Mate Value and Self-Esteem: Evidence from Eight Cultural Groups

This paper explores self-perceived mate value (SPMV), and its association with self-esteem, in eight cultures. 1066 participants, from 8 cultural groups in 7 countries, rated themselves on 24 SPMVs and completed a measure of self-esteem. Consistent with evolutionary theory, women were more likely to emphasise their caring and passionate romantic nature. In line with previous cross-cultural research, characteristics indicating passion and romance and social attractiveness were stressed more by respondents from individualistic cultures, and those higher on self-expression (rather than survival) values; characteristics indicative of maturity and confidence were more likely to be mentioned by those from Traditional, rather than Secular, cultures. Contrary to gender role theory, societal equality had only limited interactions with sex and SPMV, with honesty of greater significance for male self-esteem in societies with unequal gender roles. These results point to the importance of cultural and environmental factors in influencing self-perceived mate qualities, and are discussed in relation to broader debates about the impact of gender role equality on sex differences in personality and mating strategies

Respondents, scale reliabilities, and Gender Equality Scores by Country.

<p>GDI Scores are for India and Pakistan respectively; most British Asians have family roots in these countries. In the GEM comparative database there was a score for Pakistan but not for India, so only the Pakistan figure is included. GDI/GEM scores are from the United Nations Development Report 2007 (<a href="http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDR_20072008_GEM.pdf" target="_blank">http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDR_20072008_GEM.pdf</a>, Accessed 2011 Nov 23). Individualism (IND) scores are from <a href="http://geert-hofstede.com/countries.html" target="_blank">http://geert-hofstede.com/countries.html</a>, Accessed 2012 Mar 26). The World Value Survey (WVS) Traditional vs Rational (TRADRAT) and Survival vs Self-Expression (SURVIVALSELF) scores are from <a href="http://www.worldvaluessurvey.org/wvs/articles/folder_published/article_base_111" target="_blank">http://www.worldvaluessurvey.org/wvs/articles/folder_published/article_base_111</a>, Accessed 2012 Mar 26). WVS scores are from the latest survey waves in their respective countries (2000 or 2006).</p