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Makeup usage in women serves as a behavioral tactic of both intersexual attraction and intrasexual competition. However, this tactic may incur costs to men due to the artificially enhanced mate value achieved by makeup usage. Therefore, to avoid these potential costs, men may be sensitive to the makeup cues and lower their preference for women wearing makeup during mate choice, especially for men who are pursuing a long-term relationship. In the present research, we systematically tested this hypothesis by three studies. Specifically, the three studies consistently showed that adult males who were naïve in applying makeup still displayed the ability to perceive the makeup status of female faces after exposure to female faces for sufficient time (at self-paced speed) or for moderately short time (6500 ms), even when the physical attractiveness and the possibilities that the target faces had undergone cosmetic surgery were controlled. Studies further revealed that the more long-term-mating oriented male participants were able to perceive makeup cues even after exposure to female faces for only 50 ms, and they tended to lower their perceived mate value for female targets wearing makeup in long-term mating scenarios even after exposure to female faces for only 6500 ms. Taken together, these results suggest that men are sensitive to the authenticity of the physical characteristics of potential mates and they can alter their tendency of mate choices accordingly, especially for men who are pursuing a long-term relationship., Author(s): Qi Wu [sup.1] [sup.2] , Zheying Liu [sup.1] [sup.2] , Xuanchen Liu [sup.1] [sup.2] , Dongfang Chen [sup.1] [sup.2] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.411427.5, 0000 0001 0089 3695, Department of [...]

Women's physical attractiveness is associated with health and fertility, but various fashion accessories could act, however, as supernormal stimuli and may enhance physical attractiveness to the opposite sex. Wearing high heels could contribute to women's physical attractiveness in various ways. Across three independent studies, I investigated whether high heels influence the perception of leg length and consequently their physical attractiveness in both sexes and their role in women's intrasexual competition. Heeled legs were more attractive than non-heeled legs and heeled legs were also viewed as longer than non-heeled legs. Furthermore, high heels promote women's mates guarding of their own partners as well as their perception of the sexual receptivity of the target wearing high heels. In conclusion, visually prolonged leg length by wearing high heels make legs more sexually attractive and high heels promote competition between women for access to the opposite sex., Author(s): Pavol Prokop [sup.1] [sup.2] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.7634.6, 0000000109409708, Department of Environmental Ecology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University, , Mlynská dolina B2 418, 842 15, Bratislava, Slovakia (2) [...]

The idea that individuals tend to choose a romantic partner following similarities on personality traits has always attracted much attention in the psychological literature, although results were controversial. We conducted a new data analysis approach to personality traits of 235 newlywed couples. Univariate analysis revealed that a neurotic husband is usually paired with a lesser extrovert and open wife. To figure out if this mating selection pattern may be translated in a mathematical predictive model a twofold approach was employed by using Partial Least Squares regression and machine learning algorithm. The experimental results demonstrate that marital assortment for personality is a multi-trait complementarity process but these data are unable to predict human mating., Author(s): Antonio Cerasa [sup.1] [sup.2] , Emiliano Cristiani [sup.3] , Barbara De Luca [sup.4] , Maria Luisa De Narda [sup.5] , Maria Concetta Cundò [sup.5] , Sara Concetta Bottani [sup.4] [...]

This article examines the prevalence, predictors and outcomes of unmarried mothers' repartnering patterns following a nonmarital birth. Results indicate that, within five years after a birth, approximately two-thirds of unmarried mothers end their relationship with the focal child's biological father, and more than half of these mothers enter new partnerships. Among those who repartnered, 60 percent of mothers formed unions with men who had higher economic capabilities than their former partners, 20 percent formed unions with men of similar capabilities, and 20 percent formed unions with men who had lower capabilities. This pattern holds for both nonresidential and coresidential unions. Our findings are consistent with marriage market, learning and evolutionary biology theories about union formation, and they provide support for qualitative evidence that unmarried mothers have high standards for new partners. While many mothers find new partners who seem to offer a higher level of economic security, many other mothers remain unpartnered, likely due (at least in part) to the limited pool of potential partners with relatively high levels of economic promise., Introduction The dramatic increase in nonmarital childbearing over the past four decades represents an important change in family demography. Rather than signaling a decline in the importance of marriage, however, [...]

