Are the traits we prefer in potential mates the traits they value in themselves? An analysis of sex differences in the self-concept

Self and Identity

Volumn 8, Issue 4, 2009, Pages 418-446

  Campbell, Lorne ^a   Wilbur, Christopher J ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN ONTARIO   (Canada)

Author keywords

Evolution; Mate preferences; Self concept; Social cognition

Indexed keywords

EID: 75249088139     PISSN: 15298868     EISSN: 15298876     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/15298860802505434     Document Type: Article

References (94)

1. Barkow, J. H. (1989). Darwin, sex, and status: Biological approaches to mind and culture. Toronto, Canada: University of Toronto Press.
2. Baumeister, R. F. (1998). The self. In D. T. Gilbert, S. T. Fiske, & G. Lindzey (Eds.), The handbook of social psychology (4th ed., Vol. 1, pp. 680-740). New York: McGraw-Hill.
3. Baumeister, R. F., & Boden, J. M. (1998). Aggression and the self: High self-esteem, low self-control, and ego threat. In R. Green & E. Donnerstein (Eds.), Human aggression: Theories, research, and implications for social policy (pp. 111-137). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
4. Baumeister, R. F., & Leary, M. R. (1995). The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation. Psychological Bulletin, 117, 497-529.
5. Baumeister, R. F., Smart, L., & Boden, J. M. (1996). Relation of threatened egotism to violence and aggression: The dark side of self-esteem. Psychological Review, 103, 5-33.
6. Baumeister, R. F., & Twenge, J. M. (2003). The social self. In T. Millon & M. J. Melvin (Eds.), Handbook of psychology: Personality and social psychology (Vol. 5, pp. 327-352). New York; Wiley.
7. Bem, S. L. (1981). Gender schema theory: A cognitive account of sex typing. Psychological Review, 88, 354-364.
8. Botwin, M. D., Buss, D. M., & Shackelford, T. K. (1997). Personality and mate preferences: Five factors in mate selection and marital satisfaction. Journal of Personality, 65, 107-136.
9. Boyes, A. D., & Fletcher, G. J. O. (2007). Meta-perceptions of bias in intimate relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 92, 286-306.
10. Buss, D. M. (1988a). Love acts: The evolutionary biology of love. In R. J. Sternberg & M. L. Barnes (Eds.), The psychology of love (pp. 100-118). New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
11. Buss, D. M. (1988b). The evolution of human intrasexual competition: Tactics of mate attraction. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54, 616-628.
12. Buss, D. M. (1989). Sex differences in human mate preferences: Evolutionary hypotheses tested in 37 Cultures. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 12, 1-49.
13. Buss, D. M. (1991). Evolutionary personality psychology. Annual Review of Psychology, 42, 459-491.
14. Buss, D. M. (1992). Mate preference mechanisms: Consequences for partner choice and intrasexual competition. In J. H. Barkow, L. Cosmides, & J. Tooby (Eds.), The adapted mind: Evolutionary psychology and the generation of culture (pp. 249-266). New York: Oxford University Press.
15. Buss, D. M. (1994). The evolution of desire. New York: Basic Books.
16. Buss, D. M. (1995). Evolutionary psychology: A new paradigm for psychological science. Psychological Inquiry, 6, 1-49.
17. Buss, D. M. (1996). The evolutionary psychology of human social strategies. In E. T. Higgins & A. E. Kruglanski (Eds.), Social psychology: Handbook of basic principles (pp. 3-38). New York: Guilford Press.
18. Buss, D. M. (1997). Evolutionary foundations of personality. In R. Hogan, J. Johnson, & S. Briggs (Eds.), Handbook of personality psychology (pp. 317-344). London: Academic Press.
19. Buss, D. M., & Barnes, M. (1986). Preferences in human mate selection. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 50, 559-570.
20. Buss, D. M., & Dedden, L. A. (1990). Derogation of competitors. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 7, 395-422.
21. Buss, D. M., & Schmitt, D. P. (1993). Sexual strategies theory: An evolutionary perspective on human mating. Psychological Review, 100, 204-232.
22. Buss, D. M., Shackelford, T. K., Choe, J., & Buunk, B. P. (2000). Distress about mating rivals. Personal Relationships, 7, 235-243.
23. Campbell, L., Simpson, J. A., Kashy, D. A., & Fletcher, G. J. O. (2001). Ideal standards, the self, and flexibility of ideals in close relationships. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 27, 447-462.
