Sex and age differences in preferences and tactics of mate attraction: Analysis of published advertisements

Impact of market value on human mate choice decisions

“…The ratio of these two is thus a measure of the relative selection pressure placed on individual age cohorts, in the same sense that selection ratios are used in foraging ecology (Krebs 1989). In calculating a market value for males, we restricted our analysis to advertisements made by females in the reproductive period (20^44 years of age) since (i) our concerns are with the reproductive interests that drive behaviour and (ii) it is, in any case, this age group that male advertisers are principally interested in (Kenrick & Keefe 1992;Greenlees & McGrew 1994;Waynforth & Dunbar 1995;Bereczkei et al 1997). Women in the post-reproductive period typically advertise for older men, but these men advertise for much younger women.…”

“…early, mid-or late 40s: these were coded as 42, 45 and 48, respectively, following Greenlees & McGrew 1994); by decade (e.g.`40s'); or by not giving any indication of age at all. Since the proportion of advertisers who do not declare their ages varies across the age range under consideration (Pawowski & Dunbar 1998), ignoring these may introduce signi¢cant biases into the data.…”

“…Following conventional practice in the analysis of personal advertisements (e.g. Greenlees & McGrew 1994;Waynforth & Dunbar 1995), we coded the mid-point of the age range sought by advertisers. A small number of advertisers who speci¢ed only a lower or an upper limit to the preferred age of partner were discounted from this analysis.…”

“…Previous studies of personal advertisements have demonstrated (i) that advertisers adjust their bids in the light of their perceived status in the market place (Waynforth & Dunbar 1995), and (ii) that male advertisers are largely concerned with traits that re£ect women's fecundity, while female advertisers emphasize wealth (also an age-related trait) and commitment in prospective male partners (Wiederman 1993;Greenlees & McGrew 1994;Waynforth & Dunbar 1995;Bereczkei & Csanaky 1996;Bereczkei et al 1997). Studies of actual mating behaviour demonstrate a close correlation between these preferences and the ¢nal outcome of the decision (Kenrick & Keefe 1992;Perusse 1994).…”

Evolution of human mate choice

“…Women also seem to prefer men with whom they feel physically safe and who are physically capable of protecting them from other men should the need arise (Geary & Flinn, 2001;Hill & Hurtado, 1996;Surbey & Conohan, 2000) Women's preference for culturally successful men is also found in studies of singles ads and popular fiction novels. In a study of 1,000 "lonely hearts" ads, Greenlees and McGrew (1994) found that British women were 3 times more likely than British men to seek financial security in a prospective partner. Oda (2001) found that Japanese women were 31 times more likely than Japanese men to seek financial security and social status in a prospective long-term partner; 9.4% of Japanese women explicitly sought these traits, compared to 0.3% of men.…”