Long-term Mates Research Articles

Peacocks, Picasso, and parental investment: The effects of romantic motives on creativity.

Four experiments explored the effects of mating motivation on creativity. Even without other incentives to be creative, romantic motives enhanced creativity on subjective and objective measures. For men, any cue designed to activate a short-term or a long-term mating goal increased creative displays; however, women displayed more creativity only when primed to attract a high-quality long-term mate. These creative boosts were unrelated to increased effort on creative tasks or to changes in mood or arousal. Furthermore, results were unaffected by the application of monetary incentives for creativity. These findings align with the view that creative displays in both sexes may be linked to sexual selection, qualified by unique exigencies of human parental investment.

Sex similarities and differences in preferences for short-term mates: What, whether, and why.

Are there sex differences in criteria for sexual relationships? The answer depends on what question a researcher asks. Data suggest that, whereas the sexes differ in whether they will enter short-term sexual relationships, they are more similar in what they prioritize in partners for such relationships. However, additional data and context of other findings and theory suggest different underlying reasons. In Studies 1 and 2, men and women were given varying "mate budgets" to design short-term mates and were asked whether they would actually mate with constructed partners. Study 3 used a mate-screening paradigm. Whereas women have been found to prioritize status in long-term mates, they instead (like men) prioritize physical attractiveness much like an economic necessity in short-term mates. Both sexes also show evidence of favoring well-rounded long- and short-term mates when given the chance. In Studies 4 and 5, participants report reasons for having casual sex and what they find physically attractive. For women, results generally support a good genes account of short-term mating, as per strategic pluralism theory (S. W. Gangestad & J. A. Simpson, 2000). Discussion addresses broader theoretical implications for mate preference, and the link between method and theory in examining social decision processes.

Individual differences in women's facial preferences as a function of digit ratio and mental rotation ability

The second-to-fourth digit ratio (2D:4D) and mental rotation (MR) ability are sexually dimorphic traits that appear early in development and have been correlated with exposure to prenatal androgens (Grimshaw, Sitarenios, & Finegan, 1995; Lutchmaya, Baron-Cohen, Raggatt, Knickmeyer, & Manning, 2004). The current study examined how 2D:4D and MR differences among women of European descent ( N=41) were related to their (a) preferences for male faces: attractive (ATM), short-term (STM), and long-term mate (LTM), and (b) psychological femininity and masculinity, as measured by the Bem Sex-Role Inventory (BSRI) (Bem, 1981). To examine potential changes in facial preferences over their menstrual cycle, participants' preferences were measured during two experimental sessions separated by 2 weeks. The results indicated that (a) femininity scores decreased with decreasing 2D:4D, (b) masculinity scores increased with faster MR, (c) women preferred a more masculine male face for an STM than for an LTM, and (d) preference changes over the menstrual cycle varied systematically with 2D:4D. When compared with women with high 2D:4D ratios, low 2D:4D women (e) preferred a more masculine LTM, (f) recalled less parental bonding, (g) had shorter intimate relationships, and (h) reported more menstrual irregularity. The results are interpreted as support for an interactive hormonal theory of physical attraction.

The necessities and luxuries of mate preferences: Testing the tradeoffs.

Social exchange and evolutionary models of mate selection incorporate economic assumptions but have not considered a key distinction between necessities and luxuries. This distinction can clarify an apparent paradox: Status and attractiveness, though emphasized by many researchers, are not typically rated highly by research participants. Three studies supported the hypothesis that women and men first ensure sufficient levels of necessities in potential mates before considering many other characteristics rated as more important in prior surveys. In Studies 1 and 2, participants designed ideal long-term mates, purchasing various characteristics with 3 different budgets. Study 3 used a mate-screening paradigm and showed that people inquire 1st about hypothesized necessities. Physical attractiveness was a necessity to men, status and resources were necessities to women, and kindness and intelligence were necessities to both.

Opposite-Sex Friendship: Sex Differences and Similarities in Initiation, Selection, and Dissolution

The authors hypothesized that people form opposite-sex friendships (OSFs), in part, to acquire long-term mates (both sexes), to gain short-term sexual access (men more than women), and to gain physical protection (women more than men). In Study 1, men and women evaluated reasons for initiating OSFs, characteristics preferred in an OSF, and reasons for ending OSFs. Study 2 extended the framework to include individual differences in sociosexual orientation. Compared with women, men judged sexual attraction and a desire for sex as more important reasons for initiating OSFs, reported a preference for sexual attractiveness when selecting OSFs, and judged the lack of sex as a more important reason for dissolving OSFs. Women judged physical protection as a more important reason for initiating OSFs and the lack of it as a more important reason for dissolving them. Across sex, people with an unrestricted sexual style were more likely to perceive OSFs as opportunities for sex. Discussion addresses the implications of the results for understanding conflict in OSFs.

Mate choice trade-offs and women's preference for physically attractive men.

