Although many researchers have believed women choose
partners based on the kind of relationship they are seeking,
a new study from The University of Texas at Austin reveals
women’s preferences can be influenced by their own
attractiveness.
David Buss, psychology researcher at the university,
has published the findings in “Attractive Women Want
it All: Good Genes, Economic Investment, Parenting Proclivities
and Emotional Commitment” in this month’s Evolutionary
Psychology.
Previous researchers argued that what women value depended
on the type of relationship they were looking for. Women
looking for long-term partners want someone who will be
a good provider for them and their children, but women
seeking short-term flings care more about masculinity
and physical attractiveness, features that may be passed
down to children.
Buss and Todd Shackelford, psychology professor at Florida
Atlantic University, found women ideally want partners
who have all the characteristics they desire, but they
will calibrate their standards based on their own desirability.
“When reviewing the qualities they desire in romantic
partners, women gauge what they can get based on what
they got,” Buss said. “And women who are considered
physically attractive maintain high standards for prospective
partners across a variety of characteristics.”
The researchers identified four categories of characteristics
women seek in a partner:
* good genes, reflected in desirable physical traits,
* resources,
* the desire to have children and good parenting skills,
and
* loyalty and devotion.
Most women attempt to secure the best combination of
the qualities they desire from the same man, but the researchers
said a small portion of women who do not find a partner
with all the qualities may trade some characteristics
for others.
Although women’s selectivity across categories reflected
how attractive they appeared to other people, the researchers
found the characteristics men desired in a partner did
not vary based on their own physical attractiveness.
