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Psychological Value Theory: Predicting Initial Romantic Partner Choice From a General-Purpose, Computational
Dale J Cohen1, Tyler D White1, Shanhong Luo2
1Department of Psychology, The University of North Carolina Wilmington.
Cognitive Science
|February 16, 2026
Summary
Romantic partner choice is driven by mate value, predicted by a computational cognitive model. This model accurately forecasts decisions and reaction times, revealing a biased average integration of partner features.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Evolutionary Psychology
- Decision Science
Background:
- Mate value is a key factor in romantic partner selection.
- The cognitive processes underlying partner choice are not fully understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine if a general-purpose computational cognitive model can predict initial romantic partner choice.
- To test Psychological Value Theory (PVT) for its ability to predict both choice and decision reaction time (RT).
Main Methods:
- Discrete choice experiments were used to test PVT's predictions under controlled conditions.
- Experiment 1 examined choices based on single partner features.
- Experiment 2 investigated the integration of multiple partner features.
Main Results:
- PVT accurately predicted over 85% of the variance in choice and RT across both experiments.
- Individuals and groups showed high predictability.
- Experiment 2 identified a Biased Average algorithm for integrating multiple features, where the most positive attribute has greater impact.
Conclusions:
- Initial romantic partner choice utilizes a general-purpose, value-based decision mechanism.
- PVT provides a robust computational framework for understanding partner selection.
- This framework can be expanded to model partner choice in real-world scenarios.
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