Publications by authors named "Lucy L Hunt"
Clear empirical demonstrations of the theoretical principles underlying assortative mating remain elusive. This article examines a moderator of assortative mating--how well couple members knew each other before dating--suggested by recent findings related to market-based (i.e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis article elaborates on evolutionary perspectives relevant to the meta-analytic portion of our recent review (Eastwick, Luchies, Finkel, & Hunt, 2014). We suggested that if men and women evolved sex-differentiated ideals (i.e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRelational mate value: consensus and uniqueness in romantic evaluations.
J Pers Soc Psychol
May 2014
Classic evolutionary and social exchange perspectives suggest that some people have more mate value than others because they possess desirable traits (e.g., attractiveness, status) that are intrinsic to the individual.
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- Meltzer et al. (2014) found that physical attractiveness impacts relationship satisfaction more for men than women, but a recent meta-analysis challenged this claim by showing no significant sex difference across 97 studies and 30,000 participants.
- Meltzer et al. suggested 7 criteria to dismiss the meta-analysis's findings, but critics argue these criteria lack strong theoretical backing and that even after including Meltzer et al.'s data, the differences in satisfaction remain insignificant.
- Another study meeting all 7 criteria found that physical attractiveness may actually have a stronger correlation with relationship satisfaction for women, suggesting the initial claim by Meltzer et al. does not hold up under further scrutiny.
A central element of interdependence theory is that people have standards against which they compare their current outcomes, and one ubiquitous standard in the mating domain is the preference for particular attributes in a partner (ideal partner preferences). This article reviews research on the predictive validity of ideal partner preferences and presents a new integrative model that highlights when and why ideals succeed or fail to predict relational outcomes. Section 1 examines predictive validity by reviewing research on sex differences in the preference for physical attractiveness and earning prospects.
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