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Female Mate Choice : A Comparison Between Accept-the-Best and Reject-the-Worst Strategies in Sequential Decision
Melanie Li-Wen Long1, Anne Campbell1
1Department of Psychology, Durham University, Durham, UK.
Summary
Women evaluating potential partners prefer a reject-the-worst strategy over accept-the-best. This approach, focusing on avoiding poor matches, suggests women satisfice rather than optimize when seeking a mate.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary Psychology
- Behavioral Economics
- Decision-Making Theory
Background:
- Mate selection involves sequential information gathering.
- Understanding decision-making strategies in relationships is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the efficiency of reject-the-worst versus accept-the-best strategies for women.
- To determine when women cease evaluating potential mates.
Main Methods:
- A pilot survey established the order of attribute information presentation.
- Participants received attribute information sequentially and indicated minimum acceptable levels.
- Participants were assigned to accept-the-best or reject-the-worst conditions.
Main Results:
- The reject-the-worst group requested more information than the accept-the-best group.
- This indicates a greater cost associated with false-negative errors (rejecting a good mate).
Conclusions:
- Women appear to satisfice, not optimize, when selecting mates.
- The reject-the-worst strategy is more efficient for women in mate selection.
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