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Sexual Strategies Theory: An Evolutionary Perspective on Human Mating

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David M Buss at University of Texas at Austin
David M Buss
David Schmitt at Kansas State University
David Schmitt
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Abstract

This article proposes a contextual-evolutionary theory of human mating strategies. Both men and women are hypothesized to have evolved distinct psychological mechanisms that underlie short-term and long-term strategies. Men and women confront different adaptive problems in short-term as opposed to long-term mating contexts. Consequently, different mate preferences become activated from their strategic repertoires. Nine key hypotheses and 22 predictions from Sexual Strategies Theory are outlined and tested empirically. Adaptive problems sensitive to context include sexual accessibility, fertility assessment, commitment seeking and avoidance, immediate and enduring resource procurement, paternity certainty, assessment of mate value, and parental investment. Discussion summarizes 6 additional sources of behavioral data, outlines adaptive problems common to both sexes, and suggests additional contexts likely to cause shifts in mating strategy.
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... An important addition to reproductive strategies came when sexual strategies theory was developed in the early 1990s (Buss & Schmitt 1993.) Sexual strategies theory predicts that, given mutual partner choice, men and women will value quite similar characteristics in their romantic partners: intellect, resources, social status, and so on. ...
... Again, it is important to keep in mind that these sex differences are assumed to characterise both sameand opposite sex couples. (Buss & Schmitt 1993;Buss & Schmitt 2019.) Sexual strategies theory thus added a temporal dimension to reproductive strategies, in separating between long-term pair bonds as opposed to short-term matings. ...
... In a long-term relationship both men and women value trust, reliability, humour, and kindness in a partner. (Buss & Schmitt 1993;Gangestad & Simpson 2000;Schmitt et al. 2001;. Some gender differences appear to persist also in preferences for long-term partners. ...
24. What Are Couples Made of?: Union Formation in High-income Societies
Chapter
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  • Jun 2024
Human evolutionary demography is an emerging field blending natural science with social science. This edited volume provides a much-needed, interdisciplinary introduction to the field and highlights cutting-edge research for interested readers and researchers in demography, the evolutionary behavioural sciences, biology, and related disciplines. By bridging the boundaries between social and biological sciences, the volume stresses the importance of a unified understanding of both in order to grasp past and current demographic patterns. Demographic traits, and traits related to demographic outcomes, including fertility and mortality rates, marriage, parental care, menopause, and cooperative behavior are subject to evolutionary processes. Bringing an understanding of evolution into demography therefore incorporates valuable insights into this field; just as knowledge of demography is key to understanding evolutionary processes. By asking questions about old patterns from a new perspective, the volume—composed of contributions from established and early-career academics—demonstrates that a combination of social science research and evolutionary theory offers holistic understandings and approaches that benefit both fields. Human Evolutionary Demography introduces an emerging field in an accessible style. It is suitable for graduate courses in demography, as well as upper-level undergraduates. Its range of research is sure to be of interest to academics working on demographic topics (anthropologists, sociologists, demographers), natural scientists working on evolutionary processes, and disciplines which cross-cut natural and social science, such as evolutionary psychology, human behavioral ecology, cultural evolution, and evolutionary medicine. As an accessible introduction, it should interest readers whether or not they are currently familiar with human evolutionary demography.
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... The issue of mate preference has been explored extensively by evolutionary and social psychologists (Atari & Jamali, 2016;Bech-Sørensen & Pollet, 2016;Buss, 1987Buss, , 2008Buss & Schmitt, 1993;Feingold, 1992;G. J. Fletcher et al., 2004;March & Jonason, 2023;Todd et al., 2007;Zentner & Eagly, 2015). ...
... This mate preference literature is primarily concerned with sex differences and to what extent they are universal (i.e., cross-culturally consistent) based on ideas about signaling fecundity and fitness (Chang et al., 2011;Stone et al., 2007;Sugiyama, 2005;Thomas et al., 2020;Toro-Morn & Sprecher, 2003). There are indeed a number of theories in this area including Buss and Schmitt's (1993) sexual strategy theory, G. J. Fletcher et al. (2004) ideal standards model, and Li et al. (2013) mate preference priority model. While the research has mostly concerned heterosexual participants there has been a recent interest in comparing androphiles, gynephiles, and bisexuals sexual preferences (Kostic & Scofield, 2022). ...
