Work

Gender Differences in Mate Selection: Evidence From a Speed Dating Experiment

Year: 2006

Type: article

Abstract: We study dating behavior using data from a Speed Dating experiment where we generate random matching of subjects and create random variation in the number of potential partners. Our design allows us to directly observe individual decisions rather than just final matches. Women put greater weight on the intelligence and the race of partner, while men respond more to physical attractiveness. Moreover, men do not value women's intelligence or ambition when it exceeds their own. Also, we find that women exhibit a preference for men who grew up in affluent neighborhoods. Finally, male selectivity is invariant to group size, while female selectivity is strongly increasing in group size.

Source: The Quarterly Journal of Economics

DOI: 10.1162/qjec.2006.121.2.673

Authors: R. Fisman, S. S. Iyengar, E. Kamenica, I. Simonson

Institutions: Columbia University, Harvard University, Stanford University

Language: English

Topic: Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior

Subfield: Experimental and Cognitive Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Gender equality, Reduced inequalities

Open Access status: green

Funders: National Science Foundation, National Institute on Aging