Chinese mate preferences: Cultural evolution and continuity across a quarter of a century

Abstract

Expressed mate preferences provide unique windows into the cultural evolution of values and evolved mating psychology. The current study used two research instruments—one ranking procedure and one rating procedure—to examine mate preferences in mainland China. We compared modern Chinese ( n = 1060) with Chinese studied a quarter of a century earlier ( N = 500). Results revealed several cultural changes in values – a dramatic decrease in the importance of virginity, and an increase in the importance of good financial prospects – changes that occurred for both men and women. In contrast to those cultural changes, gender differences in mate preferences for cues to fertility (youth, physical attractiveness) and resources (good financial prospects, social status) remained invariant. Discussion highlights limitations of the study, and stresses the importance of both cultural evolution and evolved mate preferences.