Are sex differences in preferences for physical attractiveness and good earning capacity in potential mates smaller in countries with greater gender equality?

Zhang, L., Lee, A. J. , DeBruine, L. M. and Jones, B. C. (2019) Are sex differences in preferences for physical attractiveness and good earning capacity in potential mates smaller in countries with greater gender equality? Evolutionary Psychology, 17(2), pp. 1-6. (doi: 10.1177/1474704919852921) (PMID:31146580)

Abstract

On average, women show stronger preferences for mates with good earning capacity than men do, while men show stronger preferences for physically attractive mates than women do. Studies reporting that sex differences in mate preferences are smaller in countries with greater gender equality have been interpreted as evidence that these sex differences in mate preferences are caused by the different roles society imposes on men and women. Here, we attempted to replicate previously reported links between sex differences in mate preferences and country-level measures of gender inequality in a sample of 3,073 participants from 36 countries (data and code available at https://osf.io/4sr5f/ ). Although women preferred mates with good earning capacity more than men did and men preferred physically attractive mates more than women did, we found little evidence that these sex differences were smaller in countries with greater gender equality. Although one analysis suggested that the sex difference in preferences for good earning capacity was smaller in countries with greater gender equality, this effect was not significant when controlling for Galton's problem or when correcting for multiple comparisons. Collectively, these results provide little support for the social roles account of sex differences in mate preferences.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: This research was funded by an ERC grant to LMD (KINSHIP). Anthony J. Lee has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No 705478.
• Keywords: Attractiveness, gender inequality, mate preferences, sex differences, status.
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: DeBruine, Professor Lisa and Lee, Dr Anthony and Zhang, Lingshan and Jones, Professor Benedict
• Authors: Zhang, L., Lee, A. J., DeBruine, L. M., and Jones, B. C.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Psychology & Neuroscience
• Journal Name: Evolutionary Psychology
• Publisher: SAGE
• ISSN: 1474-7049
• ISSN (Online): 1474-7049
• Published Online: 30 May 2019
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2019 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Evolutionary Psychology 17(2):1-6
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License