Cross-Cultural similarities in importance of mate selection criteria

Ratings of the importance of mate selection criteria were analyzed using data from an on-going cross-cultural study of intimate relationships that is available online in multiple languages at web.whittier.edu/chill/ir. A total of 1934 women and 807 men responded, including students and non-students recruited in eight countries plus others responding from elsewhere. Factor analyses of 22 mate selection criteria rated by all respondents revealed four factors. One factor included personality, attitudes and values, interests and hobbies, intelligence, andsense of humor. A second included physical attractiveness, weight, height, and health and fitness. A third included social status, wealth, education, occupation, and age. The fourth included ethnicity, nationality, race, skin tone, language, and religion. The personality factor was rated of highest importance by both men and women, with ratings somewhat higher for women than for men. The physical attractiveness factor was only moderately important, and was just as important for women as for men among heterosexuals. The social status factor was also only moderately important,although it was somewhat more important for women than for men. The ethnicity factor was rated lowest in importance by both men and women. While the means varied, the ordering of importance of the four factors was similar across three countries in North America (the US, Canada, and Mexico), two countries in South America (Argentina and Colombia), and three countries inEurope (Spain, Italy, and Romania). A similar pattern was found among homosexuals in the US, except that lesbiansrated the physical attractiveness factor less important than did gay men. Mate selection criteria that are stated to be important do not always correspond to the characteristics of partners that are available and chosen for dating, and different criteria may apply when marriage occurs. This was explored by analyzing respondents' ratings of similarity between themself and their partner on the same list of 22 criteria, among those dating and those married. Factor analyses revealed a somewhat different set of four factors, and additional comparisons found that partners were often rated most similar on the ethnicity factor across the various samples. These complex findings will also be described. Future data collection will include countries in Asia and elsewhere.