Using data from 6070 U.S. heterosexual internet dating profiles, this study examines how racial and gender exclusions are revealed in the preferences of black, Latino, Asian and white online daters. Consistent with social exchange and group positions theories, the study finds that whites are least open to out-dating and that, unlike blacks, Asians and Latinos have patterns of racial exclusion similar to those of whites. Like blacks, higher earning groups including Asian Indians, Middle Easterners and Asian men are highly excluded, suggesting that economic incorporation may not mirror acceptance in intimate settings. Finally, racial exclusion in dating is gendered; Asian males and black females are more highly excluded than their opposite-sex counterparts, suggesting that existing theories of race relations need to be expanded to account for gendered racial acceptance., Scholars argue that recent U.S. demographic changes are replacing our historically binary race relations system with a more complicated system of racial stratification, in which Latinos, Asian Americans, Middle Easterners [...]

Two studies (Ns = 80 and 108) tested hypotheses derived from Kirkpatrick and Ellis's (2001) extension and application of sociometer theory to mating aspirations. Experiences of social rejection-acceptance by attractive opposite-sex confederates were experimentally manipulated, and the impact of these manipulations on self-esteem, mating aspirations, and friendship aspirations was assessed. Results indicated that social rejection-acceptance by members of the opposite sex altered mating aspirations; that the causal link between social rejection--acceptance and mating aspirations was mediated by changes in state self-esteem; and that the impact of social rejection--acceptance by members of opposite sex was specific to mating aspirations and did not generalize to levels of aspiration in approaching potential same--sex friendships. This research supports a conceptualization of a domain-specific mating sociometer, which functions to calibrate mating aspirations in response to experiences of romantic rejection and acceptance. Keywords: sociometer theory, evolutionary psychology, self-esteem, social rejection, mate choice Supplemental materials: http://dx.doi.org/l0.1037/a0018188.supp DOI: 10.1037/a0018188

Life history theory predicts that the optimal reproductive strategy for individuals in risky and uncertain environments (subjectively experienced as early psychosocial stress) is to maximize current reproduction to minimize the chances of lineage extinction. Having many short-term relationships and many lifetime sex partners are ways to maximize current reproduction, but they come at a cost (e. g., decreased resources for future reproduction, decreased desirability as a future mate, etc.). This study, therefore, examined whether sexually active individuals with high levels of early psychosocial stress report more terminated short-term relationships, a shorter relationship length with their current partner, and more lifetime sex partners than those with less early psychosocial stress. Early psychosocial stress in men was associated with more terminated short-term relationships and a greater number of lifetime sex partners, but not with current relationship length; in women, high early psychosocial stress was associated with shorter current relationship length but not with the number of terminated short-term relationships or number of lifetime sex partners. Results are discussed from the perspective of life history theory and gender differences in preferences for short- and long-term relationships., Short-term mating refers to a sexual relationship that takes place on a single occasion (e.g., a 1-night stand); over several days; or, at most, over a few weeks (Wiederman & [...]

Are people who are funny more attractive? Or does being attractive lead people to be seen as funnier? The answer may depend on the underlying evolutionary function of humor. While humor has been proposed to signal 'good genes,' the authors propose that humor also functions to indicate interest in social relationships--in initiating new relationships and in monitoring existing ones. Consistent with this interest indicator model, across three studies both sexes were more likely to initiate humor and to respond more positively and consider the other person to be funny when initially attracted to that person. The findings support that humor dynamics--and not just humor displays--influence romantic chemistry for both men and women, suggesting that humor can ultimately function as a strategy to initiate and monitor social relationships. Keywords: humor; evolution; evolutionary psychology; sexual selection; relationships; speed dating

