This archive report was first published on 21 September 2019.
Published on September 21, 2019, a study conducted at Swansea University shed light on the characteristics people look for in a long-term partner.
Researchers from the Journal of Personality surveyed over 2,700 participants from diverse cultures, including Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, Norway, and Australia.
While physical attractiveness and financial prospects were considered important, kindness emerged as the top priority.
Participants were given a hypothetical budget to allocate 'mate dollars' across eight attributes, including physical attractiveness, good financial prospects, kindness, and others.
The results showed that people typically spent 22-26% of their budget on kindness, with physical attractiveness and good financial prospects following closely behind.
Interestingly, men allocated more of their budget to physical attractiveness than women, while women prioritized good financial prospects over men.
According to Dr. Andrew Thomas, the lead researcher, studying mate preferences across cultures is crucial for understanding human behavior.
“Looking at very different culture groups allows us to test the idea that some behaviors are human universals,” Dr. Thomas explained.
The study also found that a partner's desire for children was a priority only for Western women, which may be linked to family planning and contraception use.
