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Home , Human mating strategies, Mate value, Mating, Reproductive success

Human Strategies

As descendants of a long line of successful maters, modern humans have inherited the mating strategies that led to their forebear’s success. These include long-term mating, short-term mating, and mixed mating strategies. This article presents empirical evi- dence supporting -based hypotheses about the complexities of these mating strategies, which differ substantially for men and women.

array of specifically dedicated to the David M. Buss, Professor, task of mating. Department of Psychology, Nowhere do people have an equal desire to mate University of Texas, Austin with all people. Everywhere, some people are pre- ferred as mates, others shunned. Desires are central to all facets of mating. They determine who we are attracted to, and who is attracted to us. They influ- ence which attraction tactics will be successful (those that fulfill desires) and which attraction tac- tics will fail (those that violate desires). Successful mate retention tactics involve continuing to provide resources that fulfill the desires of a mate. Failure to Perhaps no adaptive domain is more central to re- fulfill these desires causes and . At production than mating. Those in our evolutionary every step of the mating process, from mate selec- past who failed to mate failed to become ancestors. tion to mate expulsion, desires determine the Modern humans are all descendants of a long and ground rules. unbroken line of ancestors who succeeded in the complex and sometimes circuitous tasks involved in and mating. As their descendants, modern humans have Although (1859) recognized that inherited the adaptations that led to the success of survival was central to the evolutionary process, their ancestors. many natural phenomena he observed seemed to Successful mating requires solutions of a num- baffling on the theory of »survival selection.« He ber of formidable adaptive problems. These includ- noticed phenomena such as the brilliant plumage of ing selecting a fertile mate, out-competing intrasex- peacocks, the flamboyant feathers of cardinals, and ual rivals in attracting a mate, fending off attempts the enormous antlers of deer. How could these to poach one’s mate, preventing the mate from de- metabolically costly structures possibly have evol- fecting, and engaging in all of the necessarily sexu- ved? Many seemed like open lures to predators, and al and social behaviors required for successful con- hence detrimental to survival. Darwin also noticed ception to take place. As a consequence of the num- that males and females of many appeared to ber and complexity of mating problems humans be different in size and shape. Male elephant seals, have recurrently faced over the long expanse of hu- for example, weight roughly 4,000 pounds; female man evolutionary history, it is reasonable to antici- elephant seals weigh only 1,000 pounds. Among pate that humans have evolved a large and complex baboons, males are twice the size of females.