In this article the authors illustrate how revealed preferences (i.e., preferences inferred through an individual's differential attraction to multiple targets) can be used to investigate the nature of mate preferences. The authors describe how revealed preferences can be estimated and how the reliability of these estimates can be established. Revealed preference estimates were used to explore the level of consensus in judgments of who is and is not attractive and whether revealed preferences are systematically related to self-reported mate preferences and personality traits. Revealed preference estimates were created for over 4,000 participants by examining their attraction to 98 photographs. Participants of both genders showed substantial consensus in judgments of whom they found attractive and unattractive, although men showed higher consensus than women. Revealed preference estimates also showed relationships with corresponding self-rated preferences and with other dispositional characteristics such as personality traits and age. Although the findings demonstrate the existence of meaningful individual differences in preferences, they also indicate an important role for consensual preferences in mate selection processes. Keywords: attraction, revealed preferences, mate preferences, mate selection, assortative mating

Given the high costs of aggression, why have people evolved to act aggressively'? Comparative biologists have frequently observed links between aggression, status, and mating in nonhuman animals. In this series of experiments, the authors examined the effects of status, competition, and mating motives on men's and women's aggression. For men, status motives increased direct aggression (face-to-face confrontation). Men's aggression was also boosted by mating motives, but only when observers were other men. For women, both status and mating motives increased indirect aggression (e.g.. socially excluding the perpetrator). Although neither status nor mating motives increased women's direct aggression, women did become more directly aggressive when motivated to compete for scarce resources. These context- and sex-specific effects on human aggression contribute to a broader understanding of the functional nature of aggressive behavior. Keywords: sexual selection, aggression, status competition, sex differences, mating strategies

Importance of different criteria and age preference in spouse selection for single and married young Iranian adults was examined. The sample included 104 married (49 male, 55 female) and 112 single (51 male, 61 female) students. A 26-item scale developed for this study included 4 items related to demographic factors, 3 items on preferences for the ideal age of marriage, and 19 Likert-type items asking about criteria important for spouse selection. Analysis indicated that, in Iran, commitment, chastity, refinement, and health are four important criteria for spouse selection among male and female and single and married persons. Also, experience of marriage for married males may increase maturity, social prestige, family background, having a job, and age as criteria for choosing a spouse. On the other hand, marriage experience for females may decrease the importance of social skills, housekeeping, and autonomy for selecting a spouse.

Researchers have little explored individuals' perceptions of same-sex attractiveness in terms of the influence of relationship status. By using intrasexual competition as a conceptual framework, the authors predicted that romantically involved individuals would protect their relationship by derogating competitors. Although previous researchers have strongly predicted this result, in the present study the relationship status had a negligible impact on competition, for which relationship commitment, sociosexual orientation, and self-monitoring did not account. Also, among uninvolved individuals, the authors expected those individuals seeking mates would use competitor derogation more than would those individuals not seeking mates, but there was no significant difference. Finally, because the vehicle for this investigation was attractiveness, an area in which women compete, the authors proposed that women would derogate more fiercely than would men. However, the results did not support this hypothesis either. The authors discuss future directions for research. Keywords: competitor derogation, intrasexual competition, mate selection, physical attractiveness, THE SIGNIFICANCE OF PHYSICAL ATTRACTIVENESS for individuals' formation of romantic relationships has been well investigated (e.g., Feingold, 1990; Fletcher, Simpson, Thomas, & Giles, 1999; Urbaniak & Kilmann, 2003). In terms [...]

The aim was to study important criteria for spouse selection by a sample of Iranian youth, 110 Iranian university students (60 women and 50 men; M age = 21.7 yr., SD) = 1.5). Participants were single. Face-to-face interviews indicated that the order of the first 10 important criteria for the women were chastity, virtuous, religion, education, family characteristics, financial resources, job, commitment, social skills, and social prestige; for the men these were physical appearance, chastity, education, family characteristics, virtuous, religion, personality traits, social skills, house-keeping, and commitment and financial resources.

Advertisements from 'Lonely Hearts' columns in the major daily Portuguese newspaper (Jornal de Noticias) were used to test hypotheses about the mate preferences of men and women. A total of 484 advertisements were coded for demographic descriptors and offers of and appeals for attractiveness, financial security, sincerity, expressiveness, and instrumentality, e.g., intelligence and ambition. Some results supported social exchange and evolutionary predictions: men sought younger women and offered security; women sought older men with status and resources. However, other results challenged such predictions: attractiveness and expressiveness did not differ by sex.

