Buss et al
Buss et al. (1990)
Cross-cultural factors in attraction
Aim:
The aim of the International Mate Selection Project was to identify the characteristics that individuals valued in potential mates worldwide.
Procedure:
Participants were 9,474 individuals from 37 cross-cultural samples (33 countries and five islands on six continents; mean age 23.15). The data was collected through two questionnaires developed in the USA and translated.
Results:
- Respondents in nearly all cultures rated “mutual attraction and love” as the most important in a relationship. This shows that the desire for mutual love in a relationship is not merely a Western phenomenon.
- “Chastity” showed the largest effect for culture (37% of the variance). Chastity was valued in China, India, Taiwan, Palestinian Israel, and Iran. Respondents in the Netherlands and the Scandinavian countries did not care about chastity.
- “Good financial prospects”, “good earning capacity”, ambition, and social status are consistently valued more in a partner by women than men cross-culturally.
- "Youth” is valued more by men than women. Men prefer wives that are younger but how much younger depends on the culture. In cultures that allow many wives, there may be large age differences.
- “Physical attractiveness” in a partner is valued more by men than women. Cross-cultural norms of physical attractiveness are, for example, clear and supple skin, regular features, full lips.
Evaluation:
The study suffered from problems of translation back translation in the questionnaires, which could decrease validity of the results. The samples for each country were not representative so it is impossible to generalize the findings.