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Walter KV, Conroy-Beam D, Buss DM, Asao K, Sorokowska A, Sorokowski P, Aavik T, Akello G, Alhabahba MM, Alm C, Amjad N, Anjum A, Atama CS, Duyar DA, Ayebare R, Batres C, Bendixen M, Bensafia A, Bizumic B, Boussena M, Butovskaya M, Can S, Cantarero K, Carrier A, Cetinkaya H, Croy I, Cueto RM, Czub M, Dronova D, Dural S, Duyar I, Ertugrul B, Espinosa A, Estevan I, Esteves CS, Fang L, Frackowiak T, Garduño JC, González KU, Guemaz F, Gyuris P, Halamová M, Herak I, Horvat M, Hromatko I, Hui CM, Jaafar JL, Jiang F, Kafetsios K, Kavčič T, Kennair LEO, Kervyn N, Khanh Ha TT, Khilji IA, Köbis NC, Lan HM, Láng A, Lennard GR, León E, Lindholm T, Linh TT, Lopez G, Luot NV, Mailhos A, Manesi Z, Martinez R, McKerchar SL, Meskó N, Misra G, Monaghan C, Mora EC, Moya-Garófano A, Musil B, Natividade JC, Niemczyk A, Nizharadze G, Oberzaucher E, Oleszkiewicz A, Omar-Fauzee MS, Onyishi IE, Özener B, Pagani AF, Pakalniskiene V, Parise M, Pazhoohi F, Pisanski A, Pisanski K, Ponciano E, Popa C, Prokop P, Rizwan M, Sainz M, Salkičević S, Sargautyte R, Sarmány-Schuller I, Schmehl S, Sharad S, Siddiqui RS, Simonetti F, Stoyanova SY, Tadinac M, Correa Varella MA, Vauclair CM, Vega LD, Widarini DA, Yoo G, Zaťková MM, Zupančič M. Sex differences in human mate preferences vary across sex ratios. Proc Biol Sci 2021; 288:20211115. [PMID: 34284630 PMCID: PMC8292757 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2021.1115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2020] [Accepted: 06/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
A wide range of literature connects sex ratio and mating behaviours in non-human animals. However, research examining sex ratio and human mating is limited in scope. Prior work has examined the relationship between sex ratio and desire for short-term, uncommitted mating as well as outcomes such as marriage and divorce rates. Less empirical attention has been directed towards the relationship between sex ratio and mate preferences, despite the importance of mate preferences in the human mating literature. To address this gap, we examined sex ratio's relationship to the variation in preferences for attractiveness, resources, kindness, intelligence and health in a long-term mate across 45 countries (n = 14 487). We predicted that mate preferences would vary according to relative power of choice on the mating market, with increased power derived from having relatively few competitors and numerous potential mates. We found that each sex tended to report more demanding preferences for attractiveness and resources where the opposite sex was abundant, compared to where the opposite sex was scarce. This pattern dovetails with those found for mating strategies in humans and mate preferences across species, highlighting the importance of sex ratio for understanding variation in human mate preferences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathryn V. Walter
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
| | - Daniel Conroy-Beam
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
| | - David M. Buss
- Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA
| | - Kelly Asao
- Department of Psychology, Westminster College, Salt Lake City, UT 84105, USA
| | - Agnieszka Sorokowska
- Institute of Psychology, University of Wroclaw, Wroclaw 50137, Poland
- Smell and Taste Clinic, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, TU Dresden, Dresden 01307, Germany
| | - Piotr Sorokowski
- Institute of Psychology, University of Wroclaw, Wroclaw 50137, Poland
| | - Toivo Aavik
- Institute of Psychology, University of Tartu, Tartu 50090, Estonia
| | - Grace Akello
- Department of Mental Health, Faculty of Medicine, Gulu University, Gulu 166, Uganda
| | | | - Charlotte Alm
- Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, Stockholm 10691, Sweden
| | - Naumana Amjad
- Department of Applied Psychology, NUR International University, Lahore, Pakistan
| | - Afifa Anjum
- Institute of Applied Psychology, University of the Punjab, Lahore 54590, Pakistan
| | | | | | | | - Carlota Batres
- Department of Psychology, Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster 17603, USA
| | - Mons Bendixen
- Department of Psychology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), 7491 Trondheim, Norway
| | - Aicha Bensafia
- Laboratory Education-Formation-Travail (EFORT), Department of Sociology, and
| | - Boris Bizumic
- Research School of Psychology, Australian National University, Canberra 2601, Australia
| | - Mahmoud Boussena
- Laboratory EFORT, Department of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Algiers 2, Algiers 16000, Algeria
| | - Marina Butovskaya
- Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 119991, Russia
- Center for Social Anthropology, Russian State University for the Humanities, Moscow 119991, Russia
| | - Seda Can
- Department of Psychology, Izmir University of Economics, Izmir 35300, Turkey