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Article
Full-text available
  • Jun 2024
In this study, we examined demographic, ideological, and personality difference correlates of ratings of 27 characteristics in a potential mate. In all, 288 mainly middle-aged adults completed two questionnaires: one assessing personality (high potential trait indicator) and one on mate preference (Mate Preferences Scale). Sex differences, where p < .001 and d > 0.40, revealed only one on personality (competitiveness) but five other factors (attractiveness, earnings, emotional stability, height, and sexiness) in line with previous studies. Correlations indicated that participant trait ambiguity tolerance and competitiveness (low agreeableness) were most closely related to mate choices and preferences for normality, good genes, and religious compatibility. A factor analysis of the ratings indicated five interpretable factors. Regressions, with the mate choice factors as criterion and demography, ideology, and the six traits as predictor variables demonstrated many of the traits related to mate preference ratings. Implications and limitations are noted.
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... Women's mate preferences for male mates are contingent upon factors that convey indirect (i.e., genetic) and direct benefits (i.e., resources) (Buss & Schmitt, 1993). Physical traits such as facial and body masculinity, and height, are cues that are used in the perception of physical attractiveness in mate choice Sell et al., 2017;Symons, 1995). ...
... Sociosexuality, or one's propensity to engage in uncommitted sexual encounters, has been used as a measure of short-term mating orientation. According to sexual strategies theory (Buss & Schmitt, 1993), women have faced the ancestral problem of finding a mate that displays good genes. One solution to the adaptive problem faced by women is to pursue a short-term mating strategy to incur the genetic benefits over pursuing a long-term investment. ...
Examining Ecological Harshness, Sociosexuality, and Mate Value in Women’s Preferences for Men’s Height and Shoulder-to-Hip Ratio
Article
Full-text available
  • May 2024
Physical features in men, such as height and shoulder-to-hip ratio (SHR), have been shown to contribute to women’s mate preferences. The independent and interactive effects of height and SHR have been shown to be associated with attractiveness, masculinity, dominance, and fighting ability. It is suggested that these sexually dimorphic features are a reflection of men’s genetic quality, in addition to the ability to provide direct benefits (e.g., protection, resource provisioning). The current study investigated how ecological harshness may modulate women’s mate preferences to men displaying variations in height and SHR ratio. In a sample of predominately Hispanic women (N = 247), manipulating ecological harshness did not affect their ratings of men. Women considered taller men with larger SHRs as more attractive, masculine, dominant, and higher in fighting ability. Interestingly, these ratings were moderated by individual differences in women’s mate value but not sociosexuality. Women with higher mate value rated all men who were taller than the anchor woman (172 cm) in the presentation sequence as more attractive, masculine, dominant, and higher in fighting ability. The findings replicated previous research on the interactive effects of men’s height and SHR and showed that women calibrate their mating preferences as a function of their overall mate quality (i.e., mate value).
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... Certain aspects of intimate relationships may have impacted the fitness of ancestral men and women differently. For instance, since men do not experience the burden of pregnancy, their reproductive success would have been positively linked to the number of women they had sexual access to (Buss & Schmitt, 1993). This suggests that monogamy might result in a more significant fitness loss for men compared to women. ...
Unveiling the Shadows: An Exploratory Analysis of Perceived Disadvantages in Intimate Relationships
Article
Full-text available
  • Jun 2024
Intimate relationships are not characterized only by advantages as they have also a darker side. Accordingly, the current research aimed to identify the disadvantages of being in an intimate relationship in the Greek cultural context. More specifically, Study 1 employed qualitative research methods with a sample of 202 Greek-speaking participants, identifying 94 possible disadvantages. Study 2 employed quantitative research methods with a sample of 525 Greek-speaking participants and classified these disadvantages into 11 broader factors or major disadvantages and three broader domains or primary disadvantages. Participants indicated "Conflicts" as the most important primary disadvantage, followed by the "Emotional burden" and the "Compromises" primary disadvantages. Furthermore, we found that women indicated abusive behaviors, economic dependency, and less freedom factors as more important major disadvantages than men. Additionally, older participants reported making compromises as a more important major disadvantage than younger participants. Moreover, single participants rated several major disadvantages as more important than participants in an intimate relationship. Overall, our study sheds light on the less favorable aspects of intimate relationships and highlights important sex, age, and relationship status differences in perceiving these disadvantages.
