Identifier

etd-0415102-111440

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Psychology

Document Type

Dissertation

Abstract

Evolutionary perspectives on human mating have provided testable hypotheses regarding what qualities people desire in their mates and why they want them. One study was conducted to replicate previous findings in mate preference using a more sophisticated paired comparison methodology to develop scales. Paired comparison scaling generally replicated gender differences in mate preferences consistent with evolutionary predictions. Further, decision-making reaction time (ms) suggested the presence of an underlying psychological continuum of selection criteria. A series of studies were then conducted applying the information processing approach (IPA) to investigate attention and knowledge organization in mate preference. The dot-probe paradigm was used to measure attention to preference-relevant stimuli words; no effect of gender, mating context, or word type on reaction time (ms) was found. Finally, semantic networks generated by the Pathfinder algorithm revealed that men and women associated concepts into meanings about human mating in a way that partially supported evolutionary predictions.

Date

2002

Document Availability at the Time of Submission

Release the entire work immediately for access worldwide.

Committee Chair

James H. Geer

DOI

10.31390/gradschool_dissertations.1467

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Psychology Commons

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