Data from 33 lesbian and 54 gay male cohabiting couples were used to examine the relation between parental identification and mate selection. Theories of mate selection and parental identification are reviewed. Effects of gender and sexual orientation as they relate to parental identification and mate selection in gay male and lesbian couples also are reviewed. The results demonstrate significant associations between the similarity of perceived parental personality and relationship styling traits with those of the partner. Socio-economic status, age, and culture also were significantly associated between parents and partners. Taken together, the results demonstrate little support for any specific theory and allude to the need for further research in this area. Limitations and implications are discussed. KEYWORDS. Gay men and lesbians, personal relationships, mate selection, parental identification, theory, personality, cohabiting

This study compared the ranking of 18 personal characteristics or qualities which college students might use in selecting a future mate and builds on six other assessment periods from 1939-1996 which dealt with this issue. Among the most consistent findings for all seven assessment periods is the high value both sexes place on dependable character, emotional stability/maturity, pleasing disposition, and mutual attraction/love. Men across all assessment periods placed a higher value than women on good health, good cook/housekeeper, and good looks, while women placed a higher value on ambitious/industrious, similar educational background, and good financial prospect. These trends could go along with ethological theory. For both sexes chastity and similar religious background gained value; however, this may be an artifact of the current sample of 100 students.

The authors conducted four studies (total N = 292) about character and mate desirability. In Study 1, undergraduates judged stimuli for attractiveness--physically and as a casual or long-term date. The target was described as faithful, having cheated but stayed with mates, or having cheated and left. Contrary to the hypothesis, men and women were equally affected by both kinds of cheaters. Study 2 replicated Study 1 with nonstudent adults. In Study 3, undergraduates rated a stimulus on the same attractiveness variables. This target had $14 million from winning a lottery or selling a dot-com company. Women, but not men, found the dot-com creator to be more physically attractive than the lottery winner. In Study 4, undergraduates rated someone who sold a cookie-making company or profited from a lucky real estate transaction. Both men and women preferred the cookie-company seller on all three measures of attractiveness. Keywords: mate selection; character; evolution; gender differences

Prior research and theory, suggest that people use three main sets of criteria in mate selection: warmth/trustworthiness, attractiveness/ vitality, and status/resources. In two studies, men and women made mating choices between pairs of hypothetical potential partners and were forced to make trade-offs among these three criteria (e.g., warm and homely vs. cold and attractive). As predicted, women (relative to men) placed greater importance on warmth/trustworthiness and status/resources in a potential mate but less importance on attractiveness/vitality. In addition, as expected (a) ratings of ideal standards partly mediated the link between sex and mate choices, (b) ideal standards declined in importance from long-term to short-term relationships, with the exception of attractiveness/vitality, and unexpectedly, (c) sex differences were higher for long-term (compared to short-term) mate choice. Explanations and implications are discussed. Keywords: sex; mate selection; trade-offs; traits

Students at a southwestern university were surveyed to test the interrelations of three constructs: sexual-moral attitudes, love styles, and attraction criteria. Following the procedures of the National Health and Social Life Survey, from which the sexual-moral attitude items were obtained, we conducted a cluster analysis to create attitudinal groupings. We obtained four clusters representing various nuances of liberalism and conservatism. When compared on love styles, the clusters differed primarily on ludus and pragma. Not only did some of the liberal clusters differ from some of the conservative ones on love styles, but there were also some differences within liberalism and within conservatism. Cluster differences also emerged on the attraction criteria., The National Health and Social Life Survey (NHSLS; Laumann, Gagnon, Michael, & Michaels, 1994; Michael, Gagnon, Laumann, & Kolata, 1994) was a landmark research study, known both for its pioneering [...]

