Minimum Mate Selection Standards as a Function of Perceived Mate Value, Relationship Context, and Gender

The present study explored minimum mate selection standards (i.e., the lowest levels of various characteristics that an individual must possess in order to be considered a potential partner) and the extent to which gender, self-perceived mate value, and relationship context moderate minimum standards. Men and women were more selective (expressed higher minimum standards) as the mating context shifted from short- to long-term, for a number of partner attributes. As expected, gender moderated these effects; women were more selective than men when considering a potential short-term (but not long-term) mate. Men's self-perceived mate value largely was unassociated with their selection standards; however, women's mate value correlated positively with their minimum criteria, across a variety of characteristics and for a short-term sex and a long-term romantic partner. As expected, gender differences in the strength of these correlations were greater in the short-term than in the long-term mating context.