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Among humans, males are 12 percent taller than fe- headedness in the population. The key point is that males, on average. Since both have faced the desires of one for certain qualities in a mate roughly the same survival problems, why would can create evolutionary change – either an increase they differ in size and morphology? And what could in the frequency of desired qualities or a decrease in account for variation on the degree of sexual dimor- the frequency of undesired qualities. phism across species? Darwin’s theory of sexual selection was initially Darwin’s answer to these empirical puzzles was designed to explain the various empirical puzzles he the theory of sexual selection (Darwin, 1858, 1871). had observed – things like the brilliant plumage of The theory of sexual selection dealt with the evolu- peacocks (preferred by peahens) and the larger size tion of characteristics due to reproductive, rather of males in some species (explained by the advan- than survival, advantage. Darwin described two tage that size gives males in intrasexual competi- component processes through which sexual selec- tion). But many puzzles remained. Darwin observed tion could take place. In the first, called intrasexual that females were often the choosy sex (indeed, he competition, members of one sex (often, but not al- sometimes called the process of intersexual selec- ways, the males) engaged in competitive battles tion »female choice«), but he did not know why. He with each other. Two stags locking horns in combat also observed that males were often the competitive is a prototypical example of intrasexual competi- sex, but he did not know why. Roughly a century tion. The victors in these battles gain preferential would pass before evolutionary biologists devised a sexual access to females. The losers fail to mate. powerful theory to explain what determines which Whatever qualities lead to success in same-sex con- sex will compete and which sex will exercise tests, therefore, are passed down in greater numbers choice, that is, what drives the operation of the two (assuming that these qualities are heritable). What- component processes of sexual selection. ever qualities are linked with losing either fail to get Trivers’s (1972) answer to these questions was passed down or get passed down in fewer numbers. the theory of parental investment. According to this Evolution, that is change over time, occurs as a re- theory, the sex that invests more in would sult of the differential of the winners be more choosy about mates. In species with inter- and losers in same-sex contests. nal female fertilization, the greater parental invest- It is important to note that intrasexual competi- ment by females makes them a valuable reproduc- tion need not always direct physical combat. Males tive resource. Gestating, bearing, and breast feeding in some species compete for position in the status a child, for example, are costly endeavors. Elemen- or dominance hierarchy through non-physical tary economics tells us that those who hold valuable means, and position in the hierarchy can be linked resources do not give them away indiscriminately. with preferential access to mates (e.g., Betzig, Evolution favored women who were highly selec- 1986). Males in other species scramble for access to tive about their mates. Women who were not choo- territory, and access to territory can be linked to sy would have suffered lower . preferential access to mates. The key point is that Those who engaged in careful mate selection, pre- whatever qualities lead to success in intrasexual ferring for example a man who would stay around, competition are passed on in greater numbers, invest in her, and protect her children, enjoyed re- whether the competition is physical combat, ma- productive benefits. The more an channels neuvering for position in the hierarchy, or scramble effort into parental investment, according to Trivers, for access to certain resources. The result is evolu- the greater the benefits of exercising careful mate tion through sexual selection. choice. The sex that invests less in offspring, ac- The second process through which sexual selec- cording to this theory, should be more competitive tion occurs is intersexual selection. This process in- with each other for access to the high-investing sex. volves the preferences of members of one sex for In summary, the relative investment of the two sex- members of the opposite sex who possess certain es drives the operative components of sexual selec- qualities. Hypothetically, if all women preferred to tion, with the high investing sex being selected to mate with men who had red hair, those with red hair be the most discriminating and the lower investing would have a mating advantage. Over time, we sex being selected to be the most competitive with would witness an increase in the frequency of red- members of their own sex.

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The Menu of Human Mating Strategies is not uncommon, for example, for a person to en- One of the intriguing features of human mating is gage in one long-term committed mateship with that it cannot be characterized by a singular strate- heavy investment in children, while simultaneously gy. One item on the menu is long-term committed pursuing an extramarital , or series of , mating, often, but not always, characterized by a on the side. formal public commitment such as . In Humans, in short, are neither solely monoga- long-term mating, both sexes typically invest heavi- mous, nor solely promiscuous; neither polygynous ly in any resultant offspring. As a consequence, and nor polyandrous. Which items on the menu of in accordance with the theory of parental invest- strategies a particular person chooses is heavily de- ment, sexual selection has likely fashioned in both pendent on contexts. These include the sex ratio in sexes high levels of choosiness or selectivity. Poor the mating pool, a person’s , and even long-term mate choices would have been costly for prevailing cultural norms. These issues are briefly either sex, because they would have risked wasting discussed later, but first, we must outline the central their heavy investments. desires of men and women in their pursuit of long- Not all mating, however, lasts a lifetime. Human term and short-term mates. can last a few years, a few months, a few weeks, a few days, or even a few minutes. One end Qualities Desired in a Marriage Partner of this temporal continuum may be called short- Given that women have a large obligatory parental term mating. This temporal dimension turns out to investment to produce children, and hence are pre- be critical to many components of mating, perhaps dicted to be discriminating in their , the none more central than the qualities desired. Fur- next key question is: Discriminating about which thermore, humans remarkable creativity in qualities? Potential mates vary in thousands of their ability to mix and match mating strategies. It ways, from physical prowess to speed of hair

