Mate Selection

Social Exchange Theory

Social exchange theory is influenced by several other social perspectives, such as social behaviorism, utilitarianism, and functionalism. This theory argues that self-interest is the basic motive for human interaction. Individuals interact with one another for the purpose of maximizing their rewards and minimizing their losses. For various reasons, people possess different characteristics, such as height, financial resources, beauty, ambition, intelligence, and education. Some characteristics are highly associated with just one gender, while others are possessed by both men and women. Men and women in the “mating market” are motivated to “purchase” the desirable characteristics in a mate in exchange for the valued characteristics they possess. Youth and physical appearance in females are examples of the attributes that men desire in a mate. Financial status and social standing are examples of attributes that women desire in men. The bottom line of this theory is that the differences between men's and women's mate preferences are shaped by costs and benefits.

Social Role Theory

Alice Eagly and Wendy Wood proposed a social structural perspective that explains sex differences. This perspective, which they labeled social role theory, suggests that gender differences in mate selection are the product of the distinct social-structural positions that society assigns to men and women. According to Eagly and Wood, some sex differences in behavior are universal, while others are localized. For example, having a division of labor between men and women is universal. In almost all cultures, women occupy roles that evolved around the home that are unrecognized, underappreciated, and unpaid, such as cooking, cleaning, and child care. When women partake in the paid economy, they get paid less and cluster in occupations that tend to be less prestigious. Men, in contrast, occupy social positions that enable them to participate in the paid economy and fulfill the social expectations associated with their status as [Page 527]breadwinners. Another universal pattern is the unequal distribution of status, power, and privilege between men and women.

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