WHATILIKEABOUTYOU:GENDERANDATTRACTIONVARIABLES

WhatILikeAboutYou:GenderandAttractionVariables
JessicaFahner12B,SaritaNg17B,MeghanRooney21B
SaintMarysCollegeofCalifornia

WHATILIKEABOUTYOU:GENDERANDATTRACTIONVARIABLES

Rationale
Thepurposeofthisstudywillbetoexploremaleandfemalepreferencesofwhattheyare
attractedtointheirpartner.Weareinterestedinromanticrelationshipsandwhateachgender
lookforinapartner.Menandwomenaresocializedincompletelydifferentways,however,they
continuetobeattractedtooneanother.Themajorresearchquestionthatweareaskingis:does
genderaffectattractionvariables?Weareinterestedinwhetherwomenlookforthesame
characteristicsinmen,asmendoforwomenandwhetherornottheattractionsarethesameor
different.Wewanttoinvestigatewhethergenderdifferentiatespreferencesofsimilarordiffering
attributesinapartner.Wewillbeinvestigatingifmalesandfemalesdifferintheirpreferenceof
similarityinaromanticrelationship.Acouplescommoninterestsorphysicalattributesmay
playaroleinattraction.Ifsomeonedoesnotagreewiththesameemotionalstyleastheirpartner,
thiscouldprovetobepotentiallyproblematic.Accordingtosimilarstudies,wecanexpectthat
thereisadifferenceinattractionbasedongender.Forinstance,accordingtoFeingolds(1990)
study,Beingphysicallyattractiveisofgreaterimportanceformen,particularlyinattractingthe
oppositesex(p.981).
Wewillbeexploringquestionssuchashowdoesapersonsinterestindifferentactivities
influencetheirinterestinapartner?Doesaparticulargenderprefertohavemoreincommon
withtheirpartner?Isthereapreferencetohaveapartnerwithcommoninterests?Ifso,how
importantisittohaveapartnerwhoenjoyssimilaractivities?Towhatextentdoespersonality
playintoattractionandhowdoesitaffecttherelationship?Conversely,canpeoplebeattracted
tothosewhohavelittletonocommoninterests?Dorelationshipswithlittleincommonproveto
besatisfiedforthepeopleinvolved,orisdissatisfactionwiththerelationshipexpressed?

WHATILIKEABOUTYOU:GENDERANDATTRACTIONVARIABLES

Itisimportanttostudythistopicbecausesocietydictatesmanyaspectsofourlives.
AccordingtoMenadier(2012):
Challengingsocialexpectationsofgeneralbehaviorisanimportantsteptowardsocial
justiceandawareness.Stereotypesandprejudicearefactorsthataccompanyanydecision
and,therefore,shouldbeprovenscientificallytrueorfalse,whichisthemainpurposeof
thisstudy.Asdatingandsexualpracticeevolve,somusttheunderstandingofthe
motivationsbehindourpersonalchoices.Thiscurrentstudyprovedtheneedforamore
sophisticatedknowledgeoftheseprocesses(p.111).
Societyhasexpectations:actinginawaythatisconsideredsociallyappropriate,influencingour
perceptionsofbeauty,andconstructingourideasoflove.

However,thissocialconstructiondoes
notexplaineverything,suchasattraction.Societymayhavealargeinfluenceonbeauty
perceptions,butattractionismorethanjustphysicalities.Thereareotherinfluencesofattraction,
suchascharacteristics.Moreover,inregardtounderstandingthechoicesthatwemake,this
studycouldhelpusunderstandthedecisionmakingprocesswhenfindingapartner.
LiteratureReview
Throughourresearch,attractionvariablesbecameveryapparentregardinggender.We
examinedfivedifferentstudies,whichpresentedvariousperceptionsofwhatisattractiveina
partnerthroughthelensofmalesandfemales.Allfivestudiesresultedinmalesfavoring,ifnot
requiringphysicalattractivenessinapartner.
Malesfavoredphysicalattractivenessmuchmorethanfemales,whotypicallypreferred
anattractivepersonality.AlanFeingolds(1990)studyproposedthatmenplacegreatervalueon
physicalattractivenessofwomenwhentheyarelookingforamateinaromanticrelationship.

