Promotion- or Prevention-Focused Self-Evaluation and the Preferential Pursuit of More Desirable Romantic Partners

This research examined how self-regulatory orientations-promotion focus (growth) and prevention focus (security)-influence individuals' evaluation of their own desirable traits and their pursuit of highly desirable romantic partners.

Two studies analyzed participants' evaluations of themselves and romantic partners: Study 1 followed 208 college students longitudinally across 7 months of early romantic interest development; Study 2 observed 187 participants in live speed-dating events. Participants' regulatory focus, self-perceptions, partner ideals, and the desirability of pursued partners were assessed, controlling for self-esteem and consensus ratings of participants' own desirability.

Stronger promotion concerns predicted overly positive self-evaluations and pursuit of more desirable partners, whereas stronger prevention concerns predicted overly negative self-evaluations and pursuit of less desirable partners. These effects persisted after accounting for self-esteem and consensus ratings of participants' desirability and were partially mediated by participants' own self-perceptions and partner ideals.

Findings suggest that regulatory focus influences aspirations for highly desirable partners through exaggerations of positive or negative self-perceptions that then influence aspirations for and willingness to pursue more or less subjectively and objectively desirable partners. Promotion and prevention mindsets thus appear to play a unique self-regulatory role in romantic partner selection beyond general self-esteem or objective desirability.