Sex Differences in Mate Preferences Across 45 Countries: A Large-Scale Replication.
Kathryn V WalterDaniel Conroy-BeamDavid M BussKelly AsaoAgnieszka SorokowskaPiotr SorokowskiToivo AavikGrace AkelloMohammad Madallh AlhabahbaCharlotte AlmNaumana AmjadAfifa AnjumChiemezie S AtamaDerya Atamtürk DuyarRichard AyebareCarlota BatresMons BendixenAicha BensafiaBoris BizumicMahmoud BoussenaMarina ButovskayaSeda CanKatarzyna CantareroAntonin CarrierHakan CetinkayaIlona CroyRosa María CuetoMarcin CzubDaria DronovaSeda DuralIzzet DuyarBerna ErtugrulAgustín EspinosaIgnacio EstevanCarla Sofia EstevesLuxi FangTomasz FrackowiakJorge Contreras GarduñoKarina Ugalde GonzálezFarida GuemazPetra GyurisMária HalamováIskra HerakMarina HorvatIvana HromatkoChin-Ming HuiJas Laile JaafarFeng JiangKonstantinos KafetsiosTina KavčičLeif Edward Ottesen KennairNicolas KervynTruong Thi Khanh HaImran Ahmed KhiljiNils C KöbisHoang Moc LanAndrás LángGeorgina R LennardErnesto LeónTorun LindholmTrinh Thi LinhGiulia LopezNguyen Van LuotAlvaro MailhosZoi ManesiRocio MartinezSarah L McKercharNorbert MeskóGirishwar MisraConal MonaghanEmanuel C MoraAlba Moya-GarófanoBojan MusilJean Carlos NatividadeAgnieszka NiemczykGeorge NizharadzeElisabeth OberzaucherAnna OleszkiewiczMohd Sofian Omar-FauzeeIke E OnyishiBaris ÖzenerAriela Francesca PaganiVilmante PakalniskieneMiriam PariseFarid PazhoohiAnnette PisanskiKatarzyna PisanskiEdna PoncianoCamelia PopaPavol ProkopMuhammad RizwanMario SainzSvjetlana SalkičevićRuta SargautyteIvan Sarmány-SchullerSusanne SchmehlShivantika SharadRazi Sultan SiddiquiFranco SimonettiStanislava Yordanova StoyanovaMeri TadinacMarco Antonio Correa VarellaChristin-Melanie VauclairLuis Diego VegaDwi Ajeng WidariniGyesook YooMarta Zat'kováMaja ZupančičPublished in: Psychological science (2020)
Considerable research has examined human mate preferences across cultures, finding universal sex differences in preferences for attractiveness and resources as well as sources of systematic cultural variation. Two competing perspectives-an evolutionary psychological perspective and a biosocial role perspective-offer alternative explanations for these findings. However, the original data on which each perspective relies are decades old, and the literature is fraught with conflicting methods, analyses, results, and conclusions. Using a new 45-country sample (N = 14,399), we attempted to replicate classic studies and test both the evolutionary and biosocial role perspectives. Support for universal sex differences in preferences remains robust: Men, more than women, prefer attractive, young mates, and women, more than men, prefer older mates with financial prospects. Cross-culturally, both sexes have mates closer to their own ages as gender equality increases. Beyond age of partner, neither pathogen prevalence nor gender equality robustly predicted sex differences or preferences across countries.
Keyphrases
- middle aged
- decision making
- polycystic ovary syndrome
- systematic review
- mental health
- genome wide
- risk factors
- pregnant women
- type diabetes
- physical activity
- drinking water
- current status
- machine learning
- skeletal muscle
- human immunodeficiency virus
- case control
- pluripotent stem cells
- health insurance
- insulin resistance
- antiretroviral therapy
- patient reported