WHATILIKEABOUTYOU:GENDERANDATTRACTIONVARIABLES

Feingold(1990)hypothesizedthat,Beingphysicallyattractiveisofgreaterimportanceformen,
particularlyinattractingtheoppositesex(p.981).Inthisparticularstudy,mateselection
questionnaireswereusedtojudgetheimportanceofdifferentcharacteristicsfortheiridealmate.
Moremenagreedthatgoodlooksandphysicalattractivenesswerenecessary.Feingold(1990)
usedfiveresearchparadigmstotesthishypothesisofmenvaluingphysicalattractivenessin
romanticattractionmuchmorethanwomen.Thefivemethodsusedtoobtainresultswere:(1)
questionnaire,(2)analysesoflonelyheartsadvertisements,(3)studiesthatcorrelate
attractivenesswithoppositesexpopularity,(4)studiesthatcorrelateattractivenessandlikingthe
person,(5)andexperimentsthatmanipulatetheattractivenessandsimilarityofanoppositesex
stranger(Feingold,1990,p.981990).Alloftheparadigmsresultssupportedthehypothesisthat
morementhanwomenvaluephysicalattractivenesswhenlookingforaromanticpartner.Inour
projectwealsomadetheassumptionthatmenwouldbeattractedtophysicaltraitsasopposedto
characteristicsandqualities.Feingoldsresearchhasalargerscopethanourownthusthe
projectwasmuchlarger,andhewasabletogatherasufficientamountofdatatoconductbetter
results.
Similarly,Sewell(2013)wasinterestedinwhatexactphysicalattributesmenandwomen
foundattractiveinapartner.Asurveyquestionnairewasconductedwhichaskedandpresented
resultsofwhatphysicalattributesmenfindthemostattractiveinwomenincomparisontowhat
womenfindphysicallyattractiveinwomen:
Whilenearlyhalfofthemen(45%)chosefairskin,fewerthanathirdofthewomen
(28%)didso.Apluralityofmen(35%)andwomen(42%)chosegreeneyesasthemost
attractive.Apartfromthe"other"category,darkbrowneyeswerechosentheleastoften

WHATILIKEABOUTYOU:GENDERANDATTRACTIONVARIABLES

bybothmenandwomen,andforbothmenandwomen,blueeyeswerethesecondmost
popularoption.Mostmenwhotookthesurveychosestraighthairofmediumlengththat
reachestheshouldersandiseitherdarkbrownorblond.Lightbrownhairwasonly[four]
pointsbehindthetoptwocategories,whichcouldbeimportanttonotesincethereseems
tobemuchmoredifferentiationwithinsomeoftheothercategories.Perhapsthis
evennessisaresultoflightbrownbeingcloseincolortobothdarkbrownandblond?
Bothmenandwomenchosethehourglassbodytype,heightbetween5'3"and5'6",large
(Ccup)breasts,amediumsizedbutt,andalookwithnaturalorlittlemakeupasthemost
attractivephysicalcharacteristicsinwomen(Sewell,2013,p.5960).
Sewellsstudywasparticularlyinteresting,becauseitdisplayedacomparisoninwhatmenand
womenperceivedasphysicallyattractiveinawoman.ThisstudyexpandsFeingoldsresearch
becauseitcentersaroundwhatphysicalattributesmenwouldfindattractive.Theresultsshowed
thatthereisinfactlittledifferenceinperceptionofbeautybetweenthetwogenders.Inourown
study,welookedatwhatagenderthoughtwasattractiveintheoppositegenderphysicaland
emotionalattributes.ThefocusofSewellsstudywasverynarrow,becauseshefocusedononly
whateachgenderfoundphysicallyattractiveinafemale.Thisallowedhertoreceivevery
specificanddetailedresults.
Furthermore,maleandfemaleshavemoreincommonthanonewouldthinkbothmen
andwomenlookforsimilarphysicalcharacteristicsintheirpartner.InWalster,Aronson,and
Abrahamss(1996)study,theyproposedthatindividualswouldbemorelikelytodateandhavea
partnerwithasimilarlevelofphysicalattractivenessanddesirabilityashisorherownself.The
individualsphysicalattractivenessandsocialdesirabilitydeterminedwhomheorshewouldbe

