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Related Concept Videos

Mate Choice01:20

Mate Choice

11.4K
Mate choice—the decision about whom to mate with—is a type of natural selection, since animals must reproduce to pass down their genes. Mate choice is also called intersexual selection because the behavior occurs between the sexes.
11.4K
Close Relationships and Culture01:29

Close Relationships and Culture

177
Culture shapes how people approach attraction, choose partners, and build long-term relationships. While some preferences in mate selection appear consistent across cultures, such as men valuing physical attractiveness and women emphasizing financial resources, cultural contexts influence how these preferences are expressed and prioritized. Marriage extends beyond romantic ideals in many societies and is deeply embedded in social, economic, and religious frameworks.The Role of Culture in Mate...
177
Natural Selection and Mating Preferences01:06

Natural Selection and Mating Preferences

390
The principle of natural selection posits that organisms better adapted to their environment are more likely to survive and reproduce. This principle is closely intertwined with mating preferences, a key aspect of sexual selection, which evolutionary psychologists believe is driven by instincts to propagate one's genes. Such instincts significantly influence mating behaviors and preferences between genders.
Females, due to their biological roles in conception, pregnancy, and nursing,...
390
Desirable Characteristics in Others01:26

Desirable Characteristics in Others

88
Various factors, including the type of relationship, gender, and duration of the relationship, influence the perception of desirable characteristics in others. While certain traits such as trustworthiness, cooperativeness, agreeableness, and extraversion are universally valued across all relationships, other characteristics are context-dependent and gain prominence based on specific relational dynamics.Universal and Context-Dependent TraitsTrustworthiness and cooperativeness are fundamental...
88
Testing a Claim about Population Proportion01:24

Testing a Claim about Population Proportion

3.8K
A complete procedure for testing a claim about a population proportion is provided here.
There are two methods of testing a claim about a population proportion: (1) Using the sample proportion from the data where a binomial distribution is approximated to the normal distribution and (2) Using the binomial probabilities calculated from the data.
The first method uses normal distribution as an approximation to the binomial distribution. The requirements are as follows: sample size is large...
3.8K
Relationship Formation02:12

Relationship Formation

45.1K
What do you think is the single most influential factor in determining with whom you become friends and whom you form romantic relationships? You might be surprised to learn that the answer is simple: the people with whom you have the most contact. This most important factor is proximity. You are more likely to be friends with people you have regular contact with. For example, there are decades of research that shows that you are more likely to become friends with people who live in your dorm,...
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Dec 25, 2025

Using the FishSim Animation Toolchain to Investigate Fish Behavior: A Case Study on Mate-Choice Copying In Sailfin Mollies
10:50

Using the FishSim Animation Toolchain to Investigate Fish Behavior: A Case Study on Mate-Choice Copying In Sailfin Mollies

Published on: November 8, 2018

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Sex Differences in Mate Preferences Across 45 Countries: A Large-Scale Replication.

Kathryn V Walter1, Daniel Conroy-Beam1, David M Buss2

  • 1Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara.

Psychological Science
|March 21, 2020
PubMed
Summary

Human mate preferences show robust sex differences: men prefer younger, attractive partners, while women prefer older partners with resources. As gender equality rises, partners

Keywords:
biosocial role theorycross-cultural studiesevolutionary psychologymate preferencesopen datapreregisteredsex differences

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Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary psychology
  • Human mating behavior
  • Cross-cultural studies

Background:

  • Human mate preferences exhibit universal sex differences and cultural variations.
  • Existing research relies on dated data, with conflicting methodologies and conclusions.
  • Evolutionary psychological and biosocial role perspectives offer competing explanations.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To replicate classic studies on human mate preferences.
  • To test evolutionary and biosocial role perspectives using a contemporary, large-scale dataset.
  • To examine the influence of gender equality and pathogen prevalence on mate preferences.

Main Methods:

  • Survey data collected from 14,399 individuals across 45 countries.
  • Replication of established methodologies for assessing mate preferences.
  • Statistical analyses to test hypotheses regarding sex differences and cultural moderators.

Main Results:

  • Universal sex differences in mate preferences were robustly supported.
  • Men prioritized attractiveness and youth; women prioritized age and financial prospects.
  • Increased gender equality correlated with partners being closer in age across cultures.

Conclusions:

  • Classic findings on sex differences in human mate preferences remain valid.
  • Gender equality influences age-based mate selection, but not other preference dimensions.
  • Pathogen prevalence did not significantly predict cross-cultural variations in mate preferences.