Deck 1: Mate Preferences

Question 1

According to social context theories, which of the following factors influence people's mating behavior?

A) Adaptive problems
B) Cultural expectations
C) Evolutionary regimes
D) Ancestral environment

Answer 1

B

Question 2

According to evolutionary models of human mating, an adaptive mating decision is one that resulted in increased _______.

A) reproductive success
B) emotional well-being
C) social success
D) personal happiness

Answer 2

A

Question 3

The term social fitness refers to the capacity to _______ to the partner and offspring.

A) provide strength and "good genes"
B) offer love and loyalty
C) provide material resources and social status
D) give emotional support and commitment

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Social context theories focus on _______ factors that influence mate preferences and choices.

A) contemporary
B) ancestral
C) evolutionary
D) personal

Question 5

You are conducting a study on the mate preferences of college students. You give your participants a list of 20 characteristics and ask them to indicate how important each characteristic is in a romantic partner, using the following scale (by circling a number that reflects their opinion):
1 = Not at all important
2
3
4
5
6
7 = Extremely important
What method are you using to examine mate preferences?

A) Ranking procedure
B) Rating procedure
C) Content analysis
D) Percentile procedure

Question 6

Which one of the following statements about mate preferences is accurate?

A) Men emphasize social status more than women.
B) Women and men have fairly similar mate preferences.
C) Women focus on attractiveness more than men.
D) Men and women have extremely different mate preferences.

Question 7

Heidi constantly gossips about other people, tells lies, and talks about her past sexual experiences. These behaviors would be considered _______.

A) irritants
B) pathologies
C) signs of severe emotional disturbance
D) social allergens

Question 8

Which one of the following attributes is considered part of the male sex role stereotype?

A) Nurturance
B) Emotional warmth
C) Assertiveness
D) Cooperation

Question 9

The term relational fitness refers to the capacity to _______ to the partner and offspring.

A) provide strength and "good genes"
B) provide material resources and social status
C) give emotional and social support
D) offer love and loyalty

Question 10

A social allergen is defined as _______.

A) a social behavior that causes allergies
B) something that makes you itch
C) an undesirable partner attribute
D) a minimum mate selection standard

Question 11

The term emotional fitness refers to the capacity to _______ to the partner and offspring.

A) provide strength and "good genes"
B) offer love and loyalty
C) provide material resources and social status
D) give emotional support and commitment

Question 12

As part of a class project, you collect 25 personal ads from an online dating website. You then examine these ads and make a list of the different characteristics that people say they are seeking in a potential mate. What type of method are you using to capture people's mate preferences?

A) Ranking procedure
B) Rating procedure
C) Content analysis
D) Experiment

Question 13

Which one of the following partner characteristics illustrates the concept of relational fitness?

A) Material resources
B) Sexual fidelity
C) Physical health
D) Social status

Question 14

Exchange theories of mate selection suggest that . . .

A) People's mate preferences are strongly influenced by social norms
B) People pay attention to the rewards and costs they experience in their relationships
C) People prefer partners who act according to sex role stereotypes
D) People's partner preferences are affected by social learning processes

Question 15

Dr. A has completed a study on mate preference in which she asked people to organize a list of partner attributes from most to least important. Based upon your knowledge of research on partner preferences, what do you think she found? The characteristics below are listed in order from most important to least important. Select one option that seems to best "fit" with your understanding of mate preference research.

A) Wealthy, good looking, dependable, honest, intelligent
B) Good looking, wealthy, honest, intelligent, dependable
C) Dependable, honest, intelligent, good looking, wealthy
D) Intelligent, wealthy, good looking, honest, dependable

Question 16

People tend to prefer potential partners who possess _______ demographic characteristics, _______ values and attitudes, and _______ hobbies and interests.

A) similar, dissimilar, similar
B) dissimilar, similar, similar
C) dissimilar, dissimilar, dissimilar
D) similar, similar, similar

Question 17

The term physical fitness refers to the capacity to _______ to the partner and offspring.

A) provide strength and "good genes"
B) offer love and loyalty
C) provide material resources and social status
D) give emotional support and commitment

Question 18

Which one of the following attributes is considered part of the female sex role stereotype?

A) Nurturance
B) Dominance
C) Assertiveness
D) Competitiveness

Question 19

According to the evolutionary perspective on mating, modern-day men and women prefer particular attributes in their romantic partners because those same attributes _______ in the ancestral past.

A) were considered desirable
B) enhanced mortality
C) were culturally appropriate
D) increased reproductive success

Question 20

Dr. A studies mate preferences. In her latest study, she gave participants a list of attributes and asked them to organize the features from most to least important. What method is Dr. A using?

A) Rank order
B) Rating scale
C) Experiment
D) Percentile ranking

Question 21

Which of the following issues has been a problem for researchers interested in studying mate preferences?

A) People appear unwilling to compromise their ideal mate selection standards.
B) Women link their own mate value to their ideal mate preferences, but men do not.
C) Men's self-reports do not match their actual behaviors, whereas women's self-reports do match their actual behaviors.
D) People's evaluations of hypothetical partners do not always match their evaluations of real partners.

Question 22

Adults from collectivist cultures tend to value _______ in their potential partners more than do adults from individualist cultures.

A) emotional stability
B) demographic similarity
C) intelligence
D) physical appearance

Question 23

The concept of mate value refers to _______.

A) what people desire in an ideal partner
B) what people seek to avoid in a potential partner
C) people's own desirability as a partner
D) how valuable people consider their partners to be

Question 24

Jim is smart, funny, kind, open, warm, and honest. He's also attractive, a good communicator, and has a great job. Rob, on the other hand, is shy, awkward in social situations, a poor communicator, of average intelligence, short, and skinny. Research on mate preferences would suggest that Jim will be _______ to compromise his ideal mate preferences.

A) less likely than Rob
B) more likely than Rob
C) equally likely as Rob
D) absolutely unwilling