Original article
The effects of female control of resources on sex-differentiated mate preferences

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2005.08.003Get rights and content

Abstract

A number of sex differences in mate preferences have been reported across cultures. Women prefer partners who are older than them whereas men prefer partners who are younger than them. Women have stronger preferences for resource-acquisition characteristics whereas men have stronger preferences for physical attractiveness. Recently, studies have reported shifts in female preferences with increasing female empowerment and associated female attitudes. Other studies, however, report opposite effects of female wealth and income. In this study, we investigated the effects of female control of the resources necessary to raise offspring successfully on mate preferences. We developed measures of resource control at the level of the individual and investigated relationships between these and mate preferences using an internet survey. Resource control was associated with preferences for physical attractiveness over good financial prospects and greater maximum partner age tolerated. Resource control, however, was also associated with tolerance of younger partners. The results implicate the role of constraints on female access to and control of resources in sex-differentiated mate preferences and highlight differences between resource control and wealth.

Introduction

Studies on human mate preferences have reported a number of sex differences. Women typically prefer older partners (e.g., Buss, 1989a, Kenrick & Keefe, 1992, Otta et al., 1999, Waynforth & Dunbar, 1995). They have stronger preferences for resource-acquisition characteristics in a partner whereas men have stronger preferences for physical attractiveness (e.g., Buss, 1989a, Buss, 1990, Buss, 1994, Buss & Barnes, 1986, Feingold, 1990, Feingold, 1991, Feingold, 1992, Hill, 1945, Li et al., 2002, Waynforth & Dunbar, 1995). These sex differences have been attributed to sex-specific reproductive constraints: the minimal investment in reproduction by a female is greater than that of a male owing to the costs of producing large gametes (Bateman, 1948), internal gestation, lactation, and extended parental care (Trivers, 1972). Thus, female reproductive success is constrained by access to the resources necessary to raise costly offspring whereas male reproductive success is constrained by access to fertile females (Trivers, 1972). Consequently, women should prefer partners who demonstrate willingness and ability to invest direct resources in offspring (e.g., partners with resource-acquisition characteristics or older partners with greater accumulated resources) and men should prefer cues to reproductive capacity and fertility (e.g., a healthy, attractive appearance).

High levels of intrasexual variation, however, implicate complexity and trade-offs in human mate preferences (e.g., Smuts, 1989, Smuts, 1991a, Smuts, 1991b, Waynforth & Dunbar, 1995). In addition to providing direct resources through investment of parental care, males can also provide offspring with indirect heritable qualities (Trivers, 1972). Males possessing high heritable fitness are likely to be successful at pursuing short-term mating strategies and, as a consequence, are less likely to provide parental care and investment in long-term relationships (Waynforth, 1999). Thus, females must trade off the importance of obtaining genetic quality versus material resources in a partner (see work of Gangestad & Simpson, 2000, and Waynforth, 2001).

Most studies on human mate preferences have used samples from societies with cash economies and a division of labor in which women have historically been constrained in their participation in the workforce (e.g., Buss & Barnes, 1986, Hrdy, 1997). When women can only secure resources through a partner, they may benefit from choosing a partner with material resources over a partner with indirect heritable qualities. It has been argued that when females can access the resources necessary to raise offspring independently, the importance of male investment of resources in offspring will decrease (Cashdan, 1993, Gangestad, 1993, Low, 1990). Concordant predictions come from the social structural theory, which posits that socialization of the sexes into gender roles is responsible for sex differences in mate preferences (Eagly & Wood, 1999, Wood & Eagly, 2002); that is, men and women attempt to fill specific gender roles (female as homemaker and male as breadwinner). Mate preferences reflect attempts to maximize resources denied to each sex by gender roles. Although the social structural and “adaptive trade-offs” perspectives both predict decreased magnitudes of sex differences in mate preferences with increasing sexual equality, they offer differing explanations for the mechanisms by which these shifts would occur. The perspectives may, however, be compatible and offer proximate-level and ultimate-level explanations, respectively (Wood & Eagly, 2002).