24. Campos, L. D. S., Otta, E., & de Oliveira, J. (2002). Sex differences in mate selection strategies: Content analyses and responses to personal advertisements in Brazil. Evolution and Human Behavior, 23, 395-406.
25. Cicerello, A., & Sheehan, E. P. (1995). Personal advertisements: A content analysis. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 10, 751-756.
26. Costrich, N., Feinstein, J., Kidder, L., Marecek, J., & Pascale, L. (1975). When stereotypes hurt: Three studies of penalties for sex role reversals. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 11, 520-530.
27. Crocker, J., Luhtanen, R. K., Cooper, M. L., & Bouvrette, A. (2003). Contingencies of self-worth in college students: Theory and measurement. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85, 894-908.
28. Cross, S. E., & Madson, L.(1997). Models of the self: Self-construals and gender. Psychological Bulletin, 122, 5-37.
29. Daly, J. A., Hogg, E., Sacks, D., Smith, M., & Zimring, L. (1983). Sex and relationship affect social self-grooming. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 7, 183-189.
30. Deaux, K., & Hanna, R. (1984). Courtship in the personal column: The influence of gender and sexual orientation. Sex Roles, 11, 363-375.
31. DeSteno, D., Bartlett, M. Y., Braverman, J., & Salovey, P. (2002). Sex differences in jealousy: Evolutionary mechanism or artifact of measurement? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83, 1103-1116.
32. Dion, K. L., Dion, K. K., & Keelan, J. P. (1990). Appearance anxiety as a dimension of social-evaluative anxiety: Exploring the ugly duckling syndrome. Contemporary Social Psychology, 14, 220-224.
33. Dovidio, J. F., Ellyson, S. L., Keating, C. F., Heltman, K., & Brown, C. E. (1988). The relationship of social power to visual displays of dominance between men and women. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54, 233-242.
34. Eagly, A. H., & Karau, S. J. (1991). Gender and the emergence of leaders: A meta-analysis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 60, 685-710.
35. Eagly, A. H., & Wood, W. (1999). The origins of sex differences in human behavior: Evolved dispositions versus social roles. American Psychologist, 54, 408-423.
36. Eagly, A. H., & Wood, W. (2002). A cross-cultural analysis of the behavior of women and men: Implications for the origins of sex differences. Psychological Bulletin, 128, 699-727.
37. Edwards, V. J., & Spence, J. T. (1987). Gender-related traits, stereotypes, and schemata. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 53, 146-154.
38. Elder, G. H., Jr.(1969). Appearance and education in marriage mobility. American Sociological Review, 34, 519-533.
39. Ellis, B. J. (1992). The evolution of sexual attraction: Evaluative mechanisms in women. In J. H. Barkow, L. Cosmides, & J. Tooby (Eds.), The adapted mind: Evolutionary psychology and the generation of culture (pp. 267-288). London: Oxford University Press.
40. Feingold, A. (1992). Gender differences in mate selection preferences: A test of the parental investment model. Psychological Bulletin, 112, 125-139.
41. Fletcher, G. J. O., Simpson, J. A., Thomas, G., & Giles, L. (1999). Ideals in intimate relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76, 72-89.
42. Fletcher, G. J. O., Tither, J., O'Loughlin, C., Friesen, M., & Overall, N. (2004). Warm and homely or cold and beautiful? Sex differences in trading off traits in mate selection. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 30, 659-672.
43. Frieze, I. H., & Ramsey, S. J. (1976). Nonverbal maintenance of traditional sex roles. Journal of Social Issues, 32, 133-141.
44. Gangestad, S. W., Haselton, M. G., & Buss, D. M. (2006). Evolutionary foundations of cultural variation: Evoked culture and mate preferences. Psychological Inquiry, 17, 75-95.
45. Gangestad, S. W., & Simpson, J. A. (2000). The evolution of human mating: Trade-offs and strategic pluralism. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 23, 573-644.
46. Geary, D. C. (2000). Evolution and proximate expression of human paternal investment. Psychological Bulletin, 126, 55-77.
47. Gilbert, P., Price, J., & Allan, S. (1995). Social comparison, social attractiveness and evolution: How might they be related? New Ideas in Psychology, 13, 149-165.