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... Incels invoke that society is organized according to a very specific hierarchy based on the evolutionary theory that women select their partners according to the "looks, money, and status theory" (LMS theory) [6]. Indeed, women choose their partners according to short-term and long-term preferences, from which "cad" and "dad" sexual strategies evolved [7,8]. But, according to this theory, physical attractiveness (especially the signs of "good health," e.g. ...
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Full-text available
Background. The term “incel” (involuntary celibate) refers to the members of an online subculture, mainly composed of heterosexual men. These individuals find it difficult or impossible to have a romantic and/or sexual partner, and they express extreme anger and resentment toward women, as they hold them accountable for their “inceldom.” In recent years, online and offline acts of violence have been perpetrated by incels, raising concern at social and political levels. This study aims to understand the personal, psychological, and psychopathological variables that may contribute to developing incel traits. Materials and Methods. A total of 800 Italian heterosexual cisgender men were recruited by a link to the survey forwarded on social networks. Participants have completed a sociodemographic questionnaire and a set of psychometric tests to assess incels’ personality traits, attachment patterns, paranoia, anxiety, and depression. Results. Positive correlations among incel personality traits and psychopathological symptoms and insecure attachment were found. Hierarchical regression analysis showed the significant role of paranoid thinking, insecure attachment, depression, and anxiety symptoms in the presence of incels’ personality traits. Conclusion. Therefore, the assessment of these psychopathological aspects could help clinicians, parents, and teachers to early identify young males that can be caught in the inceldom and to develop specific intervention programs to prevent violence.
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... Future research should examine whether the same motivations drive endogamy in short-term romantic relationships. Such research should consider that men tend to prefer more short-term mating opportunities, have lower standards for short-term mates, and display a greater preference for sexual variety (e.g., Buss & Schmitt, 1993;Hughes et al., 2021), which may result in reduced associative strength of many of the motivational components, including those rooted in prejudice, in a short-term mating context. In contrast, women's preferences for short-term and long-term relationships may be similarly associated with the endogamous motivational components. ...
Motivations for Endogamous Relationship Preferences
Article
Full-text available
  • Jun 2024
  • ARCH SEX BEHAV
People tend to select romantic partners who belong to the same social group as themselves (i.e., endogamy). However, there is limited research on the proximal psychological motivations for choosing endogamous relationship partners. The purpose of this research was to develop a measure of motivations for endogamous relationship preferences and to assess whether such motivations were associated with actual dating experiences and attitudes toward endogamy across four common social categories: race and/or ethnicity, religion, social class, and education. Data from an online sample of participants (Study 1, n = 341) were used to generate items assessing motivations for endogamous relationship preferences. This initial set of items was administered to a new sample of participants (Study 2, n = 193) to establish the component structure of the measure and to examine whether the motivational components were associated with participants’ past exogamous dating experiences as well as the perceived importance of dating within one’s own racial and/or ethnic, religious, socioeconomic, and educational group. Endogamy motivations characterized by intergroup prejudice were the strongest and most consistent correlates of endogamous relationships and the perceived importance of endogamy. Study 3 (n = 332) replicated the component structure of the measure and the general pattern of associations documented in Study 2, and provided evidence for the measure’s construct validity. The overall findings suggest that intergroup prejudice partially explains preferences for endogamous relationships.
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... Similar to Penke and Asendorpf (2008), we found gender differences in the I-SOI-R. Men display higher levels of unrestricted sociosexuality, a result that is consistent with evolutionary accounts of gender differences in mating strategies (Al-Shawaf et al., 2018;Buss & Schmitt, 1993). The effect is particularly pronounced (medium-to-large) for the Sociosexual Desire component, coherently with the previous literature concerning this facet of sexual behavior (Barrada et al., 2018;Penke & Asendorpf, 2008). ...