Studies on the effects of female status on mate preferences have yielded conflicting results. Positive relationships have been reported between (a) expected female income and preference rankings for resource-acquisition characteristics (e.g., Townsend, 1989, Wiederman & Allgeier, 1992); (b) female income and importance placed on the potential income of a partner (Buss, 1989b); and (c) female income and requests for resources in lonely-hearts advertisements (Gil-Burmann et al., 2002). In addition, positive assortative mating has been reported for cultural and economic status (Kalmijn, 1994) and educational attainment and socioeconomic origins (Kalmijn, 1991). Conversely, Johannesen-Schmidt and Eagly (2002) reported positive relationships between the extent to which females endorsed the traditional female gender role and preferences for good earning potential and age in a partner. Similarly, Koyama, McGain, and Hill (2004) reported a negative relationship between importance placed on “good earning potential” in a partner and feminist attitudes. Furthermore, in reanalyses of Buss's (1990) data from 37 cultures, Eagly and Wood (1999) found female empowerment to be negatively correlated with female preferences for male earning potential and older partners and Kasser and Sharma (1999) reported a negative relationship between educational equality and female preference for male resource-acquisition characteristics. Two studies have reported positive relationships between female status and preferences for a cue to heritable quality in a partner: women's participation in economies (Gangestad, 1993) and own-rated financial prospects (Koyama et al., 2004) were found to relate positively to preferences for physical attractiveness in a partner.

Evidence for an effect of female resources on preferences for direct investment of resources versus indirect genetic benefits is not conclusive. Female economic status does not appear to be associated with diminished preferences for resource-acquisition characteristics in a partner but is associated with preferences for physical attractiveness. Conversely, attitudes associated with endorsement of a less-traditional gender role are associated with decreased preferences for resource-acquisition characteristics. Gangestad and Simpson (2000) proposed that these discrepancies reflect differences in the measures used. Wealth may not be the same as the power tapped by measurement of attitudes toward sexual equality or cultural measurements of female empowerment. Alternatively, measurement of attitudes may not tap the actual ability of individuals to provide for offspring independently. We argue that assessment of control of resources includes the effects of both access to resources (as previously measured by income) and autonomy (as previously tapped by measures of attitudes), providing a measure of ability to provide for offspring independently without the confounding effects of assortment for wealth. It is predicted that the ability of females to acquire and control the resources necessary to raise offspring will allow preferences to shift toward indirect heritable benefits, as the importance of acquiring resources from a partner decreases. Thus, the aims of the current study were to (a) develop a measure of resource control at the level of the individual and (b) assess relationships between this and female mate preferences. Our study is unique in investigating the effects of control of resources on mate preferences, in examining the effects of autonomy at the level of the individual, and in using a sample more representative of the general population than previous studies.

Previous research have indicated that measures of female control of resources do not covary such that they can be usefully combined to provide a single measure (Low, 1990, Whyte, 1978, Whyte, 1979, Yanca & Low, 2004). Such studies have used measures including control of the fruits of one's labor, control of dwellings, and authority over others in the family and the community (Low, 1990, Whyte, 1978, Whyte, 1979, Yanca & Low, 2004). Thus, we developed a series of questionnaire items designed to assess the extent to which individuals independently acquire and control resources and possess power (i.e., exert authority over others).

To summarize, it was predicted that female resource control will influence the trade-off between preferences for resource-acquisition characteristics and those for indirect genetic benefits. Increasing female control of resources was predicted to be associated with (a) decreased preferences for resource-acquisition characteristics in a partner and (b) increased preferences for physical attractiveness. We predicted that the effects of resource control would differ from those of income and expected positive relationships between income and preferences for resource-acquisition characteristics (because of assortative mating). We assessed preferences for resource-acquisition characteristics and cues to indirect heritable benefits through ranking of partner characteristics. In addition, preferences for age in a partner provided a measure of an indirect preference for accumulated resources.

Section snippets

Participants

A total of 4359 female participants (mean age=24.23 years, S.D.=9.59) completed the online test. We identified and removed 2638 duplicate data entries (i.e., the same participant completing the test, or parts of the test, more than once) using a random number allocated at the start of the test. Only the participants aged between 18 and 35 years (n=2992) and those who reported being completely heterosexual (n=2788) were included in analyses. A total of 1851 females met these criteria (mean

Sample characteristics

Of all the participants, 80% indicated Caucasian ethnicity, 8% Asian, 1% Afro-Caribbean, and 11% “other”; 42% indicated residence in the UK, 3% other Western Europe, 4% Eastern Europe, and 51% “other”; 56% were single or in a casual relationship and 44% were in a serious relationship or married. Most participants were in the middle brackets for current income (60%) and parents' income while growing up (85%). In addition, most had been university or college educated (87%).

Resource control

Measures of

Discussion

We isolated two resource control factors (financial independence and power and ambition) from female responses to questionnaire items and examined relationships between these and mate preferences in females. Financial independence and power was associated with older minimum partner ages tolerated and preferences for physical attractiveness over good financial prospects in a partner. Ambition was associated with younger maximum partner ages tolerated. Our results suggest resource control to be

Acknowledgments

We thank Michael Burt and Michael Stirrat for their technical assistance and Lynda Boothroyd and Gillian Brown for their useful discussion and advice. This research was supported by BBSRC and MRC studentships.

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