Figure 1

SAMFUNDSØKONOMEN NR. 4 – 2002 49 Human Mating Strategies growth. Adaptationist thinking provides a guide to Cultures varied tremendously in the value placed hypotheses about the evolution of what women on some characteristics. The desire for chastity or want, namely those characteristics that reliably led virginity (lack of prior ) proved to to an increase women’s reproductive success. These be the most cross-culturally variable, as shown in include selecting a mate who (1) is able to invest re- Figure 1. Mainland Chinese placed tremendous val- sources in her and her children, (2) is willing to in- ue on virginity; Scandinavians typically placed little vest resources in her and her children, (3) is able to importance on chastity. physically protect her and her children, (4) is will- Many characteristics were universally desired by ing to physically protect her and her children, (5) both sexes. Worldwide, women and men wanted will show good parenting skills, and (6) will be suf- mates who were intelligent, kind, understanding, ficiently compatible in goals and values to enable dependable, and healthy. Similarly, mutual attrac- strategic alignment without inflicting too many tion/ emerged as one of the most valued quali- costs on her and her children (Buss, 1994). ties in a spouse worldwide. In a large-scale cross-cultural study, Buss and his Despite these cultural variations and universal colleagues (Buss, 1989; Buss et al., 1990) explored commonalities, women and men differed across the how much women and men desired each of 32 qual- globe on their desire for some qualities. Women, ities in a potential long-term mate. The study in- significantly more than men, desired »good finan- volved samples from 37 cultures located on six con- cial prospect,« as well as the qualities that lead to tinents and five islands. The samples included Gu- economic resources, such as ambition and industri- jarati Indians, Estonians, mainland Chinese, Santa ousness (see Figure 2). Men, significantly more Catarina Brazilians, and South African Zulu. The than women, desired partners who are »good look- total sample size was 10,047, with an average of ing« and »physically attractive.« Physical appear- 272 from each of the 37 cultures. ance, as voluminous research has shown, provides a

Figure 2

SAMFUNDSØKONOMEN NR. 4 – 2002 50 Human Mating Strategies wealth of cues to a woman’s health and (see women who were slightly younger, they found Buss, 1999 for a review). women a few years older to be the »most attrac- Men universally wanted mates who were youn- tive.« Interestingly, this finding occurs despite the ger than themselves, confirming the hypothesis that fact that these older women express no interest at men desire fertility cues (see Figure 3). Evolution- all in younger men. Taken together, the cu- ary models have predicted that what men desire is mulative findings suggest that men’s age prefer- not youth per se, but rather features of women that ences exist, at least in large measure, because of the are associated with reproductive value or fertility. historically recurring link between a woman’s age This perspective leads to a counterintuitive predic- and her fertility. tion when it comes to the age preferences of adoles- Although not predicted in advance, it turned out cent males: teenage males are predicted to prefer that women wanted partners who were a few years women who are slightly older then they are, con- older than themselves, possibly a cue to greater ma- trary to the typically observed pattern of men desir- turity, resources, and willingness to commit. ing younger women. This prediction is based on the In summary, universal sex differences occurred fact that women slightly older than these teenaged in precisely those domains predicted to involve sex- boys have slightly higher fertility than women their linked adaptive problems, notably the selection of own age or women who are younger (Kenrick, mates who have the ability to invest resources Keefe, Gabrielidis, & Cornelius, 1996). (women prefer more than men) and mates who dis- The findings of the Kenrick et al. (1996) studies play cues to youth and beauty, known signals of fer- confirmed this counterintuitive prediction. Although tility (men prefer more than women). Despite these teenage males were willing to accept dates with universal sex differences, most mate preferences

