Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/7759
Title: Mate value and self-esteem: Evidence from eight cultural groups
Authors: Goodwin, R
Marshall, T
Fueloep, M
Adonu, J
Spiewak, S
Neto, F
Plaza, SH
Keywords: Science & Technology;Multidisciplinary Sciences;Science & Technology - Other Topics;Sex-differences;Personality-traits;Gender-differences;Preferences;Strategies;Evolution;Selection;Love;Cant
Issue Date: 2012
Publisher: Public Library of Science
Citation: PloS one, 7(4), e36106, 2012
Abstract: 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.
Description: © 2012 Goodwin et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited
URI: http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0036106
http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/7759
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0036106
ISSN: 1932-6203
Appears in Collections:Psychology
Dept of Life Sciences Research Papers

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