To examine cultural, gender, and parent-child differences in partner preferences, in eight countries undergraduates (n=2,071) and their parents (n=1,851) ranked the desirability of qualities in someone the student might marry. Despite sizable cultural differences-especially between Southeast Asian and Western countries-participants generally ranked kind/understanding (reflecting interpersonal communion) highest, and intelligent and healthy (reflecting mental/physical agency) among the top four. Students valued exciting, attractive partners more and healthy, religious partners less than parents did; comparisons with rankings by youth in 1984 (i.e., from the parents' generation) suggested cohort effects cannot explain most parent-child disagreements. As evolutionary psychology predicts, participants prioritized wives' attractiveness and homemaker skills and husbands' education and breadwinner skills; but as sociocultural theory predicts, variations across countries/decades in gendered spousal/in-law preferences mirrored socioeconomic gender differences. Collectively, the results suggest individuals consider their social roles/circumstances when envisioning their ideal spouse/in-law, which has implications for how human's partner-appraisal capabilities evolved.

(2020). Young adults' partner preferences and parents' in-law preferences across generations, genders, and nations [journal article - articolo]. In EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/10446/169086

Young adults' partner preferences and parents' in-law preferences across generations, genders, and nations

Barni, Daniela;
2020-01-01

Abstract

To examine cultural, gender, and parent-child differences in partner preferences, in eight countries undergraduates (n=2,071) and their parents (n=1,851) ranked the desirability of qualities in someone the student might marry. Despite sizable cultural differences-especially between Southeast Asian and Western countries-participants generally ranked kind/understanding (reflecting interpersonal communion) highest, and intelligent and healthy (reflecting mental/physical agency) among the top four. Students valued exciting, attractive partners more and healthy, religious partners less than parents did; comparisons with rankings by youth in 1984 (i.e., from the parents' generation) suggested cohort effects cannot explain most parent-child disagreements. As evolutionary psychology predicts, participants prioritized wives' attractiveness and homemaker skills and husbands' education and breadwinner skills; but as sociocultural theory predicts, variations across countries/decades in gendered spousal/in-law preferences mirrored socioeconomic gender differences. Collectively, the results suggest individuals consider their social roles/circumstances when envisioning their ideal spouse/in-law, which has implications for how human's partner-appraisal capabilities evolved.
articolo
2020
Locke, Kenneth D.; Mastor, Khairul A.; Macdonald, Geoff; Barni, Daniela; Morio, Hiroaki; Reyes, Jose Alberto S.; Vargas-Flores, José D.; Ibáñez-Reyes,...espandi
(2020). Young adults' partner preferences and parents' in-law preferences across generations, genders, and nations [journal article - articolo]. In EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/10446/169086
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/10446/169086
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