Psychometric Characteristics of the Italian Version of the Revised Sociosexual Orientation Inventory
Article
Full-text available
  • Jun 2024
  • ARCH SEX BEHAV
Sociosexuality refers to the tendency to engage in uncommitted sexual behavior and has been dissected into three domains: sociosexual behavior, attitudes, and desire (Penke & Asendorpf, 2008), which led to the revised Sociosexual Orientation Inventory (SOI-R), which was validated on a German sample. The current research aimed at translating and validating an Italian version (I-SOI-R), administered to three distinct Italian participant groups. In the first sample (N = 710, females = 521, age = 18–59 years), we found evidence for a bifactor model, articulated in a general sociosexuality factor and three specific factors (behavior, attitudes, desire). High internal consistency was established for total and subscale scores, alongside favorable test–retest reliability. A connection was found between relationship status and sociosexual desire, though not gender dependent. We found evidence for test–retest reliability in a second sample (N = 55, females = 37, age 20–58 years). In a third study (N = 305, females = 147, age = 19–60 years), the earlier findings were replicated, further confirming the I-SOI-R's construct, criterion, and nomological validity on an online sample. Combining data from the three studies revealed full configural, metric, and scalar invariance regarding gender. This allowed us to meaningfully compare the observed scores of women and men and replicated the finding that men display higher levels of unrestricted sociosexuality. In conclusion, the I-SOI-R may serve as a valuable tool to assess and enhance sexual health, albeit warranting future research on construct and criterion validity.
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... 6 Sexual desire can be described as when an individual thinks of or fantasizes about sexual behavior or is motivated to engage in sexual behavior regardless of immediate arousal. 7 These 2 terms are present in 2 different disorders in the DSM-5-TR. 1 Women with low desire experience a lack or decrease in sexual fantasies, which could cause distress. ...
Profiles of University Students in Terms of Sexual Dysfunction: The Role of Anxiety, Depression, Eating Attitudes, and Mindfulness
Article
  • May 2024
Objective: Sexual dysfunction (SD) can interfere with sexual desire and satisfaction and is associated with an impairment in one’s emotional, mental, physical, and social function. Despite its importance, SD remains understudied in Lebanon, possibly due to its sensitive nature. Therefore, this research aimed to address this gap by examining the relationship between SD and certain psychological and behavioral factors. The objective was to investigate the relationship between SD and eating attitudes, depression, anxiety, and mindfulness among university students in Lebanon using a cluster analysis approach. Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out between July and September 2021. Using the snowball technique, a sample of 363 Lebanese university students was recruited. SD was measured using the Sexual Dysfunction Questionnaire, with higher scores indicating higher sexual arousal/desire. Eating attitudes, anxiety, depression, and mindfulness were measured using the Eating Attitude Test, Lebanese Anxiety Scale, Patient Health Questionnaire, and Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory, respectively. Results: Participants were divided into 3 clusters: cluster 1 “moderate well being” (n = 109, 30.0%) was characterized by moderate eating attitudes, anxiety, depression, and mindfulness; cluster 2 “positive well-being” (n = 186, 51.2%) was characterized by having the lowest mean eating attitude, anxiety, and depression scores, while having the highest mean mindfulness score; and cluster 3 “negative well-being” (n = 68, 18.7%) was characterized by the highest mean eating attitude, anxiety, and depression scores, while having the lowest mean mindfulness score. Females compared to males (β = −0.87) and belonging to cluster 2 (β = −1.32) or cluster 3 (β = −1.32) were significantly associated with less sexual arousal. Conclusion: The results align with previous findings suggesting that mindfulness has a role in SD. The current study highlights the importance of taking into consideration factors that interplay with SD. Mental health providers should consider integrating aspects of mindfulness into their practice when working with patients with SD. Additionally, addressing the taboo surrounding sexual health will be crucial to destigmatize this topic. The findings emphasize the need for accessible campaigns by sexual health organizations to raise awareness.
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... Ultimately, evidence for the EP scientific revolution proposed by Buss (2020) will not be found in obscure journals that are arguably not even tangentially related to the field of psychology. It will instead be found in high impact psychology journals, and in published articles with highly replicable findings predicted by mid-level evolutionary theories such as sexual conflict theory (Buss, 2017), error management theory (Haselton & Buss, 2000), parental investment theory (Trivers, 1972), sexual strategies theory (Buss & Schmitt, 1993), and many others. We believe that these contributions have truly revolutionized entire domains of behavioral research that remain otherwise entirely inexplicable on the SSSM accounts. ...
