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Identifying the ideal mate: More evidence for male-female convergence

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Abstract

Male and female students participated in an experiment designed to test specific hypotheses fromsexual strategies theory (Buss & Schmitt, 1993) regarding their preferences for certain personal and physical traits in a potential mate. Participants distributed 50 points among a number of trait-pairs. The items consisted of a consensually valued trait-pair, “biologically relevant” trait-pairs, and a reference to ethnic and cultural similarity. In Condition 1 participants distributed the points among the trait-pairs without any additional information about the potential mate; Condition 2 participants distributed the points after being asked to assume the potential mate possessed some biologically relevant traits. Males, compared to females, assigned more points to trait-pairs signalling highreproductive value, and females, compared to males, assigned more points to trait-pairs signalling highresource potential. Male and female participants in Condition 2, compared to control participants, distributed more points among the opposite genders’ preferred traits. Discussion focused on speculation that assuming a potential mate possessed biologically relevant traits increases the desirability of other traits related to the solution of common and genderspecific long-term mating problems.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, California State University, San Bernardino, 5500 University Parkway, 92407, San Bernardino, CA

    Robert Ervin Cramer, Jeffrey T. Schaefer & Suzanne Reid

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  1. Robert Ervin Cramer
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  2. Jeffrey T. Schaefer
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  3. Suzanne Reid
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Cramer, R.E., Schaefer, J.T. & Reid, S. Identifying the ideal mate: More evidence for male-female convergence. Current Psychology 15, 157–166 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02686948

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