Looks to security, women settle for nothing less

WHAT WOMEN WANT: Previous studies have argued that what women value, depended on the type of relationship they were looking for.

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Keywords: Relationship, Partner

Washington: When it comes to choosing a partner, women want the whole package – starting from looks to security – says a new study, which claims that the fairer sex can be influenced by their own attractiveness.

Previous studies have argued that what women value, depended on the type of relationship they were looking for.

However, according to the new study, attractive women want it all - good genes, reflected in desirable physical traits, resources, the desire to have children and good parenting skills, and loyalty and devotion.

Women who look for long-term partners want someone who will be a good provider for them and their children, but women seeking short-term flings care more about masculinity and physical attractiveness, features that may be passed down to children.

David Buss, psychology and Todd Shackelford, psychology professors at Florida Atlantic University, found that women ideally want partners who have all the characteristics they desire, but they will calibrate their standards based on their own desirability.

“When reviewing the qualities they desire in romantic partners, women gauge what they can get based on what they got. And women who are considered physically attractive maintain high standards for prospective partners across a variety of characteristics,” Buss said.

Most of the women attempt to secure the best combination of the qualities they desire from the same man, but the researchers said a small portion of women who do not find a partner with all the qualities may trade some characteristics for others.

Although women’s selectivity across categories reflected how attractive they appeared to other people, the researchers found the characteristics men desired in a partner did not vary based on their own physical attractiveness.

The article “Attractive Women Want it All: Good Genes, Economic Investment, Parenting Proclivities and Emotional Commitment” in published in the journal Evolutionary Psychology.