“Evolutionary psychology” may explain how men and women mate

Three years ago, Robert Kurzban started studying people using a speed-dating service, to see what criteria men and women seemed to use in finding a partner.

They discovered that both sexes chose their dates based upon factors such as physical attractiveness, rather than social standing or income.

“HurryDate participants are given three minutes in which to make their judgments,” the psychologists wrote in a paper published in the May issue of the science journal Evolution and Human Behavior, “but they mostly could be made in three seconds.”

Evolutionary psychology states that men favour short-term relationships—because their ancestors were able to have children with numerous partners without losing energy—whereas women are more selective, searching for long-term relationships, due to the requirements for bringing up children.

Not everyone agrees with this, however, including “Darwinist feminists” who say that women are not all monogamists.

Trying to draw a distinction between “luxuries” and “necessities,” the researchers gave men and women varied “mating budgets” and, in a series of tests, asked them to construct their ideal mate, using such qualities as looks, social status, creativity, and kindness. For one-night stands and affair partners, both women and men sought physical attractiveness above all else.

For long-term mates, the expected sex differences emerged: Men kept preferring attractiveness, and women opted for social status, as well as warmth and trustworthiness. But after their minimum requirements for these necessities were met, both sexes chose well-rounded partners over those with the very best looks or the highest status.

Read the full article: Men, women and Darwin