The Scientific Revolution of Evolutionary Psychology: Current Status and Future Directions. A Commentary on Zagaria (2024)
Article
Full-text available
  • May 2024
Objectives: A bibliometric analysis by Zagaria (2024) claimed that research in Evolutionary Psychology (EP) lags behind research grounded in the Standard Social Science Model (SSSM) in prevalence and growth rate, questioning EP’s status as a scientific revolution. This commentary aims to re-evaluate Zagaria’s findings and conclusions. We raise two major concerns about his analysis. First, Zagaria’s EP syntax excluded key EP terms like fitness, psychological adaptation, and parental investment, while the SSSM syntax included homonyms (e.g., culture) not always relevant to SSSM (e.g., tissue culture in medicine). Second, the analysis included non-scientific journals from fields like gender studies, skewing results since EP is not intended to influence non-scientific fields like dance therapy or tourism studies. Focusing on high-impact psychology journals would better reflect EP’s influence. Methods: We revised the SSSM syntax to “cultural” and updated the EP syntax by adding “inclusive fitness,” “parental investment,” and “psychological adaptation.” Our analysis also used year-by-year data and 5- and 10-year rolling averages to assess trends more accurately. Results: Our analysis found that growth in EP and SSSM research is comparable over time, and the ratio of SSSM to EP papers was overstated by at least 23%. Conclusion: We highlight metrics that should be weighted more heavily than publication quantity, such as effect magnitude, universality, and replicability. By these metrics, EP is arguably outperforming the SSSM and embodies elements of the Kuhnian scientific revolution discussed by Zagaria (2024). This commentary offers a more optimistic vision for EP’s current status and future directions.
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A longitudinal test of the Investment Model: The development (and deterioration) of satisfaction and commitment in heterosexual involvements
Article
Full-text available
  • Jul 1983
Used a longitudinal study of heterosexual dating relationships to test investment model predictions regarding the process by which satisfaction and commitment develop (or deteriorate) over time. Initially, 17 male and 17 female undergraduates, each of whom was involved in a heterosexual relationship of 0-8 wks duration, participated. Four Ss dropped out, and 10 Ss' relationships ended. Questionnaires were completed by Ss every 17 days. Increases over time in rewards led to corresponding increases in satisfaction, whereas variations in costs did not significantly affect satisfaction. Commitment increased because of increases in satisfaction, declines in the quality of available alternatives, and increases in investment size. Greater rewards also promoted increases in commitment to maintain relationships, whereas changes in costs generally had no impact on commitment. For stayers, rewards increased, costs rose slightly, satisfaction grew, alternative quality declined, investment size increased, and commitment grew; for leavers the reverse occurred. Ss whose partners ended their relationships evidenced entrapment: They showed relatively low increases in satisfaction, but their alternatives declined in quality and they continued to invest heavily in their relationships. (39 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved).
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Male aggression against women - An evolutionary perspective
Article
Full-text available
  • Mar 1992
Male aggression against females in primates, including humans, often functions to control female sexuality to the male's reproductive advantage. A comparative, evolutionary perspective is used to generate several hypotheses to help to explain cross-cultural variation in the frequency of male aggression against women. Variables considered include protection of women by kin, male-male alliances and male strategies for guarding mates and obtaining adulterous matings, and male resource control. The relationships between male aggression against women and gender ideologies, male domination of women, and female sexuality are also considered.
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Age preferences in mates reflect sex differences in reproductive strategies
Article
  • Mar 1992
The finding that women are attracted to men older than themselves whereas men are attracted to relatively younger women has been explained by social psychologists in terms of economic exchange rooted in traditional sex-role norms. An alternative evolutionary model suggests that males and females follow different reproductive strategies, and predicts a more complex relationship between gender and age preferences. In particular, males' preference for relatively Younger females should be minimal during early mating years, but should become more pronounced as the male gets older. Young females are expected to prefer somewhat older males during their early years and to change less as they age. We briefly review relevant theory and present results of six studies testing this prediction. Study 1 finds support for this gender-differentiated prediction in age preferences expressed in personal advertisements. Study 2 supports the prediction with marriage statistics from two U.S. cities. Study 3 examines the cross-generational robustness of the phenomenon, and finds the same pattern in marriage statistics from 1923. Study 4 replicates Study 1 using matrimonial advertisements from two European countries, and from India. Study 5 finds a consistent pattern in marriages recorded from 1913 through 1939 on a small island in the Philippines. Study 6 reveals the same pattern in singles advertisements placed by financially successful American women and men. We consider the limitations of previous normative and evolutionary explanations of age preferences and discuss the advantages of expanding previous models to include the life history perspective.
