Although research on mate preferences has been built on the assumption that the criteria people report at one point in time should predict their future partnering behavior, little is known about the temporal stability of people’s standards. Using survey data collected at four time points from 285 originally unmarried individuals, this study examined the rank-order, mean-level, individual-level and ipsative stability of people’s mate criteria over 27 months. Overall, reported standards exhibited moderate to high baseline stability, with rank-order and ipsative estimates comparable to those reported for personality traits. At the same time, mean- and individual-level analyses revealed small, but significant, increases in participants’ reported criteria over the study, as well as significant variability in individual trajectories. Consistent with theory, the stability of individuals’ standards was moderated by several contextual factors, including age, changes in perceived mate value, and significant relationship events.
ArnettJ. J. (2000). Emerging adulthood: A theory of development from the late teens through the twenties. American Psychologist, 55, 469-480. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.55.5.469
2.
ArriagaX. B.ReedJ. T.GoodfriendW.AgnewC. R. (2006). Relationship perceptions and persistence: Do fluctuations in perceived partner commitment undermine dating relationships?Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 91, 1045-1065. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.91.6.1045
3.
BredowC. A. (2015). Chasing prince charming: Partnering consequences of holding unrealistic standards for a spouse. Personal Relationships, 22, 476-501. doi:10.1111/pere.12091
4.
BredowC. A.HustonT. L.GlennN. D. (2011). Market value, quality of the pool of potential mates, and singles’ confidence about marrying. Personal Relationships, 18, 39-57. doi:10.1111/j.1475-6811.2010.01302.x
5.
BussD. M. (2003). The evolution of desire. New York, NY: Basic Books.
6.
BussD. M.BarnesM. (1986). Preferences in human mate selection. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 50, 559-570. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.50.3.559
7.
CampbellL.SimpsonJ. A.KashyD. A.FletcherG. J. O. (2001). Ideal standards, the self, and flexibility of ideals in close relationships. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 27, 447-462. doi:10.1177/0146167201274006
8.
CaspiA.RobertsB. W.ShinerR. L. (2005). Personality development: Stability and change. Annual Review of Psychology, 56, 453-484. doi:10.1146/annurev.psych.55.090902.141913
9.
Conroy-BeamD.BussD. M. (2016). Do mate preferences influence actual mating decisions? Evidence from computer simulations and three studies of mated couples. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 111, 53-66. doi:10.1037/pspi0000054
10.
CosmidesL.ToobyJ. (1992). Cognitive adaptations for social exchange. In BarkowJ. H.CosmidesL.ToobyJ. (Eds.), The adapted mind: Evolutionary psychology and the generation of culture (pp. 163-228). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
11.
EastwickP. W.FinkelE. J. (2008). Sex differences in mate preferences revisited: Do people know what they initially desire in a romantic partner?Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 94, 245-264. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.94.2.245
12.
EastwickP. W.FinkelE. J.EaglyA. H. (2011). When and why do ideal partner preferences affect the process of initiating and maintaining romantic relationships?Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 101, 1012-1032. doi:10.1037/a0024062
13.
EastwickP. W.LuchiesL. B.FinkelE. J.HuntL. L. (2014). The predictive validity of ideal partner preferences: A review and meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 140, 623-665. doi:10.1037/a0032432
14.
EastwickP. W.NeffL. A. (2012). Do ideal partner preferences predict divorce? A tale of two metrics. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 3, 667-674. doi:10.1177/1948550611435941
15.
FaulF.ErdfelderE.BuchnerA.LangA.-G. (2009). Statistical power analyses using G*Power 3.1: Tests for correlation and regression analyses. Behavior Research Methods, 41, 1149-1160. doi:10.3758/BRM.41.4.1149
16.
FletcherG. J. O.KerrP. S. G.LiN. P.ValentineK. A. (2014). Predicting romantic interest and decisions in the very early stages of mate selection: Standards, accuracy, and sex difference. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 40, 540-550. doi:10.1177/0146167213519481
17.
FletcherG. J. O.SimpsonJ. A.ThomasG. (2000). Ideals, perceptions, and evaluations in early relationship development. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 79, 933-940. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.79.6.933
18.
FletcherG. J. O.SimpsonJ. A.ThomasG.GilesL. (1999). Ideals in intimate relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76, 72-89. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.76.1.72
19.
FraleyR. C.RobertsB. W. (2005). Patterns of continuity: A dynamic model for conceptualizing the stability of individual differences in psychological constructs across the life course. Psychological Review, 112, 60-74. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.112.1.60
20.
GangestadS. W.HaseltonM. G.BussD. M. (2006). Evolutionary foundations of cultural variation: Evoked culture and mate preferences. Psychological Inquiry, 17, 75-95. doi:10.1207/s15327965pli1702_1
21.
GerlachT. M.ArslanR. C.SchultzeT.ReinhardS. K.PenkeL. (2017). Predictive validity and adjustment of ideal partner preferences across the transition into romantic relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Advance online publication. doi:10.1037/pspp0000170
22.
HillR. (1945). Campus values in mate selection. Journal of Home Economics, 37, 554-558.
23.
HuL. T.BentlerP. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling, 6, 1-55. doi:10.1080/10705519909540118
24.
KalmijnM.FlapH. (2001). Assortative meeting and mating: Unintended consequences of organized settings for partner choices. Social Forces, 79, 1289-1312. doi:10.1353/sof.2001.0044
25.