48. Graziano, W. G., Jensen-Campbell, L. A., Todd, M., & Finch, J. F. (1997). Interpersonal attraction from an evolutionary psychology perspective: Women's reactions to dominant and prosocial men. In J. A. Simpson & D. T. Kenrick (Eds.), Evolutionary social psychology (pp. 141-167). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
49. Gutierres, S. E., Kenrick, D. T., & Patch, J. J. (1999). Beauty, dominance, and the mating game: Contrast effects in self-assessment reflect gender differences in mate selection. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 25, 1126-1134.
50. James, W. (1890). The principles of psychology. New York: Holt.
51. John, O. P., & Srivastava, S. (1999). The big five trait taxonomy: History, measurement, and theoretical perspectives. In L. A. Pervin & O. P. John (Eds.), Handbook of personality: Theory and research (2nd ed., pp. 102-138). New York: Guilford Press.
52. Joseph, R. A., Markus, H. R., & Tafarodi, R. W. (1992). Gender and self-esteem. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 63, 391-402.
53. Kenrick, D. T., & Keefe, R. C. (1992). Age preferences in mates reflect sex differences in human reproductive strategies. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 15, 75-91.
54. Kenrick, D. T., & Trost, M. R. (1997). Evolutionary approaches to relationships. In S. Duck (Ed.), Handbook of personal relationships: Theory, research and interventions (2nd ed., pp. 151-177). Chichester, UK: Wiley.
55. Kirkpatrick, L., & Ellis, B. J. (2001). An evolutionary-psychological approach to self-esteem: Multiple domains and multiple functions. In M. Clark & G. Fletcher (Eds.), The Blackwell handbook of social psychology. Vol. 2: Interpersonal processes (pp. 411-436). Oxford, UK: Blackwell.
56. Kirkpatrick, L. A., Waugh, C. E., Valencia, A., & Webster, G. D. (2002). The functional domain specificity of self-esteem and the differential prediction of aggression. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82, 756-767.
57. Koestner, R., & Wheeler, L. (1988). Self-presentation in personal advertisements: The influence of implicit notions of attraction and role expectations. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 5, 149-160.
58. Leary, M. R., & Buttermore, N. R. (2003). The evolution of the human self: Tracing the natural history of self-awareness. Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour, 33, 365-404.
59. Leary, M. R., Tambor, E. S., Terdal, E. S., & Downs, D. L. (1995). Self-esteem as an interpersonal monitor: The sociometer hypothesis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 68, 518-530.
60. Li, N. P., Bailey, J. M., Kenrick, D. T., & Linsenmeier, J. A. W. (2002). The necessities and luxuries of mate preferences: Testing the tradeoffs. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82, 947-955.
61. MacDonald, K. (1995). Evolution, the five-factor model, and levels of personality. Journal of Personality, 63, 525-567.
62. Markus, H., Crane, M., Bernstein, S., Siladi, M. (1982). Self-schemas and gender. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 42, 38-50.
63. Mathews, A., & MacLeod, C. (1985). Selective processing of threat cues in anxiety states. Behavior Research and Therapy, 23, 563-569.
64. Maxwell, S. E. (2004). The persistence of underpowered studies in psychological research: Causes, consequences, and remedies. Psychological Methods, 9, 147-163.
65. Mikulincer, M. (1995). Attachment style and the mental representation of the self. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69, 1203-1215.
66. Okami, P., & Shackelford, T. K. (2001). Human sex differences in sexual psychology and behavior. Annual Review of Sex Research, 12, 186-241.
67. Overall, N. C., Fletcher, G. J. O., & Simpson, J. A. (2006). Regulation processes in intimate relationships: The role of ideal standards. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 91,662-685.
68. Pawlowski, G., & Koziel, S. (2002). The impact of traits offered in personal advertisements on responses rates. Evolution and Human Behavior, 23, 139-149.
69. Pelham, B. W. (1995). Self-investment and self-esteem: Evidence for a Jamesian model of self-worth. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69, 1141-1150.
