A sociocultural framework for understanding partner preferences of women and men: Integration of concepts and evidence

doi:10.1080/10463283.2015.1111599

Paper

A sociocultural framework for understanding partner preferences of women and men: Integration of concepts and evidence

Published Jan 1, 2015 · M. Zentner, A. Eagly

European Review of Social Psychology

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44

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6

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Abstract

In the current sociocultural framework for understanding mating preferences, we propose that gender roles affect sex differences and similarities in mate preferences. Gender roles, in turn, are shaped by the unequal division of labour between women and men. As a consequence, mating preferences and choices should converge across the sexes as the weakening of this division puts the sexes in more similar social roles in their societies. To evaluate these assumptions, we review relevant findings from three domains that show variability in gender roles: (a) cross-cultural variability related to differences in societies’ division of labour, (b) historical variability related to temporal changes in the division of labour, and (c) individual variability in gender attitudes that reflects the gradual and uneven spread of shifts toward gender equality throughout each society. The bringing together of multiple lines of evidence puts the sociocultural framework on a new and more secure foundation.

Literature Review

Study Snapshot

Gender roles shape mate preferences, and as the unequal division of labor weakens, sex differences and similarities in mate preferences should converge across the sexes in more similar social roles.

PopulationOlder adults (50-71 years)

Sample size24

MethodsObservational

OutcomesBody Mass Index projections

ResultsSocial networks mitigate obesity in older groups.

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A sociocultural framework for understanding partner preferences of women and men: Integration of concepts and evidence

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Citations

Contemporary Partner Preferences in Mate Selection: An Expanded List of Characteristics and the Addition of Constraints

This study updated the 1939 instrument on mate selection by developing an expanded list of characteristics and a constrained approach, revealing that some new characteristics are more important than others.

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