Self-Evaluations of Desirability as a Mate Questionnaire

Does mate preference represent mate choice? A cross-cultural investigation.

“…Women become pregnant, give birth, and provide a large amount of postpartum childcare, making it difficult for them to secure resources to care for themselves and their children (Mafra, 2019a;Trivers, 1972). Thus, characteristics that indicate a mate's potential to own or acquire resources are important in women's mate choice (Castro & Lopes, 2011;Geary, Vigil, & Byrd-Craven, 2004;Gutierres, Kenrick, & Partch, 1999), especially for long-term relationships, which are more likely to result in children (Buss & Schmitt, 1993).…”

Self-Evaluations Track Perceived Mate Value

“…Since mate value is defined as an individuals' desirability relative to intrasexual competitors, individuals' judgments about their mate value should be influenced by social comparisons with others. Gutierres et al (1999) provided strong experimental support for the contention that social comparisons influence individuals' self-perceived mate value. They exposed men and women to images, which were either high or low in physical attractiveness, and short descriptions, which contained cues to either high or low social dominance, of individuals and asked them to subsequently rate their self-perceived attractiveness and dominance, together with their desirability as a date, sexual, and marriage partner.…”

“…Conversely, men, but not women, who were exposed to high-dominance descriptions subsequently rated themselves as less desirable as marriage partners than those who had read low-dominance descriptions. Gutierres et al (1999) suggested that these results can be understood from an evolutionary perspective emphasizing intrasexual competition for mates. Since physical attractiveness is a more important determinant of mate value in women, and social dominance is more important for men (Buss and Schmitt 1993), these results can be interpreted as demonstrating that individuals are sensitive to social comparisons on dimensions most relevant to their mate value and adjust their self-evaluations of their desirability according to their perceived relative standing.…”