Permanent partner priorities: gay and straight

Based on a design used in previous research with heterosexuals, this study assessed the permanent partner priorities of gay and straight men and women, as well as the perception of those priorities by each gender and sexual orientation. Heterosexuals and homosexuals did not differ in their rank-ordered priorities, but tended to misperceive the priorities of their own and the other groups studied. Differentials of misperception were explained by varying societal pressures experienced by homo- and heterosexual men and women. Implications based on the difference between the competitive nature of courtship and the cooperative nature of permanent pairing were drawn from the findings.