WHATILIKEABOUTYOU:GENDERANDATTRACTIONVARIABLES

physicallyattractedto.Agoodlookingindividualwouldexpecttoacquireagoodlookingmate.
Walster,Aronson,andAbrahamsconductedastudyataschooldancewhere376malesand376
femalesattended.Participantsgravitatedtowardspeoplewhowereofequalphysical
attractivenessastheirownselves:Averysociallydesirable(attractive)subjectwouldexpecta
suitableoracceptabledatetopossessmorephysicalandpersonalcharmandtobemore
consideratethanalesssociallydesirablesubject(Walster,Aronson,Abrahams,1996,p.511).
Peopleareattractedtothosewhotheyconsidertobeequallyattractive.Anattractivepartner
partnerisheldtoahigherexpectationthananunattractivepartner.Wedidnotseeanyevidence
ofpeopleholdingapartnertheythoughtwasmoreattractivetohigherexpectationsinourown
research.Thisstudydisplaystheimportanceofphysicalattractivenessinrelationships.This
contradictsourassumptionsthatwomenaremoreinclinedtochoseemotionalcharacteristics
overphysicalonesinapartner.Nonetheless,womenarealsoinfluencedbyphysical
characteristicsinsomeway.
Despitedifferencesinmenandwomensidealcharacteristics,theyalsosharesimilarities.
FurnhamandTsoi(2012)distributedaquestionnairecoveringsixareas(ability,personality,
character,physical,resources,andvalues)toratewhatindividualsdesiredinalongtermpartner,
andcompletedaselfevaluationquestionnaireregardinghowthecharacteristicsdescribed
themselves.Theresultsdisplayedthatwomenratedsomespecificcharacteristicsmoreimportant
thanmendid,forinstance,femaleswouldrateearningpowersignificantlyhigherthanmales,
whoratedgoodlooksandheredityhigher(Furnham&Tsoi,2012,p.435).Therearesome
differencesinthequalitiesthatwomenandmenfindidealinapartner.However,therearealso
similaritiesinwhatpeoplebelieveischaracteristicallyattractive.Theresultssuggestthatpeople

WHATILIKEABOUTYOU:GENDERANDATTRACTIONVARIABLES

seekmostcompatibilityinsocialbackground/class,followedbyideologicalbeliefs,andfinally
physicalcharacteristics.Surprisingly,neithercognitiveabilitynoremotionalintelligenceshowed
asignificantlypositivecorrelation(Furnham&Tsoi,2012,p.444).Thisstudyfoundthatthere
aresimilaritiesinwhatthegenderslookforinapartner.Thissourcewasuniqueinourresearch
topicbecauseitfocusedonothercharacteristicsbesidesphysicalityandhowitpertainsto
attraction.
VeronicaH.Menadiershypothesisattemptedtodisprovepreviousstudieshowever,she
toofoundsimilarresultsastheotherstudies.Shehypothesizedthat,Maleswouldchooseto
datebasedonthepersonalitytraitsoftheirdatingpartner,andcontrarytosocialexpectations,
femaleswouldpreferlookstopersonality(Menadier,2012,p.111).However,thishypothesis
wasdisprovedinaquestionnaireasmalesweremorelikelytovoteyesforPASU(physically
attractive/sociallyunattractive)andfemalesweremorelikelytoyesforPUSA(physically
unattractive/sociallyattractive).Infactthisstudyfoundthat,Bothmenandwomendidfocuson
physicalattraction(PASU)themost,althoughmalesscoredhigherthanfemales(Menadier,
2012,p.116).Relatedtothis,itwasfoundinFeingolds(1990)studythatphysical
attractivenessiscorrelatedwithsamesexpopularityformenbutnotforwomen,andthat
matchingforattractivenessamongsamesexfriendsoccursformenbutnotforwomen.
MenadiersstudyisverysimilartoFeingoldsfindings,becauseitreiteratestheevidencethat
menaremorelikelytochosephysicaltraitsoveremotionaltraits.Thisisrelevantbecauseit
showsusthatmen,whetherseekingapartnerorafriend,findthatphysicalitiesaremore
important.Womendonotseekphysicallyattractivefriends,butdoseekphysicallyattractive
partners.Itcanbeassumedfromtheseresults,inFeingoldsandMenadiersstudies,thatwomen