Figure 3

SAMFUNDSØKONOMEN NR. 4 – 2002 51 Human Mating Strategies show great similarity between the sexes (e.g., kind It is worth noting that, conceptually, we do not and understanding, intelligent, healthy), and there expect a perfect correspondence between expressed are also important cultural differences in the desires desires and actual mating behavior for the simple (e.g., chastity). reason that people cannot always get what they It is important, of course, to obtain independent want. A person’s own level of desirability, for ex- confirmation of these findings from alternative ample, will limit the ability to translate ideal mate methods that do not rely on expressed preferences. preferences into an actual mating. Most people And indeed, many alternative methods support the must settle for someone who is less than what they validity of the methods used to obtain expressed ideally want. Nonetheless, the available evidence is preferences. A study of actual in 29 dif- strongly convergent from a variety of different ferent cultures, for example, confirmed that men do methods that these fundamental desires differ for choose younger women (Buss, 1989). Grooms were men and women and affect actual mating behavior older than brides in each one of the 29 cultures, with in precisely the ways predicted. an average age difference of three years. Further- more, as men get older, if they get divorced and re- Desires in Short-Term Mating marry, they tend to marry women who are increas- Trivers’s (1972) theory of parental investment pro- ingly younger than they are. The age gap is three vides a powerful basis for predicting sex differences years at first marriage, five years at second marriage, in the pursuit of short-term matings. Men, more and eight years at third marriage (Buss, 1994). than women, are predicted to have evolved a greater Studies of the response rates to personals ads al- desire for . The same act of sex that caus- so confirm the results found with expressed prefer- es a woman to invest nine months in pregnancy ob- ences. Women mentioning ligates the man to little or no investment. Over a and young age as part of their self-description in one-year period, an ancestral man who managed to their ads receive significantly higher response rates have short-term sex with dozens of women would than women who are older or who fail to mention have caused many pregnancies. An ancestral anything about their physical attractiveness. Con- woman who had sex with dozens of men in the versely, men who mention excellent financial re- same year would produce only a single child. The sources in their self-descriptions in their ads re- reproductive benefits to men of short-term mating, ceived a higher response rate from women than men in sum, would have been a direct increase in off- who fail to mention this attribute (Baize & Schroed- spring production. A married man with two chil- er, 1995). dren, for example, would have increased his repro- Finally, studies of the behavioral tactics that men ductive success by 50 percent by one short-term and women use to attract mates, retain mates, and or affair that resulted in conception and derogate their rivals all correspond closely to the birth. expressed desires of the opposite sex. Women, for The empirical evidence for a sex difference in example, tend to put more effort into appearance desire for short-term mating is extensive, supported enhancement in mate attraction and mate retention, by hundreds of scientific studies. When asked how and when they derogate their rivals they focus on many sex partners they would ideally like, men the rival’s physical flaws (e.g., mentioning that the state that they would like 18 in their lifetime, other woman’s thighs are heavy). Conversely, men whereas women average around 4.5, as shown in tend to display and bestow resources on the women Figure 4 (Buss & Schmitt, 1993). These large sex they are trying to attract and retain. They tend to differences have been replicated using different sta- denigrate their rivals by impugning the rival’s pro- tistical methods of calculating central tendency fessional prospects, such as mentioning that he rival (e.g., medians rather than means) on samples di- is lazy, lack ambition, or lacks clear goals in life verse in age (Schmitt et al., in press). (see Buss, 1994, for summaries of these studies). Another psychological solution to the problem When men and women attempt to deceive each oth- of gaining sexual access to a variety of partners is er, they do so precisely along the lines of the desires to let little time elapse between meeting a desired expressed by the opposite sex (Tooke & Camire, female and seeking sexual intercourse. The less 1991). time a man permits to elapse before seeking sexual

