Are Sex Differences in Mating Preferences Really “Overrated”? The Effects of Sex and Relationship Orientation on Long-Term and Short-Term Mate Preferences

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.

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Men's and Women's Mating Preferences: Distinct Evolutionary Mechanisms?

Current Directions in Psychological Science ◽

10.1111/1467-8721.00175 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 11 (3) ◽

pp. 88-93 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

Lynn Carol Miller ◽

Anila Putcha-Bhagavatula ◽

William C. Pedersen

Keyword(s):

Sexual Functioning ◽

Large Female ◽

Detailed Knowledge ◽

Short Term ◽

Evolutionary Mechanisms ◽

Men And Women ◽

Mating Preferences ◽

Chemical Mechanisms ◽

Species Comparisons

Have men and women evolved sex-distinct mating preferences for short-term and long-term mating, as postulated by some evolutionary theorists? Direct tests of assumptions, consideration of confounds with gender, and examination of the same variables for both sexes suggest men and women are remarkably similar. Furthermore, cross-species comparisons indicate that humans do not evidence mating mechanisms indicative of short-term mating (e.g., large female sexual skins, large testicles). Understanding human variability in mating preferences is apt to involve more detailed knowledge of the links between these preferences and biological and chemical mechanisms associated with sexual motivation, sexual arousal, and sexual functioning.

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Assessment of Long-Term Mate Preferences in Iran

Evolutionary Psychology ◽

10.1177/1474704917702459 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 15 (2) ◽

pp. 147470491770245 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Mohammad Atari

Keyword(s):

Sex Differences ◽

Convergent Validity ◽

Factor Model ◽

Five Factor Model ◽

Mate Preferences ◽

Specific Content ◽

Men And Women ◽

Mating Psychology ◽

Male Specific

Previous research suggests that assessment of mate preferences has received relatively little psychometric attention from researchers, particularly in non-Western cultures. The current research was designed to (1) extend previous findings on long-term mate preferences by using a qualitative strategy, (2) develop a psychometrically sound scale for assessment of long-term mate preferences in men, and (3) develop a sex-neutral scale for assessment of long-term mate preferences. Six dimensions of mate preferences emerged for men: F = family/domesticity, A = attractiveness/sexuality, K = kindness/dependability, E = education/intelligence, R = religiosity/chastity, and S = status/resources. These male-specific dimensions of mate preferences showed satisfactory concurrent and convergent validity as well as high internal consistency coefficients. We mixed the female- and male-specific measures of mate preferences and arrived at 20 characteristics without culture- or sex-specific content. We further hypothesized that the 20-item scale of mate preferences would have a five-factor structure (i.e., kindness/dependability, attractiveness/sexuality, status/resources, education/intelligence, religiosity/chastity [KASER]) in men and women and that this model would replicate sex differences cited in the evolutionary psychological literature. Measurement invariance was evidenced across sexes and sex differences accorded with those in the literature. Therefore, the five-factor model of long-term mate preferences (i.e., KASER model) as measured by the Iranian Mate Preferences Scale-20 may be used to evaluate long-term mate preferences in men and women in Iran. Limitations are noted and future directions are discussed in the light of evolutionary perspective on human mating psychology.

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Mate preferences toward agency and communion

Letters on Evolutionary Behavioral Science ◽

10.5178/lebs.2015.32 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

pp. 1-4

Author(s):

Marcin Moroń

Keyword(s):

Mating Behavior ◽

Social Perception ◽

Mate Preferences ◽

Direct Test ◽

Short Term ◽

Potential Partner ◽

Agency And Communion ◽

Human Mating

Agency and communion constitute two fundamental dimensions of social perception. Universal dimensions of mate preferences represent both agentic and communal content, but a direct test of mate preferences toward agency and communion is lacking. The present study examined preferences toward agentic and communal traits in mate preferences among 206 heterosexual individuals (112 females), analysing the role of the target's sex and actor's sexual strategy. Results showed that women demonstrated higher expectations toward agentic and communal traits in a potential partner than men. Preference for agency in short-term relationships did not differ from preferences toward agency and communion in long-term relationships, but preferences toward communion of partner in short-term relationships was significantly lower. These results were discussed in light of the signaling role of agency and communion in human mating behavior.

