Physical disability in romantic partner: Behavioral immune system theory fails to explain why women and men differ in their perceptions of potential romantic partners who are physically disabled

Abstract

The research on mate choice has neglected preference for romantic partners of physically disabled individuals. In the present study we tested attractiveness evaluation of disabled individuals in a romantic context. Additionally, and according to the disease-avoidance mechanism proposed by behavioral immune system theory, individual differences in disgust sensitivity should result in prejudicial and negative responses against individuals with physical disabilities. This experimental study is the first to put this hypothesis to the test. Participants were presented with visual stimuli differing as a function of physical disability and were asked to rate them for attractiveness as a romantic partner. The results showed that women rate physically disabled men as more attractive as romantic partners than nondisabled men, while men rated physically disabled women less attractive as romantic partners than physically nondisabled women. Neither the perceived vulnerability to disease subscales nor pathogen and sexual disgust were associated with ratings of attractiveness of the disabled opposite sex as a romantic partner. These findings are inconsistent with the proposed association of disgust sensitivity and prejudicial attitudes towards physically disabled individuals; and they suggest, for the first time, that the perceptual effects of romantic attraction are different from those of general attraction for men but not women.