harnad@elbereth.rutgers.edu (Stevan Harnad) (03/25/91)
Below is the abstract of a forthcoming target article to appear in
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AGE PREFERENCES IN MATES REFLECT
SEX DIFFERENCES IN HUMAN REPRODUCTIVE STRATEGIES
Douglas T. Kenrick Richard C. Keefe
atdtk@asuacad.bitnet keefe@scc.bitnet
Department of Psychology Department of Psychology
Arizona State University Scottsdale College
Tempe AZ 85287
Keywords: mate selection, gender differences, life history strategies,
evolution, sexual selection, social exchange, similarity, attraction
ABSTRACT: The finding that women are attracted to men older than
themselves whereas men are attracted to relatively younger women has
been explained by social psychologists in terms of economic exchange
rooted in traditional sex-role norms. An alternative evolutionary
model suggests that males and females follow different reproductive
strategies and predicts a more complex relationship between gender and
age preferences. In particular, males' preferences for relatively
younger females should be minimal during mating years but should
become more pronounced as the male gets older. Young females are
expected to prefer somewhat older males during their early years and
to change less as they age. We briefly review relevant theory and
present results of six studies testing this prediction. Study 1 finds
support for this gender-differentiated prediction in age preferences
expressed in personal advertisements. Study 2 supports the prediction
with marriage statistics from two U.S. cities. Study 3 examines
cross-generational robustness of the phenomenon and finds the same
patter in marriage statistics from 1923. Study 4 replicates Study 1
using matrimonial advertisements from two European countries and
India. Study 5 finds a consistent pattern in marriages recorded from
1913 through 1939 on a small island in the Phillipines. Study 6
reveals the same pattern in singles advertisements placed by
financially successful American women and men. We consider the
implications of previous normative and evolutionary explanations of
age preferences and discuss the advantages of expanding previous
models to include the life history perspective.
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