SAMFUNDSØKONOMEN NR. 4 – 2002 52 Human Mating Strategies

Figure 4

intercourse, the larger the number of women he can for sex were insulted, and some thought is bizarre. succeed in copulating. In one study that has been Of the men approached by the female experi- extensively replicated, men and women rated how menters, 50% agreed to go out on a date, similar to likely they would be to consent to sex with some- the women’s responses. However, 69% agreed to go one they viewed as desirable if they had know the back to her apartment. And 75% agreed to have sex person for only an hour, a day, a week, a month, with her. Of the men who declined the sexual re- and so on. Both men and women say that they quest, some were apologetic, citing a prior commit- would probably have sex after knowing a desirable ment with parents of a fiancé. These sex differences potential mate for five years (see Figure 5). At have been replicated in subsequent studies (see every shorter interval, men exceeded women in the Buss, 2000, for a summary). reported likelihood of having sex. In summary, is quite apparent that men have A behavioral study confirmed this large sex dif- evolved psychological mechanisms dedicated to ference (Clarke & Hatfield, 1989). Men and women solving the complex problems posed by success at experimenters approached total on a col- short-term mating. These include a desire for sexual lege campus, and said »Hi, I’ve been noticing you variety, the tendency to let little time elapse before around campus, and I find you very attractive.« seeking sexual intercourse, and the behavioral will- Then they asked one of three questions: Would you ingness to consent to sex with strangers. In addi- go out on a date with me? Would you go back to my tion, men appear to lower their standards dramati- apartment with me? Would you have sex with me? cally in the context of short-term mating (Buss & The experimenters recorded the percentage who Schmitt, 1993); show a marked decrease in attrac- agreed to each request, and also any verbal com- tion to a sex partner immediately following sexual ments they made. intercourse, perhaps to facilitate a hasty post-copu- Of the women approached by the male experi- lation departure (Haselton & Buss, 2001); report menters, 50% agreed to go out on a date with him; exaggerating the depth of their feelings to gain sex- 6% agreed to go back to his apartment; and 0% ual access (Buss, 1994); and report that they would agreed to have sex. Some women who were asked have an extramarital affair if they knew that no one

SAMFUNDSØKONOMEN NR. 4 – 2002 53 Human Mating Strategies

Figure 5

would find out (for reviews of this evidence, see damage to their reputations, a lowering of percep- Schmitt et al., 2001). tions of their mate value, and if mated, the possibili- ty of violence at the hands of a jealous or Women’s Short-Term Mating Strategies . Given these costs, it is unlikely that selec- Although the empirical evidence is clear that men, tion would have forged a female short-term mating far more than women, have a great desire for a vari- psychology in the absence of substantial benefits ety of sex partners, there is a problem – men could that outweigh those costs. never have evolved such a desire in the absence of In an effort to explore what those benefits might willing women (barring deception or forced inter- be, Greiling and Buss (2000) extracted from the lit- course). Indeed, mathematically, the mean number erature and formulated a number of hypotheses of sex partners for men and women must be identi- about potential benefits that women could obtain cal, assuming an equal sex ratio in the population. from short-term mating. These include resource hy- Ever time a man has sex with a woman whom he potheses (e.g., immediate resource accrual), genetic has not previously had sex, a woman is simultane- hypotheses (e.g., producing more genetically di- ously having sex with a man with whom she has verse offspring), mate switching hypotheses (e.g., never had sex. using a short-term mating as a means to exit a poor Perhaps because the evolutionary logic for men mateship), mate skill acquisition hypotheses (e.g., having evolved a strong desire for sexual variety is clarifying mate preferences), and mate manipula- so clear – namely, an increase in direct reproductive tion hypotheses (e.g., deterring a partner’s future in- output – the evolutionary logic for women having fidelity). evolved a short-term mating psychology has been Greiling and Buss (2000) conducted a series of relatively neglected. The puzzle is deepened by the four empirical studies to identify which hypotheses fact that short-term mating often carries substantial appeared promising and which did not. Although costs for women. Women, more than men, risk limited in scope, these studies were designed to ex-