As part of the International Sexuality Description Project, 16,954 participants from 53 nations were administered an anonymous survey about experiences with romantic attraction. Mate poaching--romantically attracting someone who is already in a relationship--was most common in Southern Europe, South America, Western Europe, and Eastern Europe and was relatively infrequent in Africa, South/Southeast Asia, and East Asia. Evolutionary and social-role hypotheses received empirical support. Men were more likely than women to report having made and succumbed to short-term poaching across all regions, but differences between men and women were often smaller in more gender-egalitarian regions. People who try to steal another's mate possess similar personality traits across all regions, as do those who frequently receive and succumb to the poaching attempts by others. The authors conclude that human mate-poaching experiences are universally linked to sex, culture, and the robust influence of personal dispositions.

Evolutionary psychologists have recently studied changes in women's sexuality and how the menstrual cycle affects women's perceptions of male attractiveness. Evidence suggests these changes act to obtain genetic benefits by mating with other men than primary partners.

Using evolutionary and sociological models, we predicted how much sexual experience was desired by men and women for a casual dating relationship versus a marital relationship. We used a combined mate-selection questionnaire and experimental paradigm to examine more systematically men's and women's (N = 436) desires for different levels of sexual experience in a potential partner. When rating either a casual dating or a marital partner, participants gave higher desirability ratings to chastity than to either moderate or extensive sexual experience; furthermore, moderate sexual experience was perceived as more desirable than extensive sexual experience. Contrary to our predictions, no gender differences in desirability ratings were found for the various levels of sexual experience. We also examined how sociosexual orientation (i.e., degree of sexual permissiveness; see Simpson & Gangestad, 1991a) might be related to desirability ratings for sexual (in)experience in a partner within each gender. Unrestricted (i.e., permissive) women gave higher desirability ratings than did restricted women to moderate and considerable levels of sexual experience, whereas restricted women gave higher desirability ratings to chastity than did unrestricted women. For men, sociosexual orientation was unrelated to preferences for sexual experience in a partner., Researchers in the areas of mate selection and interpersonal attraction have conducted numerous empirical investigations in an attempt to delineate the attributes, traits, and characteristics that men and women desire [...]

In their quest to understand romantic relationships, researchers have extensively examined mate preferences. Self-report methods have been most commonly employed. In this study, the authors used a methodology not employed [...]

In this article, 7 evolutionary hypotheses about the context-specific nature of mate attraction effectiveness were empirically tested and supported. In the context of short-term mating, for example, men have faced the adaptive problem of finding sexually accessible women. As a result, men express a preference for sexually availability in short-term mates. In Studies 1 and 2, separate groups of undergraduate participants judged sexual availability tactics as most effective when used by women seeking short-term mates, confirming the hypothesized link between the judged effectiveness of mate attraction tactics used by one sex and the expressed mate preferences of the other. Showing resource potential was judged most effective for men seeking a long-term mate, whereas giving resources immediately was judged most effective for men seeking short-term mates, confirming the hypothesized importance of temporal context in mate attraction effectiveness. Discussion focuses on the context-specificity of human mating psychology and on linking evolutionary and traditional approaches to romantic attraction.

Age preferences expressed by homosexuals and heterosexuals in 783 singles ads were compared. In line with earlier cross-cultural findings, heterosexual women at all ages tend to prefer men from their own age to several years older. Heterosexual men change with age; young men show an interest in both older and younger women, but older men express progressively stronger interest in women younger than themselves. Homosexual men's preferences were very similar to those of heterosexual men and homosexual women showed a pattern somewhat between that of heterosexual women and men. Results combine with previous literature to suggest that homosexual choice is not a simple and general reversal of heterosexual roles, and fit with an emerging view that sexual behavior is controlled by a number of independently evolved psychological mechanisms.

Two studies were conducted to examine the role of male body shape (as defined by waist-to-hip ratio [WHR]) in female mate choice. In Study 1, college-age women judged normal-weight male figures with WHR in the typical male range as most attractive, healthy, and possessing many positive personal qualities. In Study 2, 18-69-year-old women rated normal-weight male figures with differing WHRs and purported income for casual (having coffee) to most-committed (marriage) relationships. All women, regardless of their age, education level, or family income, rated figures with WHRs in the typical male range and higher financial status more favorably. These findings are explained within an evolutionary mate selection context.

