Male age preferences for short-term and long-term mating

Abstract

This study tested a prediction derived from several lines of thought within evolutionary psychology, particularly the work of Buss and Schmitt (), that males would show an evolved predisposition to prefer a younger female for long-term mating, such as marriage, than for a brief sexual encounter. A sample of 148 male university students responded to preference items embedded within a cultural scenario designed to minimize social pressures to report age preferences in conformance with contemporary American social norms. For marriage, subjects preferred females with a mean age of 16.87 while 17.76 was the mean age selected for a brief sexual encounter (p < 0.01) supporting the prediction. Possible alternate interpretations were discussed.