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AN EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION OF MATING STRATEGIES IN ROMANIA (II) |
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Alina S. RUSU* & Alexandra MAXIM
Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Abstract
The attention of evolutionary psychologists studying the mate-choice processes in humans has recently started to be oriented not only towards single individuals, but also towards individuals that are already involved in stable relationships. The aim of our study was to include the variable marital status (i.e., single versus attached individuals) in the analysis of mate-choice strategies of Romanian individuals, as reflected by the personal advertisements market. We performed content analysis of 400 personal advertisements (100 ads places by single men, 100 ads places by attached men, 100 ads placed by single women, and 100 ads placed by attached women). Several categories of attributes with mate-choice evolutionary significance were quantified, such as: physical, material, educational and emotional attributes. Single Romanian men listed a significantly higher number of emotional attributes to describe themselves than the attached men. Compared to the single women, attached women used a significantly higher number of self-descriptive attributes. Single men requested a higher number of emotional and educational attributes from their sought partners. Attached women requested a significantly higher number of physical, educational and material attributes from their sought partners than the single women. These results are discussed in relation to several paradigms from evolutionary psychology and to the findings of a previous study of the Romanian mate-choice market.
Keywords: parental investment theory, gender and marital status, mating strategies, Romanian mate-choice market
Pages: 169-184
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