| | - Katarzyna Cantarero
- Social Behavior Research Center, Faculty in Wroclaw, SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Wroclaw 53238, Poland
| | - Antonin Carrier
- Psychology Faculty (Center for the Study of Social Behavior), and
| | - Hakan Cetinkaya
- Department of Psychology, Ankara University, Ankara 6560, Turkey
| | - Ilona Croy
- Department of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatic Medicine, TU Dresden, Dresden 1069, Germany
| | - Rosa María Cueto
- Grupo de Psicología Política y Social (GPPS), Departamento de Psicología, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, Lima 15088, Perú
| | - Marcin Czub
- Department of Psychology, Westminster College, Salt Lake City, UT 84105, USA
| | - Daria Dronova
- Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 119991, Russia
| | - Seda Dural
- Department of Psychology, Izmir University of Economics, Izmir 35300, Turkey
| | - Izzet Duyar
- Deparment of Anthropology, Istanbul University, Istanbul 34452, Turkey
| | - Berna Ertugrul
- Deparment of Anthropology, Istanbul University, Istanbul 34452, Turkey
| | - Agustín Espinosa
- Grupo de Psicología Política y Social (GPPS), Departamento de Psicología, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, Lima 15088, Perú
| | - Ignacio Estevan
- Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de la República, Motevideo 11200, Uruguay
| | - Carla Sofia Esteves
- Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Católica Lisbon School of Business and Economics, Católica Lisbon Research Unit in Business and Economics, Portugal
| | - Luxi Fang
- Department of Psychology, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, People's Republic of China
| | - Tomasz Frackowiak
- Institute of Psychology, University of Wroclaw, Wroclaw 50137, Poland
| | | | | | - Farida Guemaz
- Department of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Sétif2, Sétif 16000, Algeria
| | - Petra Gyuris
- Institute of Psychology, University of Pécs, Pécs 7624, Hungary
| | - Mária Halamová
- Faculty of Social Sciences and Health Care, Department of Psychological Sciences, Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra, Nitra 94974, Slovakia
| | - Iskra Herak
- Louvain Research Institute in Management and Organisations (LOURiM), Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve 1348, Belgium
| | - Marina Horvat
- Faculty of Arts, Department of Psychology, University of Maribor, Maribor 2000, Slovenia
| | - Ivana Hromatko
- Department of Psychology, Faculty for Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb, Zagreb 10000, Croatia
| | - Chin-Ming Hui
- Escuela Nacional de Estudios Superiores, Unidad Morelia UNAM, Morelia 58190, Mexico
| | - Jas Laile Jaafar
- Department of Educational Psychology and Counseling, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia
| | - Feng Jiang
- Organization and Human Resource Management, Central University of Finance and Economics, Beijing 102202, People's Republic of China
| | - Konstantinos Kafetsios
- School of Fine Arts, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece and Katedra Psychologie, Palacký University Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | | | | | - Nicolas Kervyn
- Louvain Research Institute in Management and Organisations (LOURiM), Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve 1348, Belgium
| | - Truong Thi Khanh Ha
- Department of Psychology, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi 100000, Vietnam
| | - Imran Ahmed Khilji
- Department of Psychology, Islamabad Model College for Boys, F-10/4, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan
| | - Nils C. Köbis
- Center for Research in Experimental Economics and Political Decision Making, Department of Economics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam 1081, The Netherlands
| | - Hoang Moc Lan
- Department of Psychology, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi 100000, Vietnam
| | - András Láng
- Institute of Psychology, University of Pécs, Pécs 7624, Hungary
| | - Georgina R. Lennard
- Research School of Psychology, Australian National University, Canberra 2601, Australia
| | - Ernesto León
- Grupo de Psicología Política y Social (GPPS), Departamento de Psicología, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, Lima 15088, Perú
| | - Torun Lindholm
- Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, Stockholm 10691, Sweden
| | - Trinh Thi Linh
- Department of Psychology, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi 100000, Vietnam
| | - Giulia Lopez
- Department of Psychology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan 20123, Italy
| | - Nguyen Van Luot
- Department of Psychology, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi 100000, Vietnam
| | - Alvaro Mailhos
- Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de la República, Motevideo 11200, Uruguay
| | - Zoi Manesi
- Department of Experimental and Applied Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam 1081, The Netherlands
