Short-term and long-term mate preference in\xa0men and women in an Iranian population

Fatemeh Sadat Mirfazeli,Meng-Chuan Lai,Amirhossein Memari,Maryam Haghighi Fashi,Milad Shafizadeh,Abdol-Hossein Vahabie,Ebrahim Barzegary,Armin Rajab,Sahar Zarei,Seyed Vahid Shariat

doi:10.1038/s41598-021-99653-7

Abstract

Mate preference in short-term relationships and long-term ones may depend on many physical, psychological, and socio-cultural factors. In this study, 178 students (81 females) in sports and 153 engineering students (64 females) answered the systemizing quotient (SQ) and empathizing quotient (EQ) questionnaires and had their digit ratio measured. They rated their preferred mate on 12 black-line drawing body figures varying in body mass index (BMI) and waist to hip ratio (WHR) for short-term and long-term relationships. Men relative to women preferred lower WHR and BMI for mate selection for both short-term and long-term relationships. BMI and WHR preference in men is independent of each other, but has a negative correlation in women. For men, digit ratio was inversely associated with BMI (p = 0.039, B = − 0.154) preference in a short-term relationship, and EQ was inversely associated with WHR preference in a long-term relationship (p = 0.045, B = − 0.164). Furthermore, men and women in sports, compared to engineering students, preferred higher (p = 0.009, B = 0.201) and lower BMI (p = 0.034, B = − 0.182) for short-term relationships, respectively. Women were more consistent in their preferences for short-term and long-term relationships relative to men. Both biological factors and social/experiential factors contribute to mate preferences in men while in women, mostly social/experiential factors contribute to them.

Highlights

Mate preference in short-term relationships and long-term ones may depend on many physical, psychological, and socio-cultural factors
In this research direction, only face stimuli have been used so far as a representative of attractiveness, and there is a paucity of research examining the associations between psychological traits and other physical cues of attractiveness such as waist to hip ratio (WHR) and body mass index (BMI), and we still do not know whether there is a correlation between a masculine cognitive style and a feminine women preference, or these cognitive style could provide more potentials for mate preferences
We found that the empathizing quotient (EQ) score was related to the change of WHR preference between short-term and long-term relationships in men

Summary

Introduction

Mate preference in short-term relationships and long-term ones may depend on many physical, psychological, and socio-cultural factors. 178 students (81 females) in sports and 153 engineering students (64 females) answered the systemizing quotient (SQ) and empathizing quotient (EQ) questionnaires and had their digit ratio measured They rated their preferred mate on 12 blackline drawing body figures varying in body mass index (BMI) and waist to hip ratio (WHR) for short-term and long-term relationships. Men relative to women preferred lower WHR and BMI for mate selection for both short-term and long-term relationships. One reason would be short-term relationship would provide an assessment device for the women to investigate long-term prospects of their possible future mate with better genes[40] Despite all these differences, it seems that men and women both value physical attractiveness, economic status, and fertility differently for a long-term relationship[41]. Men and women are both highly variable on their mate preference strategies and have evolved to be dependent on contextual effects and individual d ifferences[42]

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