Identifying the ideal mate: More evidence for male-female convergence

Male and female students participated in an experiment designed to test specific hypotheses fromsexual strategies theory (Buss & Schmitt, 1993) regarding their preferences for certain personal and physical traits in a potential mate. Participants distributed 50 points among a number of trait-pairs. The items consisted of a consensually valued trait-pair, “biologically relevant” trait-pairs, and a reference to ethnic and cultural similarity. In Condition 1 participants distributed the points among the trait-pairs without any additional information about the potential mate; Condition 2 participants distributed the points after being asked to assume the potential mate possessed some biologically relevant traits. Males, compared to females, assigned more points to trait-pairs signalling highreproductive value, and females, compared to males, assigned more points to trait-pairs signalling highresource potential. Male and female participants in Condition 2, compared to control participants, distributed more points among the opposite genders’ preferred traits. Discussion focused on speculation that assuming a potential mate possessed biologically relevant traits increases the desirability of other traits related to the solution of common and genderspecific long-term mating problems.