Sex Differences in Desired Characteristics of Short-Term and Long-Term Relationship Partners

Abstract

This investigation compared women's and men's desired characteristics in partners for typical short-term ('dating someone more than once' without an expectation of a short- or long-term relationship) and long-term ('dating someone for a long time' with the possibility, but not certainty, of marriage) relationships. Results indicated that (a) both women and men are more selective when selecting a long-term rather than a short-term relationship partner, and (b) women and men differ in their desired characteristics for short-term relationship partners and long-term relationship partners. The preferred characteristics of each sex support a qualified differential parental investment perspective: men see `reproductive value' (e.g., physical attractiveness) as important for potential female partners, and women look at `resource acquisition ability' (e.g., earning capacity) as important for potential male partners. While there were significant differences between men and women in their desired characteristics in short- and long-term relationship partners, there were many similarities in what they seek, such as the desire for children in long-term partners and an exciting personality in short-term and long-term partners.

Comparison of Partner Choice between Lesbians and Heterosexual Women

“…This given is in line with the literature (Altafim et al, 2009;Buss, 1989Buss, , 2006Buss & Schmitt, 1993;Castro, 2009;Cruz, 2009;Carneiro, 1997;Greengross & Miller, 2008;Lippa, 2007;Stewart et al, 2000), as is the case of the great importance attached to the first two macro-categories in long-term relationships, and to the last in short-term relationships, as predicted in the first hypothesis Campos, 2005;Castro, 2009;DeWaal & Maner;Lucas et al, 2011;Schmitt, 2005;Stewart et al, 2000).…”

“…Due to the difference in parental investment between genders, men and women display significant differences, like the high valuation of good provision of resources and attachment formation among women, and the high appraisal of physical attributes among men (Altafim, Lauandos, & Caramaschi, 2009;Buss, 1989Buss, , 1995Buss, , 2006Buss & Schmitt, 1993;Campos, 2005;Carneiro, 1997;Castro, 2009;Covolan, 2005;Cruz, 2009;Fiore, 2010;Furnham, 2009;Greengross & Miller, 2008, Hattori, 2009Lippa, 2007;Sadala, 2005;Stewart, Stinnett, & Rosenfelt, 2000).…”

“…In long-term relationships, heterosexual women have a tendency to prioritize attributes related to good provision of resources and emotional investment Schmitt, 2005;Stewart et al, 2000), and this importance is seemingly due to the high probability of the presence of fatherly care during the development of the offspring (Borrione & Lordelo, 2005;Buss & Schmitt, 1993;Schmitt, 2006).…”

Mate preferences among the Shuar of Ecuador: trait rankings and peer evaluations

“…Second, because women's reproductive value declines steeply over the life course, men will prefer cues indicating a woman's physical ability to reproduce-such as youth and beauty-more than will women (Symons, 1979). There is to date a great deal of evidence to support these predictions, including numerous studies documenting sex differences in preferences for these traits across many populations and using a variety of methods (Buss, 1989a(Buss, , 1989bBuss & Barnes, 1986;Buunk, Dijkstra, Fetchenhauer, & Kenrick, 2002;Hatfield & Sprecher, 1995;Khallad, 2005;Li, Bailey, Kenrick, & Linsenmeier, 2002;Lippa, 2007;Shackelford, Schmitt, & Buss, 2005;Stewart, Stinnett, & Rosenfeld, 2000;Zeh & Smith, 1985). In fact, so often has it been reported that men consider physical attractiveness more importantly in a long-term partner than do women and that women consider access to resources more importantly than do men that these sex differences are beginning to be treated as truisms (e.g., Greitemeyer, 2007;Koyama, McGain, & Hill, 2004;Wiederman & Allgeier, 1994).…”

It is not all about the Benjamins: Understanding preferences for mates with resources

“…For instance, studies have examined preferences for traits like ''ambitiousness'' (Howard, Blumstein, & Schwartz, 1987;Hoyt & Hudson, 1981;Hudson & Henze, 1969;McGinnis, 1958), ''good earning capacity'' (Buss, 1989;Stewart, Stinnett, & Rosenfeld, 2000), ''good financial prospects'' (Buss, 1989), ''educated'' (Greitmeyer, 2005;Kenrick, Sadalla, Groth, & Trost, 1990;Lance, 1998), having high ''social status,'' ''social level, '' or ''prestige'' (Feingold, 1992;Townsend & Levy, 1990;Townsend & Wasserman, 1998) -traits thought to be related to one's ability to generate income. Consistently, women value mates with these traits more than men do (Townsend, 1993;Townsend & Roberts, 1993).…”