"What Do Women Want?" -- Knox Professor, Former Student, Find Cultural Factors Influence Mate Selection
Sigmund Freud lamented that he had no clue about "what a woman wants." According to a recently published study by researchers at Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois, when it comes to selecting a mate, a woman's preferences are influenced by her status in society. The finding by Tim Kasser, assistant professor of psychology, and Yadika Sharma, a 1997 Knox graduate from Bombay, India, brings new evidence to one of the most contentious debates in contemporary psychology."One school of thought is that mate selection preferences--in particular, the preference that women have for high-status men--are biologically determined," Kasser explained. "An opposing camp argues that cultural factors--such as the fact that most power in society is held by men--are more influential than biology. Until now there hasn't been much evidence for cultural factors. Our study shows that, at the very least, you can't ignore the cultural factors."
Kasser and Sharma studied mate selection preferences and social conditions of women in 37 cultures. "We found that in cultures where women have limited education and limited reproductive freedom, they are more likely to prefer high-status mates," Kasser said. "But where women have more education and more reproductive freedom, the preference for high-status mates is not as strong."
In the article, published in the July 1999 issue of Psychological Science, Kasser and Sharma examined surveys, conducted by other researchers, on women's mate selection preferences around the world. They correlated the survey results with economic and educational data on women gathered by the United Nations.
The article by Kasser and Sharma has been featured on the Psychological Science and ReutersHealth web sites.
Kasser has taught at Knox since 1995. He has published research on values and personality, especially the factors that influence value development, personality and well-being in adolescents. Kasser received his bachelor's degree at Vanderbilt University and his doctorate at the University of Rochester.
Sharma, currently in graduate school at Illinois Institute of Technology, earned College Honors at Knox in 1997 for her paper that examined mate selection preferences of women in India and the U.S. The abstract of Sharma's 1997 paper--"The Effects of Male Dominance on Valuing Financial Security in a Potential Mate: A Comparison of American and Indian Women"--is available through the psychology department page on the Knox College web site.
Founded in 1837, Knox is an independent, four-year, liberal arts college, located in Galesburg, Illinois, with 1,200 students from 45 states and 37 nations. Knox's "Old Main," a National Historic Landmark, is the only building remaining from the 1858 Lincoln-Douglas debates.
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More information:
Text of news release on Psychological Science web site:
http://www.psychologicalscience.org/news_journal19.htm
Tim Kasser biography and photo on Knox web site:
http://www.knox.edu/knoxweb/academic/facultyprofiles/tkasser.html
Abstract of Yadika Sharma's Honors Project:
http://www.knox.edu/knoxweb/academic/honors/1997_sharma.html