SAMFUNDSØKONOMEN NR. 4 – 2002 54 Human Mating Strategies amine (1) the perceived likelihood that a woman tifically about the phenomenon of mate poaching. would receive particular benefits through a short- According to one recent study (Schmitt & Buss, term mating; (2) the perceived magnitude of bene- 2001), it mate poaching turns out to be a prevalent fits if received; (3) the contexts in which women en- phenomenon. Using a relatively mature sample of gage in short-term mating; and (4) individual differ- American participants, averaging 41 years of age ences among women in proclivity to engage in pur- (range = 30 – 65), 60% of the men and 53% of the sue short-term matings in their perceptions of bene- women reported having attempted to poach some- fits. Below are reported only the result of short-term one as a long-term mate who was already in an ex- extra-pair mating (EPC). isting committed relationship. The comparable fig- The hypotheses that received the most empirical ures for attempting to attract an already-mated per- support across studies were those of resource acqui- son for a short-term sexual liaison were 60% for sition and mate switching. For example, women men and 38% for women. judge it to be highly likely that they will receive The majority of this sample also reported being jewelry, money, free dinners, or clothing by engag- recipients of mate poaching attempts by others ing in short-term mating. Furthermore, a critical while they were in a committed romantic relation- context if which women consider short-term affairs ship. These figures for the long-term mating context is when the partner cannot hold down a job. Women were 93% for men and 82% for women. Eighty- who actively engage in short-term mating, in con- seven percent of the men and 94% of the women re- trast to their more monogamous counterparts, judge ported being recipients of mate poaching attempts the resource benefits to be »more beneficial.« for brief sexual matings. The hypothesized »mate switching function« of Attempted mate poaching is one issue; success- women’s short-term mating would, of course, only ful mate poaching is another. When asked whether apply to context in which the short-term mating is they have been successfully lured away from an ex- an affair or an extra-pair copulation (EPC). Con- isting relationship, 67% of the men and 41% of the texts in which women judge it to be highly likely women responded affirmatively for the long-term that they will have an affair include »feeling that context. And 40% of the men and 31% of the she could find someone with whom she is more women report having been successfully seduced by compatible than her current partner.« Furthermore, a mate poacher for a short-term sexual liaison. Sim- women perceive it to be highly beneficial to discov- ilar findings have been obtained cross-culturally in er a who is interested in making a samples from Israel, Turkey, Greece, Croatia, commitment to them, willing to spend a lot of time Slovenia, Poland, Portugal, Germany, France, Eng- with them, and able to replace her current partner. land, and Canada (Schmitt, 2001). In summary, mate switching and resource acquisi- tion appear to be two viable contenders for the and Mate Guarding evolved functions of short-term mating. Further re- The phenomena of and mate poaching search, of course, is needed to test these hypothe- pose serious adaptive problems. If these phenomena ses, as well as others such as »good genes,« for have recurred over the long course of human evolu- which there is independent evidence (e.g., Ganges- tionary history, and there is no reason to believe tad & Thornhill, 1997). that they haven’t, the principle of co-evolution sug- The existence of already mated women who gests that strategies will evolved to defend against sometimes engage in EPC’s implies the existence of these problems and the costs they impose. One pos- a pervasive problem for men – the presence of mate sible solution involved the evolution of jealousy poachers. (Buss, et al., 1992; Daly, Wilson & Weghorst, 1982; Symons, 1979). Jealousy is an emotion that is acti- Mate Poaching vated whenever there is a threat to a valued relation- Mate poaching may be defined as behavior de- ship (Daly et al., 1982). Threats can come in many signed to lure someone who is already in a romantic forms, such as the loss of a partner’s sexual, finan- relationship, either temporarily for a brief sexual li- cial, or emotional resources to a rival. Threats can aison or more permanently for a long-term mating. come from within the relationship from a partner Until recently, practically nothing was known scien- who might have the urge to stray, or from outside