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Campus Values in Mate Selection: A Repeat Study
Article
  • May 1958
The abstract for this document is available on CSA Illumina.To view the Abstract, click the Abstract button above the document title.
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Stimulus. Value. Role: A Theory of Marital Choice
Article
  • Aug 1970
A three-stage theory of marital choice is presented called Stimulus—Value—Role. The first (stimulus) stage consists of value satisfaction obtained by visual, auditory, and non-interactional means. The second (value) stage consists of values appreciated through verbal interaction, and the third (role) stage involves the ability of the couple to function in mutually assigned roles. Among the topics considered are whether similars or opposites marry, sex-drive, self-acceptance, neuroticism, physical attraction, greater importance of men in determining courtship progress, and imagined role-compatibility as opposed to actual role-compatibility. A series of 19 hypotheses and supporting data are presented.
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Campus Values in Mate Selection: A Replication
Article
  • Nov 1969
This study was designed to examine and compare campus values in mate selection from 1939 to 1967. A replication of previous research done in 1939 by Hill and in 1956 by McGinnis was undertaken in 1967 by sending a questionnaire concerned with factors in mate selection to a random sample of students on four college campuses. From the findings it was concluded that the current college population has not departed significantly from values in mate selection held a generation ago. In fact, responses indicate a remarkable degree of consistency between the values voiced by the two generations.
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The Utility of Education and Attractiveness for Females' Status Attainment Through Marriage
Article
  • Jun 1976
A study of a U.S. national sample of females ages 25 through 40 reveals a moderate association of education, and a weaker association of physical attractiveness, with husbands' occupational prestige. Consistent with earlier findings reported by Elder, the contribution of education to females' status attainment through marriage seems to vary positively with level of origins and the contribution of attractiveness seems to vary inversely, except that the apparent effects for farmers' daughters resemble those for high-origin rather than low-origin females. The contribution of attractiveness seems almost nil for both farmers' daughters and high-origin females and does not seem to vary systematically by age. Among daughters of low-manual workers, education and attractiveness seem to interact, so that each enhances the utility of the other. It is concluded that the exchange involved in mate selection must be very complex and that the major exchange theories of mate selection probably underestimate the influence of highly variable needs, preferences and tastes.
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The evolution of female sexuality and mate selection in humans
Article
  • Jun 1992
Understanding female sexuality and mate choice is central to evolutionary scenarios of human social systems. Studies of female sexuality conducted by sex researchers in the United States since 1938 indicate that human females in general are concerned with their sexual well-being and are capable of sexual response parallel to that of males. Across cultures in general and in western societies in particular, females engage in extramarital affairs regularly, regardless of punishment by males or social disapproval. Families are usually concerned with marriage arrangements only insofar as those arrangements are economically or politically advantageous, but females most often have a voice in arranged marriages. Extended families also concentrate on a couple's future reproduction rather than on sexual exclusivity. Although marriage for females is often compromised by male or family reproductive interests (which may not in fact differ from female interests), females appear to exercise their sexuality with more freedom than has previously been suggested. Notions of human females as pawns in the male reproductive game, or as traders of sex for male services, should be dispelled.
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Assortative mating, or who marries whom?
Article
  • Jun 1972
The first section reviews how much and what kind of assortative mating occurs. It considers the genetic consequences of any departure from random mating, then discusses the effects of consanguinity or inbreeding on the offspring. Suffice it to say here that these effects are generally unfavorable, so that one may say that forgenetic reasons a high similarity between spouses is not favored. The next section discusses the social consequences of marital choice in terms of theories and research related to mate selection and marital adjustment. At this point, we may summarize two opposing views of what makes for a good marriage: (1) psychological similarity and (2) complementariness of needs of husband and wife. We will see that most of the evidence tends to support the first view, so we can say that for social reasons similarity between spouses is favored. Another topic touched on is whether marriage leads to an increase in similarity over time, or, in genetic terms, to a partial convergence of phenotypes, which could lead to an overestimation of the degree of genotypic similarity. Next, the theory is discussed that homogamy for socioeconomic status is responsible for the observed correlations between abilities and between beauty and brains. The final section summarizes some research on factors influencing the personal preferences for personality and physical type which govern the selection of potential mates.
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