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Originally Posted by abaya
Sapiens points out some very relevant facts. These studies are based on self-reporting, which is an obvious source of error... compared with, say, direct observation of how people behave and act. It's one thing to ask what people *think* they do, but when you compare that with what they *actually* do, there is a great deal more variation. That's why we do participant-observation in anthropology, as opposed to surveys in sociology (which give less context and often rely on self-reporting alone). You need both methods to obtain greater validity.
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All methods of data collection have pros and cons. People's stated preferences are likely related to their behavior. So, self report does have some value. The 1993 paper cites a number of different studies that use behavioral data. Results from behavioral data support the conclusions drawn from self report.
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Also, I agree very much with this: Yes, amazingly, people have different mate preferences, based on individual preferences and types of relationships. This is what we've all been saying in this thread... yes, plenty of people are shallow and play right along with the Ladder Theory. But plenty of people DON'T. Is that so hard to admit? I didn't see anything in the studies that went against that point. Nor was there anything in the studies talking about "intellectual whores" and "cuddle bitches," which doesn't have anything to do with resources...
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Among the points to note in the previously posted papers:
1) There are reliable sex differences in the preference for physical attractiveness in both short-term and long-term mates.
2) Both men and women place a greater emphasis on physical attractiveness in short-term mates.
3) Women place a greater emphasis on immediate resource investment in short-term mating contexts.
4) Men and women select short-term and long-term mates using a variety of criteria. Physical attractiveness and resource investment are just 2 of those criteria.
5)Though as IL mentions, there are sex differences in the preferences for resource investment in both long-term and short-term mating contexts, the absolute values of those ratings are low. (Women rate the important of resource investment around 1.2 out of 5 on a Likert scale in ST relationships and 1.8 out of 5 in LT relationships).
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Originally Posted by willravel
Some people are shallow, and I guess they tend to show up for societal studies. Others aren't shallow, and they're worth your time.
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Do you have any evidence that "shallow" people are more likely to participate in psychological studies? Mate preferences data has been collected in upwards of 40 different cultures around the world. Participant recruitment methods are designed to obtain a representative sample.