on human mating. Psychological Review,
100: 204-232.
References continued.
 Regan, P.C. (1998). What if you can't get what you want?
Willingness to compromise ideal mate selection standards as a
function of sex, mate value, and relationship context. Personality
and Social Psychology Bulletin, 24: 1294-1303.
 Sprecher, S., Sullivan, Q., & Hatfield, E. (1994). Mate selection
preferences: Gender differences examined in a national sample.
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 66: 1074-1080.
 Wiederman, M.W., & Dubois, S.L. (1998). Evolution and sex
differences in preferences for short-term mates: results from a
policy capturing study. Evolution and Human Behaviour, 19: 153170.