Attractive Women Want it All: Good Genes, Economic Investment, Parenting Proclivities, and Emotional Commitment1

By David M. Buss, T. Shackelford. 2008

389 citations recorded by the source corpus.

The current research tests the hypothesis that women have an evolved mate value calibration adaptation that functions to raise or lower their standards in a long-term mate according to their own mate value. A woman's physical attractiveness is a cardinal component of women's mate value. We correlated observer-assessed physical attractiveness (face, body, and overall) with expressed preferences for four clusters of mate characteristics (N = 214): (1) hypothesized good-gene indicators (e.g., masculinity, sexiness); (2) hypothesized good investment indicators (e.g., potential income); (3) good parenting indicators (e.g., desire for home and children), and (4) good partner indicators (e.g., being a loving partner). Results supported the hypothesis that high mate value women, as indexed by observer-judged physical attractiveness, expressed elevated standards for all four clusters of mate characteristics. Discussion focuses on potential design features of the hypothesized mate-value calibration adaptation, and suggests an important modification of the trade-off model of women's mating. A minority of women—notably those low in mate value who are able to escape male mate guarding and the manifold costs of an exposed infidelity—will pursue a mixed mating strategy, obtaining investment from one man and good genes from an extra-pair copulation partner (as the trade-off model predicts). Since the vast majority of women secure genes and direct benefits from the same man, however, most women will attempt to secure the best combination of all desired qualities from the same man.

Subfields: Experimental and Cognitive Psychology, Marketing, Sociology and Political Science

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/f46568a6503b483b5c6407a5bb139bd99f993021

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Citations in the corpus

Evolutionary Psychology and Feminism (2011, background): “…high in mate value are more exacting in their mate preferences for traits such as masculinity, social status, and resource acquisition potential (Buss and Shackelford 2008), the ovulation effects may reflect a shift in women's self-perceived mate value rather than a shift in preference for "…”
Who is The Fairest One of All? How Evolution Guides Peer and Media Influences on Female Body Dissatisfaction (2011, background): “Indeed, evidence suggests that women with high self-perceived mate value develop increasingly stringent standards for mating, seeking not only men with high resource potential but also those who are physically attractive (i.e., possess indicators of good genes) (D. M. Buss & Shackelford, 2008).”
Did sexual selection shape human music? Testing predictions from the sexual selection hypothesis of music evolution using a large genetically informative sample of over 10,000 twins (2015, background): “…(as suggested above) but also good investment indicators (Gangestad & Simpson, 2000), the latter including resource acquisition potential but also warmth, emotional stability and kindness—potential indicators of being a ‘good dad’ or a ‘good partner’ (Buss & Shackeford, 2008; Miller, 2013).”
Perceived mate availability influences intrasexual competition, jealousy and mate-guarding behavior (2014, background): “2002) including one’s own value as a mate (BUSS 2008).”
The mate switching hypothesis (2017, background): “Physically attractive women have elevated standards for prospective mates compared to less attractivewomen (Buss and Shackelford, 2008).”
Beauty and the beast: mechanisms of sexual selection in humans (2010, background): “In addition, more physically attractive women demand greater male investment and other direct and indirect benefits (Buss & Shackelford, 2008; Pawlowski & Jasienska, 2008).”
Mating markets and bargaining hands: Mate preferences for attractiveness and resources in two national U.S. studies (2016, background): “…mating market, attractiveness impacts a person's mating opportunities (Eastwick & Finkel, 2008), and past research has found that more attractive women indicate that awider variety of desirable traits are indispensable in a romantic partner than do less attractive women (Buss & Shackelford, 2008).”