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Chinese and UK participants' preferences for physical attractiveness and social status in potential mates

Royal Society Open Science ◽

10.1098/rsos.181243 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 6 (11) ◽

pp. 181243

Author(s):

Lingshan Zhang ◽

Hongyi Wang ◽

Anthony J. Lee ◽

Lisa M. DeBruine ◽

Benedict C. Jones

Keyword(s):

Sex Differences ◽

Social Status ◽

Cultural Differences ◽

Physical Attractiveness ◽

Chinese Women ◽

Budget Allocation ◽

Mate Preference ◽

Short Term ◽

Diverse Cultures

Men are hypothesized to show stronger preferences for physical attractiveness in potential mates than women are, particularly when assessing the attractiveness of potential mates for short-term relationships. By contrast, women are thought to show stronger preferences for social status in potential mates than men are, particularly when assessing the attractiveness of potential mates for long-term relationships. These mate-preference sex differences are often claimed to be ‘universal' (i.e. stable across cultures). Consequently, we used an established ‘budget-allocation' task to investigate Chinese and UK participants' preferences for physical attractiveness and social status in potential mates. Confirmatory analyses replicated these sex differences in both samples, consistent with the suggestion that they occur in diverse cultures. However, confirmatory analyses also showed that Chinese women had stronger preferences for social status than UK women did, suggesting cultural differences in the magnitude of mate-preference sex differences can also occur.

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Giving Guys Get the Girls: Men Appear More Desirable to the Opposite Sex When Displaying Costly Donations to the Homeless

Social Sciences ◽

10.3390/socsci9080141 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 (8) ◽

pp. 141

Author(s):

Wendy Iredale ◽

Keli Jenner ◽

Mark Van Vugt ◽

Tammy Dempster

Keyword(s):

Mate Choice ◽

Mate Preferences ◽

Positive Parenting ◽

Short Term ◽

Mate Quality ◽

Opposite Sex ◽

Short And Long Term

One of the evolutionary adaptive benefits of altruism may be that it acts as an honest (reliable) signal of men’s mate quality. In this study, 285 female participants were shown one of three video scenarios in which a male target took £30 out of a cash machine (ATM) and gave either a lot (£30), a little (£1), or nothing to a homeless man. The participants rated the male target on his attractiveness, their short- and long-term mate preferences towards him, and the degree to which they thought he was likely to possess various parenting qualities. The results showed that, regardless of whether the man was described as rich or poor, participants rated him as being more attractive when he donated money, but only when the donation was costly (£30). In addition, altruism was shown to be important in long-term, but not short-term mate choice, and displays of altruism were associated with positive parenting qualities. It is argued that displays of altruism act as a reliable (honest) mate signal for a potential long-term parental partner.

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Sex Differences in Short-Term Mating Preferences

Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science ◽

10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_3721-1 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 1-7

Author(s):

David P. Schmitt ◽

David M. Buss

Keyword(s):

Sex Differences ◽

Short Term ◽

Mating Preferences

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Sexual Orientation and Shifts in Preferences for a Partner's Body Attributes in Short-Term versus Long-Term Mating Contexts

Psychological Reports ◽

10.2466/07.pr0.108.3.699-710 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 108 (3) ◽

pp. 699-710 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Margery Lucas ◽

Elissa Koff ◽

Samantha Grossmith ◽

Robyn Migliorini

Keyword(s):

Sexual Orientation ◽

Body Fat ◽

Cost Benefit ◽

Mate Preferences ◽

Breast Size ◽

Male Body ◽

Short Term ◽

Heterosexual Women ◽

Figure Drawings

This study assessed the effects of short- and long-term mating contexts on preferences for body characteristics of potential relationship partners in lesbians and heterosexual women. Lesbians ( n = 41) rated figure drawings and computer-generated images of women that varied in body fat, waist-to-hip ratio, and breast size; heterosexual women ( n = 95) rated computer-generated images of men that varied in muscularity and body fat. Both lesbians and heterosexual women showed a shift in preferences toward more physically attractive partners for short-term relationships. All body aspects were affected, except that heterosexual women did not show a preference shift for male body fat. The results were interpreted in terms of a mating trade-off strategy in which mate preferences are the consequence of cost/benefit analyses and suggest that preferences for physical attributes of sexual partners may be shared by members of the same sex regardless of sexual orientation.

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