It is believed that our preferences in choosing a partner are quite rigidly set by evolution. However, new data show how these preferences can change in different cultural and social settings.
Marcel Zentner, psychologist, professor at the University of Innsbruck (Austria) and Alice Eagly, psychologist, professor at Northwestern University (USA) conducted a large review of psychological and sociological research to find out how progress in the field of gender equality and changing gender roles affect the factors that guide men and women when choosing a partner.
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“A review of research across multiple disciplines found that mate preferences respond surprisingly quickly to society’s progress towards gender equality,” says Marcel Zentner. Modern scientists are no longer so sure that these preferences are hard-coded by evolution. On the contrary, it is suggested that our evolutionary programs involve greater flexibility and ability to adapt to changing environmental conditions. “This flexibility allows us to choose partners in any conditions, trying to minimize possible costs and maximize benefits for ourselves in the future,” says Alice Eagley.
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The researchers were able to demonstrate that both men and women who envisioned themselves as the sole “breadwinner” in the family wanted to find a partner who knew how to run the household. In contrast, people of both sexes who imagined themselves as non-working parents raising children at home wanted to find a partner older than themselves and with good career prospects.
Cross-cultural studies show that the more gender equality is developed in society, the less people tend to “exchange” the status and income of a man for the youth and beauty of a woman. But many evolutionary psychologists believe that it is precisely such an “exchange” that is natural for a person from the point of view of evolution. However, data show that in countries where gender equality is less developed, such as Turkey or South Korea, for women, a man’s earnings are twice as important as in countries such as Finland or the United States.
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These preferences reflect the social changes that have taken place. In many countries, the traditional distribution of roles – the husband as a breadwinner and the wife as a housewife – is long gone.
For example, in the US, 70% of mothers with children under 18 work. In 38% of marriages in which the wife works, she earns more than her husband. Not so long ago, a woman’s education and income were of little interest to her potential husbands. Now, more and more attention is being paid to it.
The general trend is that progress in the area of gender equality is increasingly blurring the differences between the preferences that guide men and women when looking for a partner. This does not mean that these differences will ever completely disappear, as the influence of biological factors continues to persist. However, the influence of sociocultural factors on our preferences for finding a partner is much greater than previously thought.
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“In today’s world, where both partners can (and often must) work to ensure a decent existence, men want to find a smart and educated wife who can earn good money. At the same time, for men themselves, earnings have become somewhat less important, but the importance of external data and housekeeping skills has increased, ”says Alice Eagley.
Подробнее см. М. Zentner, А. Eagly «A sociocultural framework for understanding partner preferences of women and men: Integration of concepts and evidence», European Review of Social Psychology, 2015, vol. 26, № 1.