WHATILIKEABOUTYOU:GENDERANDATTRACTIONVARIABLES

aremorelikelythanmentoplaceahigherimportanceoncharacteristicsthanphysicaltraits.
Thesefindingssupportourownresultsinourresearchaswegatheredsimilardata.
Finally,eachoneofthesestudieswereinformativeandhelpfulforourproject.Itproved
ourinitialassumptionsthatmenvaluephysicalattractivenessmorefrequentlythanwomen.
Genderdoesaffectattractionvariables,asmenstressedtheimportanceofphysicalattractiveness
intheirpartner.Allofthesestudiesareinformativeforthisprojectbecauseitprovesthatthere
aremanydifferencesamonggenderanditproveshowgenderplaysaroleinseekingapartner.
ResearchQuestion
DothemenandwomenatSaintMarysCollegeofCaliforniavaluedifferentattraction
qualitiesinaromanticrelationship?
Method
Weinterviewedsixheterosexualindividuals,threemaleandthreefemale,whoarein
romanticrelationships.TheseparticipantswerestudentsatSaintMarysCollegeofCalifornia,
ages19to25.Wechosetointerviewonlythoseinheterosexualrelationshipsbecausewethought
thatsamegenderedrelationships,inadditiontoheterosexualrelationships,wouldrequirealarger
samplingofparticipants.Webelieveditwouldbeeasiertogatherparticipantswhoareina
heterosexualrelationshipasopposedtosamegenderrelationships.Themajorityofthe
participatingstudentsarecaucasian,onemaleparticipantandonefemaleparticipantare
multiracial,onefemaleparticipantisAsian,andonemaleparticipantisHispanic.Inourproject
wedidnotfocusonraceattraction,becausewethoughtthatitwouldmakeourprojecttoobroad.
Twoofthementhatwereinterviewedwerecollegeathletes,andtheothermanthatwas

WHATILIKEABOUTYOU:GENDERANDATTRACTIONVARIABLES

interviewedwenttothegymveryfrequently.Ofthewomenthatweinterviewed,noneofthem
wereathletesandonlyonefrequentlywenttothegym.
Intermsoftheprocedurethatwefollowedwheninterviewing,weaskedtheparticipants
questionsregardingcharacteristicstheyfindphysicallyandemotionallyattractiveinanideal
partner.Next,weaskedhowsimilarordifferenttheyconsideredthemselvestotheirpartnerin
severalcategories.Weaskedtheparticipantstoratethemselvestotheirpartnerusinganumbered
scale,becausewefeltthatitwouldmakeiteasierforthemtoputthequestionsinperspective.
Thescalerangedfromonetofive,withonebeingnotsimilarandfivebeingextremelysimilar.
Lastly,weaskedtheparticipantstocomparetheircurrentrelationshipwiththeirpartnertotheir
idealsofattractiveness.
Results
Theresultsofourresearchshowedthatmalesweremorephysicallyattractedtotheir
partner,whilefemalesweremoreemotionallyattractedtotheirpartner.Malesfeltthattheir
partnerhadthequalitiesthattheywouldusuallyfindphysicallyattractive.Twofemalesfeltthat
theirpartnerdidnothavetheidealqualitiestheywouldusuallyfindphysicallyattractive.Males
consideredtheirpartneraseithermoreorequallyattractivetothem.However,females
consideredtheirpartneraseitherlessorequallyattractivethanthem.Twomalesstatedthatthey
preferfemaleswithlighthairandeyes,andanicebutt.Thosewhowereinterestedinphysical
activitypreferedpartnerswhoweresimilarlyinterestedaswell.Themalesweinterviewedwere
athleteswhichcouldexplainwhytheyfounditimportantfortheirpartnertobeinshape,and
especiallyspecifiedthosequalities.Conversely,thewomenvariedinphysicalactivitysome
wereathleticandsomewerenot.Overall,havingapartnerthatwasinshapewasnotas

