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Socioeconomic Status and Physical Attractiveness in Partner Selection 32 Years Later: An Empirical Replication and Extension of Townsend and Levy (1990)

Partnership is a universal part of human existence. Human partner selection has been long studied within evolutionary and sociocultural frameworks. One study by Townsend and Levy (1990) found that physical attractiveness and socioeconomic status influence male and female partner selection in distinct ways. The present study replicated and extended the work of Townsend and Levy, investigating how physical attractiveness, socioeconomic status, and race and ethnicity influence relationship willingness at various levels of involvement. A repeated measures ANOVA was conducted, and planned post hoc pairwise comparisons and parameter estimates were analyzed. We analyzed responses from 503 single American adults of four racial/ethnic groups under 16 test conditions. We found no significant difference in relationship willingness between male and female participants, so the findings of Townsend and Levy were not replicated. Further, there was no significant difference in relationship willingness for one's own racial or ethnic group versus another racial or ethnic group. Implications for research and human partner selection are discussed.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:BGMYU2/oai:scholarsarchive.byu.edu:etd-10686
Date24 August 2022
CreatorsHenderson, Elena Kelsey
PublisherBYU ScholarsArchive
Source SetsBrigham Young University
Detected LanguageEnglish
Typetext
Formatapplication/pdf
SourceTheses and Dissertations
Rightshttps://lib.byu.edu/about/copyright/

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