Pairs of middle-aged twins and their spouses provided data on 74 mainly psychological variables. Neither spousal similarity nor idiosyncratic criteria could account for specific mate selection in these 738 couples. Of the twins (and their spouses), 547 independently rated their initial attraction to their twin's mate (or to their spouse's twin): Findings suggest that characteristics both of the chooser and the chosen constrain mate selection only weakly. This article proposes that it is romantic infatuation that commonly determines the final choice from a broad field of potential eligibles and that this phenomenon is inherently random, in the same sense as is imprinting in precocial birds.

In three studies, we explored how individual differences in sociosexual orientation systematically relate to the types of attributes people prefer in romantic partners. In Investigation 1, individuals rated the importance of 15 partner attributes. Two factors emerged: personal/parenting qualities and attractiveness/social visibility. Individuals who possessed a restricted sociosexual orientation rated attributes that loaded highly on the former factor as being more important than those that loaded highly on the second one, whereas the reverse was true for unrestricted individuals. In Investigation 2, individuals evaluated two prospective romantic partners, one who was described as highly attractive and socially visible but less desirable in terms of personal/parenting qualities and one who had the opposite set of attributes. Unrestricted individuals tended to select the former partner, whereas restricted individuals chose the latter one. Investigation 3 examined the attributes actually possessed by their romantic partners. Unrestricted individuals were dating partners who were more socially visible and attractive, whereas restricted individuals were dating partners who were more responsible, faithful/loyal, and affectionate. Results are discussed in terms of an evolutionary model that links sociosexuality to mate selection.

Abstract An important hypothesis about why people generally interact with people who are socially or culturally similar to themselves is that the opportunities they have to meet similar others are [...]

Do birds of a feather flock together or do opposites attract? Do we marry someone who reinforces our strengths and who shares our weakenesses or do we marry someone who strengths, weaknesses, and needs are complementary to our own? Investigations into this question have established two facts. The first fact is that most people have a strong conviction that opposites do attract, that we want and choose someone complementary. The second fact, however, is that most data show that we in fact choose someone similar. A possible resolution is offered by the hypothesis that on some dimensions at least we want someone rather similar to ourselves but still just different enough to create a comfortable contrast in the correct direction. One might call this idea the contrast hypothesis or contrast model of mate indeed selection. Preferences in regard to height fit this hypothesis to some degree at least and indeed a contemplation of height preferences inspired the notion in the first place. The present article uses simulated height-preference data to present the model and to illustrate statistical techniques to test for the predicted outcomes.

College student respondents (n = 128) were compared on their consideration of finding a mate or significant other as a strategy for a hypothetical teacher ('Terry') displaying symptoms of dysthymic disorder (DSM-IV criteria). The sex of 'Terry' was manipulated by descriptive pronoun (he or she) only. Analysis indicated differences based on sex of Terry and sex of respondent. Respondents favored finding a mate for the hypothetical male more than the female. Men, more than women, supported finding a mate or significant other for the teacher.

Valentine's Day is on us once again and so our thoughts inevitably turn to love. For many people, not having a romantic partner is accentuated at this time, hence the [...]

The majority of mate selection research focuses on what people want, rather than what they will settle for, in a partner. The present study explored the extent to which sex, self-perceived mate value, and relationship context moderate ideal partner preferences and the willingness to compromise ideal standards. When considering a casual sex partner, men and women emphasized and were unwilling to compromise on physical attractiveness; when considering a romantic partner, both emphasized and refused to compromise on interpersonal responsiveness. Sex differences primarily occurred in the context of short-term mating, with women ideally seeking an older, more interpersonally responsive sex partner and demonstrating less willingness than men to compromise their standards on a number of dimensions. Men's mate value largely was disassociated with their selection criteria; women's mate value correlated positively with their ideal preferences across many characteristics and in both mating contexts., Mate selection and interpersonal attraction research reveals a robust preference pattern such that, in general, men and women seek intelligent, honest, and emotionally stable partners who are attractive and who [...]