Researchers studying human sexuality have repeatedly concluded that men place more emphasis on the physical attractiveness of potential mates than women do, particularly in long-term sexual relationships. Evolutionary theorists have suggested that this is the case because male mate value (the total value of the characteristics that an individual possesses in terms of the potential contribution to his or her mate's reproductive success) is better predicted by social status and economic resources, whereas women's mate value hinges on signals conveyed by their physical appearance. This pattern may imply that women trade off attractiveness for resources in mate choice. Here I test whether a trade-off between resources and attractiveness seems to be occurring in the mate choice decisions of women in the United States. In addition, the possibility that the risk of mate desertion drives women to choose less attractive men as long-term mates is tested. The results were that women rated physically attractive men as more likely to cheat or desert a long-term relationship, whereas men did not consider attractive women to be more likely to cheat. However, women showed no aversion to the idea of forming long-term relationships with attractive men. Evidence for a trade-off between resources and attractiveness was found for women, who traded off attractiveness, but not other traits, for resources. The potential meaning of these findings, as well as how they relate to broader issues in the study of sex differences in the evolution of human mate choice for physical traits, is discussed.

Sexually dimorphic mate preference in Japan : An analysis of lonely hearts advertisements.

Lonely hearts advertisements (LHA) published in Japan were examined in a comparative study on sexually dimorphic mate preference. I analyzed 944 LHA written by Japanese (730 by males and 214 by females) seeking short-term relationships and 780 LHA (577 by males and 203 by females) seeking long-term relationships. Some universal patterns of mate preference were confirmed and others were not. Female advertisers in both categories sought more traits than they offered; they also sought more traits than male advertisers. Males tended to offer their financial and social status, and females tended to seek those traits. More females requested family commitment than males. While there was no sex difference in offering and seeking physical appearance and health, females tended to request photographs of their potential mates. Males were more likely than females to be willing to accept children from previous relationships, although there was no significant difference in refusing such children. More females seeking long-term mates requested family commitment than females seeking short-term mates. In both males and females, more advertisers seeking long-term mates offered family commitment than advertisers seeking short-term mates. Some predictions for contingent preference were also examined. One prediction confirmed was that females offering physical appearance and health sought more traits than those not doing so. However, males offering financial and social status did not make higher demands than those who did not, which does not support one prediction.

Age preferences for mates as related to gender, own age, and involvement level

The present study examined desired minimum and maximum ages for mates across five different levels of relationship involvement (marriage, serious relationship, falling in love, casual sex, and sexual fantasies) comparing individuals of 20, 30, 40, 50, and 60 years old. Consistent with previous findings, women preferred partners of their own age, regardless of their own age and regardless of the level of relationship involvement. Men, on the other hand, regardless of their own age, desired mates for short-term mating and for sexual fantasies who were in their reproductive years. However, with regard to long-term mates, men preferred mates who, although younger than them, were sometimes above the age of maximum fertility. Explanations for these findings are discussed.

Do Don Juans have better genes than family men?

An alternative interpretation of Gangestad & Simpson's findings features the assumption that only a subgroup of those men who are low in fluctuating asymmetry are typically available for short-term mating. In general, these philandering men do not offer higher genetic quality than men who are securely attached to long-term mates.

Sperm donor selection and the psychology of female mate choice

Women's preferences for hypothetical sperm donors were compared to preferences for long-term mates (Experiment 1) and to those for long-term mates and extra-pair copulatory (EPC) partners (Experiment 2). In Experiment 1, attributes believed likely to affect a resultant child were significantly more important in a donor than in a long-term mate. “Character,” which was the most important factor in a mate, was the second most important factor after “health” in a donor, despite the belief that character had little likelihood of affecting a resultant child. These results suggest that women were partly relying on the psychology used to choose a long-term mate when they assessed attributes in a sperm donor. An additional construct (“resource potential”) was introduced in Experiment 2, as well as an additional test condition (EPC). As with character, resource potential was believed to have little likelihood of affecting a resultant child, yet it was rated as moderately important to have in a donor, further supporting the hypothesis that women were partly relying on a mate choice psychology. Results did not provide support for the existence of an EPC psychology distinct from that used to select a long-term mate.

Education, Income, and Ability

Current estimates of the contribution of education to economic growth have been questioned because they ignore the interaction of education with ability. Whether the neglect of ability differences in the analyses of the income-education relationship results in estimates that are too high was considered in an earlier paper by one of the authors (Griliches 1970), and a negative answer was conjectured. In this paper, we pursue this question a bit further, using a new and larger body of data. Unfortunately, a definitive answer to this question is hampered both by the vagueness and elasticity of "education" and "ability" as analytical concepts and by the lack of data on early (preschooling) intelligence. The data examined in this paper are based on a 1964 sample of U.S. military veterans. The variables measured include scores on a mental ability test, indicators of parental status, region of residence while growing up, school years completed before service, and school years completed during or after service. These have allowed us to inquire into the separate effects of parental background, intelligence, and schooling. The basic problem and analytical framework can be set out very simply. Let income be a linear function of education and ability, or, Y a + P1E + P(2G + u, where Y is income, E is education, G is ability,