SAMFUNDSØKONOMEN NR. 4 – 2002 55 Human Mating Strategies the relationship in the form of mate poachers at- women more than men tend to become more dis- tempting to lure a partner away. tressed over signals of emotional infidelity. Of Over the past decade, a substantial amount of re- course, both sexes typically get extremely upset by search has been devoted to exploring jealousy as an both forms of infidelity, as they should given that evolved solution to the problems of infidelity and both forms threaten key reproductively relevant re- mate poaching (for a summary, see Buss, 2000). sources. Furthermore, the two forms of infidelity The specifics of the adaptive problems differ for are positively correlated in everyday life – people men and women, according to evolutionary theo- tend to become sexually involved with those with rists (Daly, et al., 1982). Because in humans fertil- whom they are emotionally involved and vice-ver- ization occurs internally within women, men can sa. Nonetheless, the findings are clear in supporting suffer a lack of certainty in their paternity. In con- the original predictions about the psychological de- trast, women are always 100% certain that their off- sign of jealousy as an evolved defense against infi- spring are their own. Sexual infidelity, of course, is delity and the threats posed by mate poachers. the event that can compromise a man’s paternity in Men and women also appear to be threatened by offspring. Although women have never confronted somewhat different qualities in intrasexual rivals. the problem of maternity uncertainty, an infidelity Specific evolution-based predictions were testing in by a woman’s mate can be extremely damaging. a cross-cultural study that included Korea, the The woman whose husband is unfaithful risks los- Netherlands, and the United States (Buss et al., ing his time, resources, and commitments, all of 2000). Korean, Dutch, and American men, more which could get channeled to a rival female and her than corresponding women, reported greater dis- children. For these reasons, evolutionary theorists tress when a rival who was interested in their part- have predicted that men, more than women, would ner surpassed them on financial prospects, job get upset about signals of sexual infidelity. In con- prospects, and physical strength. In contrast, Kore- trast, women, more than men were predicted to get an, Dutch, and American women report greater dis- upset about signals of emotional infidelity, since tress when a rival surpasses them on facial and bod- emotional involvement is a leading indicator of the ily attractiveness. Although both sexes are equally diversion of these resources and commitments jealous overall, the sexes differ in the weighting (Buss et al., 1992). given to sexual versus emotional infidelity as well Dozens of empirical studies, using a variety of as in the qualities of rivals that they find threaten- methodologies, have now been conducted to test for ing. this sex difference (see Buss, 2000, for summaries). If jealousy is an evolved emotion, and the empir- In one study, participants were asked to imagine ical evidence so far appears to support this proposi- that their romantic partner had become both sexual- tion, then the next step is to explore the behavioral ly and emotionally involved with someone else output of this emotion. Two different studies have (Buss et al., 1999). Then they were asked to indi- explored »mate retention tactics« of men and cate which aspect of the betrayal was more upset- women, using both married couples and dating cou- ting. In an American sample, 61% of the men, but ples as participants (Buss, 1988; Buss & Shack- only 13% of the women judged the sexual infidelity elford, 1997). Mate retention tactics are specific be- aspect of the betrayal to be the most upsetting. Con- haviors designed to ward off rivals or to deter a versely, only 39% of the men, but 87% of the mate from straying. The specific tactics range from women, judged the emotional attachment to the oth- vigilance (e.g., He called her at unexpected times to er person as more upsetting. Similar sex differences see who she was with) to violence (e.g., He hit the have been obtained in Korea and Japan (Buss et al., guy who made a pass at her). 1999), China (Geary et al., 1995), and Sweden Married men tend to engage in especially vigor- (Wiederman & Kendall, 1999). ous mate retention efforts when their spouse in In summary, men and women differ, as original- young in age and physically attractive. In contrast, ly predicted in advance by evolutionary theorists, in women tend to engage in especially vigorous mate the weighting given to the events that activate jeal- retention efforts when married to men who have ousy. Men, more than women, tend to become ex- good jobs, high incomes, and devote a lot of time to tremely distressed over signals of sexual infidelity; status striving. In addition, there are sex differences

