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Mate preference priorities in the East and West: A cross-cultural test of the mate preference priority model

Thomas AG, Jonason PK, Blackburn JD, Kennair LEO, Lowe R, Malouff J, et al.

J Pers, 2020 06;88(3):606-620.
PMID: 31494937 DOI: 10.1111/jopy.12514

OBJECTIVE: Mate choice involves trading-off several preferences. Research on this process tends to examine mate preference prioritization in homogenous samples using a small number of traits and thus provide little insight into whether prioritization patterns reflect a universal human nature. This study examined whether prioritization patterns, and their accompanying sex differences, are consistent across Eastern and Western cultures.
METHOD: In the largest test of the mate preference priority model to date, we asked an international sample of participants (N = 2,477) to design an ideal long-term partner by allocating mate dollars to eight traits using three budgets. Unlike previous versions of the task, we included traits known to vary in importance by culture (e.g., religiosity and chastity).
RESULTS: Under low budget conditions, Eastern and Western participants differed in their mate dollar allocation for almost every trait (average d = 0.42), indicating that culture influences prioritization. Despite these differences, traits fundamental for the reproductive success of each sex in the ancestral environment were prioritized by both Eastern and Western participants.
CONCLUSION: The tendency to prioritize reproductively fundamental traits is present in both Eastern and Western cultures. The psychological mechanisms responsible for this process produce similar prioritization patterns despite cross-cultural variation.
The attractive female body weight and female body dissatisfaction in 26 countries across 10 world regions: results of the international body project I

Swami V, Frederick DA, Aavik T, Alcalay L, Allik J, Anderson D, et al.

Pers Soc Psychol Bull, 2010 Mar;36(3):309-25.
PMID: 20179313 DOI: 10.1177/0146167209359702

This study reports results from the first International Body Project (IBP-I), which surveyed 7,434 individuals in 10 major world regions about body weight ideals and body dissatisfaction. Participants completed the female Contour Drawing Figure Rating Scale (CDFRS) and self-reported their exposure to Western and local media. Results indicated there were significant cross-regional differences in the ideal female figure and body dissatisfaction, but effect sizes were small across high-socioeconomic-status (SES) sites. Within cultures, heavier bodies were preferred in low-SES sites compared to high-SES sites in Malaysia and South Africa (ds = 1.94-2.49) but not in Austria. Participant age, body mass index (BMI), and Western media exposure predicted body weight ideals. BMI and Western media exposure predicted body dissatisfaction among women. Our results show that body dissatisfaction and desire for thinness is commonplace in high-SES settings across world regions, highlighting the need for international attention to this problem.
Fulltext Author Correction: Perceptions of the appropriate response to norm violation in 57 societies

Eriksson K, Strimling P, Gelfand M, Wu J, Abernathy J, Akotia CS, et al.

Nat Commun, 2021 Apr 26;12(1):2483.
PMID: 33903599 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-22955-x
Fulltext Perceptions of the appropriate response to norm violation in 57 societies

Eriksson K, Strimling P, Gelfand M, Wu J, Abernathy J, Akotia CS, et al.

Nat Commun, 2021 03 05;12(1):1481.
PMID: 33674587 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-21602-9

Norm enforcement may be important for resolving conflicts and promoting cooperation. However, little is known about how preferred responses to norm violations vary across cultures and across domains. In a preregistered study of 57 countries (using convenience samples of 22,863 students and non-students), we measured perceptions of the appropriateness of various responses to a violation of a cooperative norm and to atypical social behaviors. Our findings highlight both cultural universals and cultural variation. We find a universal negative relation between appropriateness ratings of norm violations and appropriateness ratings of responses in the form of confrontation, social ostracism and gossip. Moreover, we find the country variation in the appropriateness of sanctions to be consistent across different norm violations but not across different sanctions. Specifically, in those countries where use of physical confrontation and social ostracism is rated as less appropriate, gossip is rated as more appropriate.