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Trade-offs in low-income women’s mate preferences

Within-sex differences in reproductive strategy

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Abstract

A sample of 460 low-income women completed a mate preference questionnaire and surveys that assessed family background, life history, conscientiousness, sexual motives, self-ratings (e.g., looks), and current circumstances (e.g., income). A cluster analysis revealed two groups of women: women who reported a strong preference for looks and money in a short-term mate and commitment in a long-term mate, and women who reported smaller differences across mating context. Group differences were found in reported educational levels, family background, sexual development, number of children, and motives for having sex. Implications for understanding individual differences in women’s mate-preference trade-offs are discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri, 65211-2500, Columbia, MO

    Jacob M. Vigil, David C. Geary & Jennifer Byrd-Craven

Authors
  1. Jacob M. Vigil
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  2. David C. Geary
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  3. Jennifer Byrd-Craven
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Correspondence to Jacob M. Vigil.

Additional information

This research was funded in part by a Gus. T. Ridgel graduate fellowship awarded to Jacob M. Vigil.

Jacob M. Vigil (MA) is currently a graduate student in the Department of Psychological Sciences at the University of Missouri-Columbia. In addition to the development of human reproductive behaviors, Mr. Vigil’s research focuses on the ontogeny of social cognition, normal stress responses, emotionality, and supporting physiological and behavioral mechanisms.

David C. Geary (Ph.D. Psychology, University of California-Riverside) is a Curators’ Professor in the Department of Psychological Sciences at the University of Missouri at Columbia. His varied interests are reflected in his three books, Children’s Mathematics Development (1994), Male, Female: The Evolution of Human Sex Differences (1998), and The Origin of Mind: Evolution of Brain, Cognition, and General Intelligence (2005). Among many distinctions is a MERIT award from the National Institutes of Health for his research on children’s mathematical cognition, and recent appointment to the President’s National Mathematical Panel.

Jennifer Byrd-Craven (MS) is a graduate student in the Department of Psychological Sciences at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Her research interests include the ontogeny of the stress response, sex differences in social cognition, and contextual variation in mating and parenting behavior.

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Vigil, J.M., Geary, D.C. & Byrd-Craven, J. Trade-offs in low-income women’s mate preferences. Hum Nat 17, 319–336 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12110-006-1012-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12110-006-1012-0

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