Mate Selection in Socially Anxious and Nonanxious Individuals

Abstract

Evolutionary theorists propose that people's mate value influences the types of mates they select and their estimates of whether potential mates would select them. Social anxiety has the potential to be a characteristic that is associated with low perceived mate value and, therefore, to influence the mate selection process. In the present study, socially anxious (n = 63) and nonanxious (n = 62) participants were presented with a series of photographs and accompanying narrative descriptions of opposite sex individuals representing varying levels of physical attractiveness and social status. They were instructed to rate (a) the likelihood in which they would engage in various relationship and sexual behaviors with similar people, and (b) the likelihood in which similar people would want to engage in these relationship and sexual behaviors with them. Relative to nonanxious participants, socially anxious participants estimated that they would be less likely to initiate these behaviors with physically attracti...