70. Pelham, B. W., & Swann, W. B. (1989). From self-conceptions to self-worth: On the sources and structure of global self-esteem. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57, 672-680.
71. Perusse, D. (1993). Cultural and reproductive success in industrial societies: Testing the relationship at proximate and ultimate levels. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 16, 267-322.
72. Perusse, D. (1994). Mate choice in modern societies: Testing evolutionary hypotheses with behavioral data. Human Nature, 5, 255-278.
73. Regan, P. C. (1998). Minimum mate selection standards as a function of perceived mate value, relationship context, and gender. Journal of Psychology & Human Sexuality, 10, 53-72.
74. Roney, J. R. (2003). Effects of visual exposure to the opposite sex: Cognitive aspects of mate attraction in human males. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 29, 393-404.
75. Rosenberg, M. (1965). Society and the adolescent self-image. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
76. Sadalla, E. K., Kenrick, D. T., & Vershure, B. (1987). Dominance and heterosexual attraction. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, 730-738.
77. Salmon, C., & Symons, D. (2001). Warrior lovers: Erotic fiction, evolution, and female sexuality. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson.
78. Sedikides, C., & Skowronski, J. J. (2003). Evolution of the symbolic self: Issues and prospects. In M. R. Leary & J. R. Tangney (Eds.), Handbook of self and identity (pp. 594-609). New York: Guilford Press.
79. Sedikides, C., Skowronski, J. J., & Dunbar, R. I. M. (2006). When and why did the human self evolve? In M. Schaller, J. A. Simpson, & D. T. Kenrick (Eds.), Evolution and social psychology (pp. 55-80). New York: Psychology Press.
80. Shelton, B. A., & John, D. (1996). The division of household labor. Annual Review of Sociology, 22, 299-322.
81. Simpson, J. A., Fletcher, G. J. O., & Campbell, L. (2001). The structure and function of ideal standards in close relationships. In G. J. O. Fletcher & M. Clark (Eds.), Blackwell handbook of social psychology: Interpersonal processes (pp. 86-106). Oxford, UK: Blackwell.
82. Simpson, J. A., Gangestad, S. W., Christensen, P. N., & Leck, K. (1999). Fluctuating asymmetry, sociosexuality, and intrasexual competitive tactics. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76, 159-172.
83. Singh, D. (1993). Adaptive significance of female physical attractiveness: Role of waist-to-hip ratio. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65, 293-307.
84. Spence, J. T. (1985). Gender identity and its implications for concepts of masculinity and femininity. In T. B. Sonderegger (Ed.), Nebraska symposium on motivation: Psychology and gender (Vol. 32, pp. 59-96). Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press.
85. Sprecher, S., Sullivan, H., & Hatfield, E. (1994). Mate selection preferences: Gender differences examined in a national sample. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 66,1074-1080.
86. Symons, D. (1979). The evolution of human sexuality. New York: Oxford University Press.
87. Taylor, P. A., & Glenn, N. D. (1976). The utility of education and attractiveness for females' status attainment through marriage. American Sociological Review, 41, 484-498.
88. Tooby, J., & Cosmides, L. (1990). On the universality of human nature and the uniqueness of the individual: The role of genetics and adaptation. Journal of Personality, 58, 17-67.
89. Tooby, J., & Cosmides, L. (1992). The psychological foundations of culture. In J. H. Barkow, L. Cosmides, & J. Tooby (Eds.), The adapted mind: Evolutionary psychology and the generation of culture (pp. 19-136). New York: Oxford University Press.
90. Townsend, J. M., & Levy, G. D. (1990). Effects of potential partners' costume and physical attractiveness on sexuality and partner selection. Journal of Psychology, 124, 371-389.
91. Trivers, R. L. (1972). Parental investment and sexual selection. In B. Campbell (Ed.), Sexual selection and the descent of man (pp. 136-179). New York: Aldine de Gruyter.
92. Udry, J. R., & Eckland, B. (1984). Benefits of being attractive: Differential payoffs for men and women. Psychological Reports, 54, 47-56.
93. Warren, R. E. (1972). Stimulus encoding and memory. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 94, 90-100.
94. Willerman, L. (1979). The psychology of individual and group differences. San Francisco, Freeman.