Effects of potential partners' physical attractiveness and socioeconomic status on sexuality and partner selection

Abstract

Male (n = 170) and female (n = 212) college students viewed photographs, which had been prerated for physical attractiveness, of three opposite-sex individuals. These photographs were paired with three levels of occupational status and income. Subjects indicated their willingness to engage in relationships of varying levels of sexual intimacy and marital potential with the portrayed individuals. Analyses of variance, correlations, and trend analyses supported the hypotheses. Compared to men, women are more likely to prefer or insist that sexual intercourse occur in relationships that involve affection and marital potential, and women place more emphasis than men do on partners' SES in such relationships. Consequently, men's SES and their willingness and ability to invest affection and resources in relationships may often outweigh the effects of their physical attractiveness in women's actual selection of partners. These results and the literature reviewed are more consistent with parental investment theory than with the view that these sex differences are solely the result of differential access to resources and differential socialization.

Sex Differences in Short-term Mate Preferences and Behavioral Mimicry: A Semi-Naturalistic Experiment

“…They found that, when comparing both sexes, men preferred physical attractiveness more and women preferred high status. Furthermore, both men and women preferred physically attractive mates to less attractive mates in the context of STM as opposed to longterm mating (see also Townsend & Levy, 1990). Similar results were obtained in several survey studies (Buss & Schmitt, 1993;Gangestad & Simpson, 2000).…”

Mating games: cultural evolution and sexual selection

“…(8) Supporting a player of your own sex can make this player unreachable for most members of the other sex, as most highly praised individuals usually 'play in another league' (or another niche) than those who praise him/her. Moreover, men as well as women demand sexual exclusivity (Gangestad and Simpson 2000), while very successful players are less likely to be faithful (Townsend and Levy 1990).…”

The “Booty Call”: A Compromise Between Men's and Women's Ideal Mating Strategies

“…However, there is a discrepancy between the types of benefits sought by men and those sought by women. Men are more likely to seek access to numerous sex partners with minimal investment, whereas women place a greater emphasis on obtaining committed, long-term mates (e.g., Schmitt, 2005;Townsend & Levy, 1990). Although there is considerable overlap and within-gender variability (e.g., Simpson & Gangestad, 1991), these gender differences in ideal mating strategies are reliable and exist across cultures (Schmitt, 2002(Schmitt, , 2005.…”