KenrickD. T.GrothG. E.TrostM. R.SadallaE. K. (1993). Integrating evolutionary and social exchange perspectives on relationships: Effects of gender, self-appraisal, and involvement level on mate selection criteria. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 64, 951-969. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.64.6.951
26.
KlineR. B. (2005). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
27.
LiN. P.YongJ. C.TovW.SngO.FletcherG. J. O.ValentineK. A.. . . BallietD. (2013). Mate preferences do predict attraction and choices in the early stages of mate selection. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 105, 757-776. doi:10.1037/a0033777
28.
LichterD. T.McLaughlinD. K.KephartG.LandryD. J. (1992). Race and the retreat from marriage: A shortage of marriageable men?American Sociological Review, 57, 781-799. doi:10.2307/2096123
29.
McArdleJ. J. (2009). Latent variable modeling of differences and changes with longitudinal data. Annual Review of Psychology, 60, 577-605. doi:10.1146/annurev.psych.60.110707.163612
30.
McClellandG. H.JuddC. M. (1993). Statistical difficulties of detecting interactions and moderator effects. Psychological Bulletin, 114, 376-389. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.114.2.376
31.
MurrayS. L.HolmesJ. G.GriffinD. W. (1996). The self-fulfilling nature of positive illusions in romantic relationships: Love is not blind, but prescient. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71, 1155-1180. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.71.6.1155
32.
MursteinB. I. (1976). Who will marry whom? Theories and research in marital choice. New York, NY: Springer.
33.
RaudenbushS. W.BrykA. S. (2002). Hierarchical linear models: Applications and data analysis methods. London, England: SAGE.
34.
RobertsB. W.CaspiA.MoffittT. E. (2001). The kids are alright: Growth and stability in personality development from adolescence to adulthood. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 81, 670-683. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.81.4.670
35.
RobertsB. W.DelVecchioW. F. (2000). The rank-order consistency of personality traits from childhood to old age: A quantitative review of longitudinal studies. Psychological Bulletin, 126, 3-25. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.126.1.3
36.
RobertsB. W.O’DonnellM.RobinsR. W. (2004). Goal and personality trait development in emerging adulthood. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 87, 541-550. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.87.4.541
37.
ShackelfordT. K.SchmittD. P.BussD. M. (2005). Mate preferences of married persons in the newlywed year and three years later. Cognition and Emotion, 19, 1262-1270. doi:10.1080/02699930500215249
38.
SharpE. A.GanongL. H. (2007). Raising awareness about marital expectations: Are unrealistic beliefs changed by integrative teaching?Family Relations, 49, 71-76. doi:10.1111/j.1741-3729.2000.00071.x
39.
SimonD.SpillerS. A. (2016). The elasticity of preferences. Psychological Science, 27, 1588-1599. doi:10.1177/0956797616666501
40.
SingerJ. D.WilletJ. B. (2003). Applied longitudinal data analysis: Modeling change and event occurrence. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
41.
SlotterE. B.GardnerW. L.FinkelE. J. (2010). Who am I without you? The influence of romantic breakup on the self-concept. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 36, 147-160. doi:10.1177/0146167209352250
42.
SpechtJ.EgloffB.SchmukleS. C. (2011). Stability and change of personality across the life course: The impact of age and major life events on mean-level and rank-order stability of the Big Five. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 101, 862-882. doi:10.1037/a0024950
43.
SprecherS.ReganP. C. (2002). Liking some things (in some people) more than others: Partner preferences in romantic relationships and friendships. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 19, 463-481. doi:10.1177/0265407502019004048
44.
StoneE. A.ShackelfordT. K.BussD. M. (2007). Sex ratio and mate preferences: A cross-cultural investigation. European Journal of Social Psychology, 37, 288-296. doi:10.1002/ejsp.357
45.
ThibautJ. W.KelleyH. H. (1959). The social psychology of groups. New York, NY: John Wiley.
46.
ToddP. M.MillerG. F. (1999). From pride and prejudice to persuasion: Satisficing in mate search. In GigerenzerG.ToddP. M., & ABC Research Group (Eds.), Simple heuristics that make us smart (pp. 287-308). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
47.
VaidyaJ. G.GrayE. K.HaigJ. R.MroczekD. K.WatsonD. (2008). Differential stability and individual growth trajectories of Big Five and affective traits during young adulthood. Journal of Personality, 76, 267-304. doi:10.1111/j.1467-6494.2007.00486.x
48.
VaidyaJ. G.GrayE. K.HaigJ. R.WatsonD. (2002). On the temporal stability of personality: Evidence for differential stability and the role of life experiences. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83, 1469-1484. doi:10.1037//0022-3514.83.6.1469
49.
WeaverB.WuenschK. L. (2013). SPSS and SAS programs for comparing Pearson correlations and OLS regression coefficients. Behavior Research Methods, 45, 880-895. doi:10.3758/s13428-012-0289-7
50.
WhittonS. W.RhoadesG. K.WhismanM. A. (2014). Fluctuation in relationship quality over time and individual well-being: Main, mediated, and moderated effects. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 40, 858-871. doi:10.1177/0146167214528988
51.
WoodW.KresselL.JoshiP. D.LouieB. (2014). Meta-analysis of menstrual cycle effects on women’s mate preferences. Emotion Review, 6, 229-249. doi:10.1177/1754073914523073
52.
ZentnerM. R. (2005). Ideal mate personality concepts and compatibility in close relationships: A longitudinal analysis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 89, 242-256. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.89.2.242
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
