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Potentials-Attract or Likes-Attract in Human Mate Choice in China

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  • Qiao-Qiao He
  • Zhen Zhang
  • Jian-Xin Zhang
  • Zhi-Guo Wang
  • Ying Tu
  • Ting Ji
  • Yi Tao

Abstract

To explain how individuals’ self-perceived long-term mate value influences their mate preference and mate choice, two hypotheses have been presented, which are “potentials-attract” and “likes-attract”, respectively. The potentials-attract means that people choose mates matched with their sex-specific traits indicating reproductive potentials; and the likes-attract means that people choose mates matched with their own conditions. However, the debate about these two hypotheses still remains unsolved. In this paper, we tested these two hypotheses using a human’s actual mate choice data from a Chinese online dating system (called the Baihe website), where 27,183 users of Baihe website are included, in which there are 590 paired couples (1180 individuals) who met each other via the website. Our main results show that not only the relationship between individuals’ own attributes and their self-stated mate preference but also that between individuals’ own attributes and their actual mate choice are more consistent with the likes-attract hypothesis, i.e., people tend to choose mates who are similar to themselves in a variety of attributes.

Suggested Citation

  • Qiao-Qiao He & Zhen Zhang & Jian-Xin Zhang & Zhi-Guo Wang & Ying Tu & Ting Ji & Yi Tao, 2013. "Potentials-Attract or Likes-Attract in Human Mate Choice in China," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(4), pages 1-9, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0059457
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0059457
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    Cited by:

    1. Tao Jia & Robert F Spivey & Boleslaw Szymanski & Gyorgy Korniss, 2015. "An Analysis of the Matching Hypothesis in Networks," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(6), pages 1-12, June.
    2. Ravi Prakash & Abhishek Singh, 2014. "Who Marries Whom? Changing Mate Selection Preferences in Urban India and Emerging Implications on Social Institutions," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 33(2), pages 205-227, April.
    3. Zhiming Cheng & Russell Smyth, 2017. "China’S Imbalanced Sex Ratio And Satisfaction With Marriage," The Singapore Economic Review (SER), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 62(04), pages 765-782, September.

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