SAMFUNDSØKONOMEN NR. 4 – 2002 56 Human Mating Strategies in the types of mate retention tactics used. Men, Jealousy as an emotion has been proposed as one more than women, tend to display resources to their such evolved defense mechanism. The empirical ev- mate, as well as threaten and commit violence on idence strongly supports several evolution-based intrasexual rivals. Women, more than men, tend to hypotheses about the psychological design of jeal- enhance their physical appearance as a mate reten- ousy. Male jealousy, more than women’s, is en- tion strategy, as well as intentionally evoking their gaged by signals of sexual infidelity and rivals to partner’s jealousy. Intentionally evoking jealousy, exceed them on the qualities that women are known for example by with other men and eliciting to want in a mate such as good financial prospects. their interest, appears to be a strategy women use to Women’s jealousy, more than men’s, is activated by increase their mate’s perceptions of their desirabili- signals of emotional infidelity (and hence potential ty (Buss, 2000). long-term diversion of commitments) as well as by rivals who exceed them on facial and bodily attrac- Conclusions tiveness. Humans have evolved a complex menu of mating Much more research needs to be conducted on strategies. These include long-term committed mat- the complexities of human mating strategies. At this ing, brief sexual encounters, and extramarital af- point in evolutionary science, however, we have fairs. Long-term mate preferences are complex, re- some of the broad outlines of the fundamentals of flecting desires for many different qualities such as human mating strategies and the ways in which kindness, intelligence, mutual attraction, love, de- they are designed differently in men and women. pendability, and good health. Two universal clusters Further research is needed on the context-sensi- of sex differences are the desire for youth and beau- tive nature of human mating strategies. Precisely ty (men value more than women) and the desire for which circumstances might cause a person to shift a mate who has good financial prospects and elevat- from a long-term mating strategy to a short-term ed social status (women value more than men). mating strategy and vice-versa? Which circum- These profound sex differences have been docu- stances might trigger an extramarital affair, or con- mented not just in studies of expressed preferences; versely, cause someone to forgo an alluring sexual they have also been confirmed in studies of actual opportunity? How do the various desires combine, marriages, responses to personals ads, and tactics of given social contexts and a person’s own level of mate attraction, mate retention, competitor deroga- desirability, to form actual mate choices? These and tion, and intersexual deception. other complexities of human mating are currently The empirical evidence is strong that men have being explored by scientists who have grasped the evolved a more powerful desire for a variety of sex centrality and importance of human mating to so partners. The evolutionary logic for this sex differ- many different dimensions of social living. ence is clear-cut – men who succeeded in securing sexual access to a variety of women would have References achieved greater reproductive success than men Baize, H.R., & Schroeder, J.E. (1995). Personality and mate who did not. Nonetheless, there is a hidden side to selection in personal ads: Evolutionary preferences in a pub- female sexuality, and some women some of the lic mate selection process. Journal of Social Behavior and time also pursue short-term matings. These must Personality, 10, 517-536. have been beneficial for women in the currency of good genes, increased access to resources, or the Betzig, L.L. (1986). Despotism and differential reproduction: A Darwinian view of history. Hawthorne, NY: Aldine. ability to switch to a superior mate. Nonetheless, women who cuckold their historically Buss, D. M. (1988). From vigilance to violence: Tactics of have inflicted large reproductive costly on their reg- mate retention. and , 9, 291-317. ular mates. Cuckolded men risk diverting years or decades of parental resources to a rival’s offspring. Buss, D.M. (1989). Sex differences in human mate prefer- The principle of co-evolution predicts that men will ences: Evolutionary hypotheses testing in 37 cultures. Behav- ioral and Brain Sciences, 12, 1-49. have evolved adaptations designed to defend against the diversion of their mate’s sexual and re- Buss, D.M. (1994). : Strategies of hu- productive resources. man mating. New York: Basic Books.

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