Mate preferences in Brazil: Evolved desires and cultural evolution over three decades

Abstract

Mate preferences provide unique windows into evolved mating psychology and extant cultural values. The current study used two research instruments—one ranking and one rating—to examine mate preferences in Brazil. We compared modern Brazilians (n=1186) with a Brazilian sample studied three decades earlier, in 1984 (n=630). Mate preferences for mutual attraction and love, kindness, and intelligence remained important and relatively invariant over time. Sex differences in mate preferences for cues to fertility (relative youth, physical attractiveness) and resources (earning capacity, financial prospects, social status) also remained relatively invariant over time. Several changes in mate preferences emerged over time for both men and women, including a stronger preference for mates who have good financial prospects and a dramatic decline in the desire for children. Discussion highlights limitations of the study, and stresses the importance of mate preferences as windows into evolved mating psychology and both the expression and reflection of cultural values.