Sex differences in mate preferences revisited: Do people know what they initially desire in a romantic partner?

Eastwick, Paul W.; Finkel, Eli J.

doi:10.1037/0022-3514.94.2.245

Cited by 389 publications

(504 citation statements)

References 82 publications

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“…The biosocial model (see Wood & Eagly, 2002) has been described as an alternative to, and in some regards a blend of, two other theoretical traditions often used to explain gender differences: (a) the essentialist perspective on gender (exemplified by evolutionary psychology; e.g., Buss & Schmitt, 2011;Pérusse, 1993)-which emphasizes men's evolved dispositions to participate in dominance contests and to control women's sexuality, along with women's evolved dispositions to select mates who provide more resources; cf. Eastwick & Finkel, 2008), and (b) the social constructionist perspective on gender (exemplified in sociology and anthropology; see Geertz, 1974;Mead, 1963;West & Zimmerman, 1987-which emphasizes gender differences as a local cultural phenomenon only, similar to the choice of clothing or hairstyles). The biosocial model offers a constellation of explanations for gender differences that is distinct from its predecessor theories.…”

Section: Narcissism and The Biosocial Approach To Social Role Theorymentioning

confidence: 99%

Gender differences in narcissism: A meta-analytic review.

Grijalva

Newman

Tay

et al. 2015

Psychological Bulletin

426

280

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Section: Narcissism and The Biosocial Approach To Social Role Theorymentioning

confidence: 99%

Gender differences in narcissism: A meta-analytic review.

Grijalva

Newman

Tay

et al. 2015

Psychological Bulletin

426

280

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“…For instance, speed-dating research has shown that what people claim they seek in a partner before a dating event is not necessarily what they select during their real dating interactions (Eastwick & Finkel, 2008).…”

Section: Chapter 6 Settling For Less: Relationship Initiationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Settling for less out of fear of being single.

Spielmann¹,

MacDonald²,

Maxwell³

et al. 2013

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

211

215

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The present research explores a novel construct of fear of being single, without a romantic partner. This research demonstrates that those who fear being single may lower their relationship standards without realizing it, even accounting for constructs typically examined in relationship research such as anxious attachment and neuroticism. Study 1 explored the content of people's thoughts about being single. Studies 2A and 2B involved the development and validation of the Fear of Being Single scale. Study 2C provided preliminary support for the hypothesis that fear of being single predicts settling for less in ongoing relationships, showing that fear of being single predicted greater dependence on unsatisfying relationships. Studies 3A and 3B explored the predictive ability of fear of being single for self-reported dating standards. Across both samples, fear of being single was unrelated to self-reported standards for a mate, with the exception of consistently higher standards for parenting. However, Studies 4 and 5 explored romantic interest in targets that were manipulated to vary in responsiveness (both Studies 4 and 5) and physical attractiveness (Study 5 only). These studies found that fear of being single consistently predicted higher levels of romantic interest in less responsive and less attractive dating targets. Taken together, the present research suggests that fear of being single is a meaningful predictor of settling for less in relationships.iii

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“…Within this small literature, there are two main types of studies. First, the speed-dating process has been modelled to study 'mate selection preferences' (e.g., Eastwick & Finkel, 2008a;2008b;Fisman et al, 2006;Provost et al, 2006). The aim is to provide a naturalistic setting for the study of such preferences, often focussing on gender differences.…”

Section: Speed-dating As An Empirical Topicmentioning

confidence: 99%

“Have You Been Married, or …?”: Eliciting and Accounting for Relationship Histories in Speed-Dating Interaction

Stokoe

2010

Research on Language & Social Interaction

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Studies of personal relationships have often been conducted in the laboratory, on the self-report questionnaire or in the interview. In contrast, this paper studies relationships via a corpus of thirty British 'speed-dating' encounters between 30-45 year old heterosexual couples, in which talk about previous relationships was pervasively relevant. The analysis examines how talk about prior relationships, and current relationship status, was occasioned and accounted for. The first section shows that, in the overall structure of the date, talk about relationship histories was located after talk about other matters (e.g., occupation, place of residence). Second, relationship history questions contained design features for managing the delicacy of answering them (e.g., trail-off 'or' turn endings), as well as paired categorial items (e.g., a question about 'children' was answered in terms of one's 'marital' status and vice versa). In the final section, the analysis shows that and how participants treat some relationship histories as more accountable than others (e.g., being 'never married'). The analysis revealed a more general set of accountabilities: of being 'single', of being previously unsuccessful in relationships, of being unable to meet people in 'natural' settings, and, therefore, for attending speed-dating events. Overall, the paper demonstrates the importance of examining the richly detailed brief encounters of social life, in order to better understand people's understandings of, troubles with, and goals for their personal relationships.

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Sex differences in mate preferences revisited: Do people know what they initially desire in a romantic partner?

Cited by 389 publications

References 82 publications

Gender differences in narcissism: A meta-analytic review.

Gender differences in narcissism: A meta-analytic review.

Settling for less out of fear of being single.

“Have You Been Married, or …?”: Eliciting and Accounting for Relationship Histories in Speed-Dating Interaction

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