RICH MAN AND BEAUTIFUL WOMAN - 2 STUDIES ON SEX-DIFFERENCES IN MATE PREFERENCES

Research on sex differences in mate selection criteria shows that: (a) males emphasize the physical attractiveness of a prospective mate mor e than females, and (b) females emphasize the status and the income po tential of a prospective mate more than males. Two studies on sex diff erences in mate selection criteria are reported. The first study dealt with the content of 200 lonely hearts ads. In the second study, subje cts were instructed to rank order the importance of 16 possible attrib utes of a prospective mate. In the content analysis of the lonely hear ts ads, the expected s'' differences were found for physical attractiv eness and status. In contrast, in the subjects' self-reported mate pre ferences, sex differences were found for physical attractiveness only.