Publication Type
Conference Poster
Version
publishedVersion
Publication Date
6-2022
Abstract
The mate preferences literature has been fairly muted on mate preferences for extrapair partners. In four studies, we examined mate preferences for mistress relationships--the traits that men prioritize in a mistress and that mistresses prioritize in their male partners--and compared these preferences to those of short- and long-term relationships. In studies 1a and 1b, (N = 104 and 191 respectively), we derived dimensions of mate preferences for mistress relationships through factor analyses. In studies 2 and 3 (N = 219 and 101 respectively) we employed the budget allocation paradigm to compare people's priorities for different traits for a mistress relationship (versus short- and long-term relationships). We found that men focused on fulfilling short-term mating ideals (prioritizing physical attractiveness) in a mistress relationship, but women focused on fulfilling longer-term (but also some short-term) mating ideals (prioritizing both physical attractiveness and social status) for a mistress relationship. Overall, mistress relationships may reflect a compromise of men's and women's conflicting and evolved mating ideals.
Keywords
Evolutionary psychology, Infidelity, Mate preferences, Mistresses, Sex differences
Discipline
Applied Behavior Analysis | Experimental Analysis of Behavior | Social Psychology
Research Areas
Psychology
Publication
Human Behavior and Evolutionary Society Conference, HBES 2022), [Virtual], Jun 22-25
Citation
CHOY, Bryan K. C.; LI, Norman P.; and TAN, Kenneth, "The long and short of mistress relationships: Sex-differentiated mate preferences reflect a compromise of mating ideals" (2022). Research Collection School of Social Sciences. Paper 4159.
https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/4159
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/4159
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Included in
Applied Behavior Analysis Commons, Experimental Analysis of Behavior Commons, Social Psychology Commons