WHATILIKEABOUTYOU:GENDERANDATTRACTIONVARIABLES

10

importantforwomen.Itwascommonforthementopreferhavingmoresimilaritieswiththeir
partner.Women,however,feltthatsharingsimilaritieswasnotthemostimportantaspectwhen
lookingforapartner.Twofemalesstatedthatrespectandspacewashighlyimportantina
relationship.Mostofthefemalesfeltthattheywereoveralltheoppositeoftheirpartner,whereas
themajorityofthemalesfeltmorealiketotheirpartner.Thosewhohadlessincommonwith
withpartnerdidnotfeeldissatisfiedwiththeirrelationship.
Discussion
Inourproject,wehavefoundthatourresultssupportedourassumptions.Wepredicted
thatmaleswouldfindphysicalattractivenesstobemoreimportantthanfemales.Thosestudies
supporttheargumentthatmalesplaceagreaterimportanceonphysicalattractivenessthan
females.Becauseoftheseresults,peoplemayassumethatfemalesdonotcareabout
physicalities.However,thisisnottrue.Femalesplaceanimportanceonappearance,butfindthat
personalityisequallyimportantorevenmoreimportant.Fromourresearch,itcanbeassumed
thatwomenwouldbemorelikelytobeattractedtosomeonespersonalitythantheirlooks.The
resultsofourstudydoesnotreflecttheentirepopulationtherefore,wecannotassumethatall
malesonlycareaboutlooks,andallfemalesonlycareaboutpersonality.Ourresultsandother
studiesshowthatsomefemalesplaceahigherimportanceonphysicalattractiveness,andsome
malesprioritizeemotionalattractiveness.Peoplefromthesamegenderarenotallalike.From
thesefindings,itisimportanttorealizethateveryoneisdifferentfromeachother,andthat
genderdoesnotlimitoneonhowtobehaveorfeel.
Intermsofbenefitingsociety,thisstudycouldhelpidentifyandsolveproblemsthatarise
inarelationship.Thestudycouldaidcommunicationbetweenpartnerswhendating.For

WHATILIKEABOUTYOU:GENDERANDATTRACTIONVARIABLES

11

instance,understandingwhyoneisinitiallyattractedtoapartnerisimportant,becauseonecan
discoverwhattheyconsiderimportantwhenlookingforarelationship.Ifeachgenderchoosesa
partnerfordifferentreasons,thiscouldexplainlaterproblemsintherelationships.Also,ifoneis
havingtroublefindingapartner,onecouldlearnwhattheothergenderisattractedto.In
addition,findingasuitablepartnerwhiledating,couldpotentiallyreducethechanceofthe
relationshipdeteriorating.Moreover,ourstudycouldhelpexpeluntruestereotypes,suchas
womenareshallowandonlycareaboutlooks,ormencannothandlerelationships.
Thelimitationsofourprojectincludedtheamountofdatawewereabletocollectdueto
ournarrowscope.Wespecificallysearchedforheterosexualrelationships,andwedidnotlookat
howraceaffectedattraction.Weunknowinglyinterviewedindividualswhowereathletic.It
wouldbeinterestingtoexploretheideathatmenaremoreattractedtophysicalitybecausemen
inoursocietyaremoreencouragedtoplaysportsthanwomen.Fortheconvenienceoftime,we
interviewedfriendswhowereinrelationshipsasopposedtogatheringagoodsamplesizeto
reflectthepopulationofSaintMarysCollegeofCalifornia.Thiscouldhaveinfluencedthe
resultsofourresearchduetothetypesoffriendsweassociateourselveswith.

WHATILIKEABOUTYOU:GENDERANDATTRACTIONVARIABLES

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