title: How Sexually Dimorphic Are Human Mate Preferences?
abstract: Previous studies on sex-differentiated mate preferences have focused on univariate analyses. However, because mate selection is inherently multidimensional, a multivariate analysis more appropriately measures sex differences in mate preferences. We used the Mahalanobis distance (D) and logistic regression to investigate sex differences in mate preferences with data secured from participants residing in 37 cultures (n = 10,153). Sex differences are large in multivariate terms, yielding an overall D = 2.41, corresponding to overlap between the sexes of just 22.8%. Moreover, knowledge of mate preferences alone affords correct classification of sex with 92.2% accuracy. Finally, pattern-wise sex differences are negatively correlated with gender equality across cultures but are nonetheless cross-culturally robust. Discussion focuses on implications in evaluating the importance and magnitude of sex differences in mate preferences.
authors.affiliation: University of Texas at Austin, USA dconroybeam@utexas.edu.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Conroy-Beam
authors.affiliation: University of Texas at Austin, USA.
authors.forename: David M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Buss
authors.affiliation: Oakland University, Rochester, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Michael N
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Pham
authors.affiliation: Oakland University, Rochester, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Todd K
authors.initials: TK
authors.lastname: Shackelford
mesh_terms: D003380:Courtship; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D004957:Estonia; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D006806:Human Rights; D006801:Humans; D007557:Israel; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008393:Marriage; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D063507:Sexism; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D012747:Sexual Partners; D013019:South Africa; D013624:Taiwan; D015022:Yugoslavia
keywords: cross-cultural analysis; mate selection; multivariate analysis; sex differences