Re-evaluating the Influence of Preferences on Attraction and Relationship Decisions
by Julie Christin Driebe
Date of Examination:2021-11-29
Date of issue:2021-12-16
Advisor:Prof. Dr. Lars Penke
Referee:Prof. Dr. Lars Penke
Referee:Prof. Dr. Mitja Back
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Abstract
English
Several theories assume that humans possess partner preferences influencing their selection of a partner. It has been proposed that humans seek a partner meeting their preferences and that a match between their preferences and a partner’s characteristics influences a relationship’s well-being. However, the evidence supporting this hypothesis is mixed, which challenges the idea that preferences guide decisions regarding the relationship (starting from preferences influencing decisions of initial attraction up to established relationships). In this dissertation, I therefore describe four reasons which could explain the ambiguous findings of previous research (unrepresentative samples, study design as a confounding factor, analytical approaches, and investigated time frame). With my three complementing manuscripts, I aimed to address each of these shortcomings and re-evaluate the influence of preferences on relationship decisions. In Manuscript 1, my co-authors and I found that more intelligent individuals are not rated as being more appealing; mainly physical attractiveness seemed to be decisive for initial attraction. In Manuscript 2, we found that partner preferences are considerably stable over a period of 13 years. At the same time, individuals possessed only to a certain extend insight into how their own partner preferences have changed over this period of time. In Manuscript 3, we found that partner preferences are related to perceived characteristics of partners in the subsequent 13 years. A closer match between preferences and perceived partner characteristics was associated with higher relationship commitment. While I discussed whether all manuscripts adequately addressed previous limitations, I concluded that preferences influence relationship decisions. I ended with integrating our findings into a model which is able to explain the reduced influence of preferences at initial attraction with an increasing influence at later stages of relationship formation. While I cannot preclude that other models could also explain the pattern of results, I describe a possible design for future studies, which could investigate how preferences are integrated into relationship decisions.
Keywords: partner preferences