Differences Between American Men and Women in Mate Selection Preferences
Researchers Susan Sprecher, Quintin Sullivan, and Elaine Hatfield (1994) surveyed a national representative sample of more than 13,000 English — or Spanish-speaking people in the United States, age 19 or older. I Figure 7.3 shows the average response rating of men and women to several items on a questionnaire used in the survey. One part of the questionnaire contained several items that asked respondents how willing they would be to marry someone who had more or less education, was older or younger, was not likely to hold a steady job, and so on. Subjects indicated their level of agreement with each item on a scale from 1 ("not at all") to 7 ("very willing").
had more education than you?
had less education than you?
was older than you by five or more years?
was younger than you by five or more years?
was not “good looking”?
was not likely to hold a steady job?
would earn much less than you?
would earn much more than you?
had been married before?
was of a different religion?
already had children?
The results indicate that women respondents were significantly more willing than men to marry someone who was better educated, was older, would earn more, and was not good looking. Conversely, women were significantly less willing than men to marry someone who had less education, was younger, was not likely to hold a steady job, and would earn less. There were only minor differences between the sexes on items related to prior marriages, religion, and already having children.