need a reading response. ( two pages, in 5 hours)

10/18/2017 Yuzu: Psychology of Gender: Fourth Edition

https://reader.yuzu.com/#/books/9781317345046/cfi/6/36!/4/2/2/2@0:0 1/2

Evidence. In general, men and women have similar reasons for entering romantic relationships. Support and companionship are the primary motivating factors. Women and men desire partners who are honest, warm, affectionate, kind, and share their interests. However, some sex differences in desires also appear that are consistent with stereotypes. As indicated in the personal ads, men desire physical attractiveness in a partner, whereas women desire intelligence or occupational status.

In a meta-analysis conducted 20 years ago that compared the characteristics that women and men desired in a mate, results showed that females were substantially more likely than males to emphasize socioeconomic status (d = −.69) and ambition (d = −.67), but only somewhat more likely to emphasize intelligence (d = −.30) and character (d = −.35; Feingold, 1992). There was no sex difference in the value attached to personality. In a meta-analysis that was focused only on the importance of a mate’s physical attractiveness, men emphasized physical attractiveness in a mate more than women with the size of the difference being larger in self-report studies (ds in the +.50 range) than observational studies (ds in the +.30 range; Feingold, 1990).

However, these meta-analyses were conducted a long time ago. Do these sex differences still hold? A more recent review of the literature showed that the differences not only still exist but are consistent across a variety of cultures (Shackelford, Schmitt, & Buss, 2005). Women are more likely than men to prefer a mate who has money, ambition, and high social status in 27 of the 37 cultures examined, including the United States, whereas men are more likely than women to prefer a physically attractive mate in 30 of the 37 cultures, also including the United States. A study of single men and women, one-third of whom were Asian and half of whom were European, showed that men were more likely than women to value physical attractiveness in selecting a long- term mate, whereas women were more likely to value intelligence (Furnham, 2009).

Because it is more socially acceptable for men than women to emphasize the physical appearance of a potential mate, demand characteristics that may be exaggerating these differences. A study using fMRI methodology avoided the problems of self-report by having young adult community members rate a series of other-sex faces while in a scanner (Cloutier et al., 2008). More attractive faces were associated with the activation of areas in the brain associated with reward for both men and women. However, one of these areas in particular—the orbitofrontal cortex—was particularly active in response to attractive faces for men. The authors concluded that physical attractiveness has more reward value for men than women.

Women and men are well aware of the fact that they have some different preferences. When college students in the United States, the Netherlands, and Korea were asked how distressed they would be if their partner became interested in someone else who outperformed them on a number of dimensions, males said they would be more distressed than females at rivals who outperformed them in terms of job prospects, physical strength, and financial prospects (Buss et al., 2000). By contrast, females said they would be more distressed than males at rivals who were physically more attractive. These findings held across the three countries.

All of these studies seem to accentuate differences and overlook similarities. Studies that have evaluated the importance of a variety of characteristics show physical attractiveness and status to be relatively unimportant. For example, a 2001 national survey of 20- to 29-year-old women showed that 80% believe it is more important that a husband communicate his innermost feelings than make a good living (Whitehead & Popenoe, 2001). The study of single men and women noted above (Furnham, 2009) found that the most important characteristics desired in a mate were caring/loving, funny, and loyal/honest. That study also showed that women rated the importance of 8 of 14 characteristics as more important compared to men, suggesting that women have higher relationship standards than men. A nationally representative sample of seventh through twelfth graders revealed that romantic love, faithfulness, and commitment were the most important values of heterosexuals, gay men, lesbians, and bisexuals (Meier, Hull & Ortyl, 2009).

In general, gay men and lesbians look for the same characteristics in a mate as do heterosexuals—affection, shared interests, similarity, and dependability (Peplau & Fingerhut, 2007). Do gay men and lesbians show the same differences in mate preferences as heterosexual men and women? Unlike heterosexual women, there is no evidence that lesbians value a mate’s resources. Having a mate with enough money is viewed as more important to both heterosexual males and females than to gays, lesbians, or bisexuals, suggesting that status is less important to relationships among sexual minorities (Meier et al., 2009). Like heterosexual men, homosexual men seem to value a mate’s physical attractiveness, whereas lesbians do not (Hatala & Prehodka, 1996). A study of personal advertisements placed by women showed that lesbians placed the least importance on physical appearance and bisexuals the most importance, with heterosexual women falling between the two groups (Smith & Stillman, 2002). One study showed that romantic love and commitment were valued more by women than

10/18/2017 Yuzu: Psychology of Gender: Fourth Edition

https://reader.yuzu.com/#/books/9781317345046/cfi/6/36!/4/2/2/2@0:0 2/2

men among heterosexuals, but there were no sex differences when gay men, lesbians, and bisexuals were compared to each other (Meier et al., 2009).

Like heterosexuals, homosexuals may prefer mates who are similar to them. Because the pool of possible mates is smaller for homosexuals, matching may be less possible. Having a mate of the same race (racial homogamy) was viewed as less important to gays, lesbians, and bisexuals compared to heterosexual females and males (Meier et al., 2009). One study showed a striking degree of correspondence between homosexual partners on demographic characteristics, but less correspondence on personality traits (Kurdek, 2003). Lesbians were more likely than gay men to have similar personality traits.

One concern with the research on mate selection is that people are asked to evaluate a single characteristic at a time, which is not how mates are selected in the real world. In real relationships, potential mates possess a number of characteristics, all of which are evaluated simultaneously. Trade-offs may be made depending on the trait’s importance and the degree to which it is possessed in a mate. For example, you may prefer a mate who is very nice and very attractive but, if given the choice, you would prefer a very nice average-looking mate to a hostile attractive mate. In a study that examined tradeoffs, women’s and men’s choices depended on whether the relationship was short term or long term (Fletcher et al., 2004). Given the choice between an attractive mate or a warm mate, men were more likely than women to choose attractiveness in short-term encounters but warmth in long-term relationships.