| | - Rocio Martinez
- Department of Social Psychology, University of Granada, Grenada 18010, Spain
| | - Sarah L. McKerchar
- Research School of Psychology, Australian National University, Canberra 2601, Australia
| | - Norbert Meskó
- Institute of Psychology, University of Pécs, Pécs 7624, Hungary
| | - Girishwar Misra
- Department of Psychology, University of Delhi, Delhi 110021, India
| | - Conal Monaghan
- Research School of Psychology, Australian National University, Canberra 2601, Australia
| | - Emanuel C. Mora
- Department of Animal and Human Biology, Faculty of Biology, University of Havana, Havana, Cuba
| | - Alba Moya-Garófano
- Department of Psychology, Islamabad Model College for Boys, F-10/4, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan
| | - Bojan Musil
- Faculty of Arts, Department of Psychology, University of Maribor, Maribor 2000, Slovenia
| | - Jean Carlos Natividade
- Department of Psychology, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 22451-000, Brazil
| | | | - George Nizharadze
- Department of Social Sciences, Free University of Tbilisi, Tbilisi 2, Georgia
| | | | - Anna Oleszkiewicz
- Institute of Psychology, University of Wroclaw, Wroclaw 50137, Poland
- Smell and Taste Clinic, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, TU Dresden, Dresden 01307, Germany
| | | | - Ike E. Onyishi
- Department of Psychology, University of Nigeria, Nsukka 410002, Nigeria
| | - Baris Özener
- Deparment of Anthropology, Istanbul University, Istanbul 34452, Turkey
| | | | | | - Miriam Parise
- Department of Psychology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan 20123, Italy
| | - Farid Pazhoohi
- Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada V6T 1Z4
| | - Annette Pisanski
- Department of Animal and Human Biology, Faculty of Biology, University of Havana, Havana, Cuba
| | - Katarzyna Pisanski
- Institute of Psychology, University of Wroclaw, Wroclaw 50137, Poland
- Equipe de Neuro-Ethologie Sensorielle (ENES), Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon (CRNL), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Jean Monnet University, Saint-Etienne, France
- CNRS National Center for Scientific Research, Dynamic Language Laboratory, University Lyon 2, Lyon, France
| | - Edna Ponciano
- Institute of Psychology, University of the State of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 21941-901, Brazil
- Center of Social Studies, University of Coimbra, 3004 Coimba, Portugal
| | - Camelia Popa
- Department of Psychology—Institute of Philosophy and Psychology “C. Rădulescu Motru” of Romanian Academy, UNATC Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania
| | - Pavol Prokop
- Department of Environmental Ecology and Landscape Management, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University, Bratislava 84215, Slovakia
- Institute of Zoology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava 84506, Slovakia
| | - Muhammad Rizwan
- Department of Psychology, University of Haripur, 22620, Pakistan
| | - Mario Sainz
- Escuela de Psicología, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago 8331150, Chile
| | - Svjetlana Salkičević
- Department of Psychology, Faculty for Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb, Zagreb 10000, Croatia
| | - Ruta Sargautyte
- Institute of Psychology, Vilnius University, Vilnius 1513, Lithuania
| | - Ivan Sarmány-Schuller
- Center for Social and Psychological Sciences, Institute of Experimental Psychology SAS, Bratislava, 84104, Slovakia
| | - Susanne Schmehl
- Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Vienna, Vienna 1090, Austria
| | - Shivantika Sharad
- Department of Applied Psychology, Vivekananda College, University of Delhi, Delhi 110095, India
| | - Razi Sultan Siddiqui
- Department of Management Sciences, DHA Suffa University, Karachi 75500, Pakistan
| | - Franco Simonetti
- School of Psychology, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, Santiago 8331150, Chile
| | | | - Meri Tadinac
- Department of Psychology, Faculty for Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb, Zagreb 10000, Croatia
| | - Marco Antonio Correa Varella
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Institute of Psychology, University of São Paulo, São Paulo 05508-030, Brazil
| | | | - Luis Diego Vega
- Department of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Sétif2, Sétif 16000, Algeria
| | - Dwi Ajeng Widarini
- Fakultas Ilmu Komunikasi, Universitas Prof. Dr Moestopo (Beragama), Jakarta 10270, Indonesia
| | - Gyesook Yoo
- Department of Child and Family Studies, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 024-47, Republic of Korea
| | - Marta Marta Zaťková
- Department of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Sétif2, Sétif 16000, Algeria
| | - Maja Zupančič
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana 1000, Slovenia
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