Income or Personality?: Variance Shapes Prioritization in Mate Choice

In the problem of choosing a mate, when qualitatively different variables such as income and personality exist, what decisions do evolved psychological mechanisms promote? The current study examined whether a trait is prioritized more when its variance is high than when its variance is low. Participants read a hypothetical scenario about using a dating app and answered which they would prioritize more, income or personality, when choosing a partner. As a result, both men and women prioritized income more when income variance was large than when personality variance was large. Focusing not only on traits themselves but also on the variance of each trait may further advance the understanding of mate choice.