Blair Vocci
31 January 2006
Competing Models of Mate Preference
Assortative-value model – “matching hypothesis” or “likes-attract hypothesis”
● People prefer mates who are similar to themselves (possessing similar traits)
Agreed-upon-value model – the mating market
● People prefer the most desirable mates (all agree on which traits are valued), although they may have to settle for mates who are similar to themselves
● By extension, people with highly-valued traits prefer mates with similarly highly-valued traits
Dimensions of Preference
Desirable short-term sexual partners
● Women and men both respond to physical attractiveness
● Women, however, value a man’s access to immediate resources, while men value a woman’s sexual experience
Desirable long-term romantic partners
● Women and men both respond to kindness, intelligence, and an exciting
personality
● Women, however, value a man’s earning capacity, while men value a woman’s physical attractiveness (BMI)
Among other variables (educational attainment, ethnicity, etc.), age is an important factor
● Men prefer younger women, while women prefer somewhat older men
HurryDate
Around 25 men and 25 women meet with one another for three minutes and later indicate who they would be interested in contacting for more traditional dates
Data reported for 10,526 HurryDate participants
Conclusions
Some minor assortative trends emerged – race, height, previous marriages and children
By and large, however, data confirmed the agreed-upon-value/mating market model
● Most important element – to both men and women – was physical attractiveness
● Women responded to such factors as height and build in men, while men responded in particular to a desirable BMI (thinness) in women
● Factors such as education, income, religion, and personality irrelevant
● Women and men both aware that they were operating in a mating market
● Less desirable individuals were less selective, and vice versa
● Although women did not select on the basis of income, wealthier men were more selective and tended to choose desirable women (with low BMI)
Discussion
If the HurryDate participants in question had had more than three minutes to get to know one another (presumably gathering more personal information), do you think they would have chosen different “mates” to contact?