Core self-evaluation moderates distinctive similarity preference in ideal partner’s personality

Singles' similarity preferences in an ideal partner: What, when, and why

This study investigated singles' similarity preferences concerning their ideal partner's personality traits, physical attractiveness, and social resources, as well as potential moderators (fear of being single and mate value) and mediators (forecasted satisfaction). With 1,014 Chinese singles, we found that singles preferred their ideal partner to share similarities in the HEXACO traits, physical attractiveness, and social resources, and they preferred higher similarity in Honesty-Humility and Openness to Experience. Fear of being single, mate value, and forecasted satisfaction did not affect similarity preferences concerning Honesty-Humility and Openness to Experience but had some mixed influence over similarity preferences for other features.

The relationship between Chinese college students' mate preferences and their parents' education level

Parents have an influence on the formation of their children's mate preferences. This research conducted two studies to test the relationship between parents' education level and the gender role characteristics (masculinity and femininity) of ideal mate for college students, and the moderating role of urban-rural residence on this relationship. In study 1, 1,033 participants (627 females) reported their explicit attitude toward gender role characteristics for an ideal mate via the Chinese Sex Role Inventory-50. In study 2, we recruited 130 participants (66 females) and used an implicit association test to measure their implicit attitude. Regression-based analyses showed that the higher education level of parents was significantly associated with female students' mate preferences with high-femininity but low-masculinity traits. For male students, the higher education level of parents was associated with their explicit (not implicit) preferences of mates with high-masculinity but low-femininity traits. The significant moderating effect of urban-rural residence was observed in explicit preference, with the different patterns in gender groups. In conclusion, parents with higher educational attainment might bring up children who are more likely to embrace a partner with non-traditional gender roles (e.g., androgynous individuals, feminine men or masculine women).

Is what is beautiful good and still more accurately understood? A replication and extension of Lorenzo et al. (2010)

Is what is beautiful good and more accurately understood? Lorenzo et al. (2010) explored this question and found that more attractive targets (as per consensus) were judged more positively and accurately. Perceivers’ specific (idiosyncratic) ratings of targets’ attractiveness were also related to more positive and accurate impressions, but the latter was only true for highly consensually attractive targets. With a larger sample ( N = 547), employing a round-robin study design, we aimed to replicate and extend these findings by (1) using a more reliable accuracy criterion, (2) using a direct measure of positive personality impressions, and (3) exploring attention as a potential mechanism of these links. We found that targets’ consensual attractiveness was not significantly related to the positivity or the accuracy of impressions. Replicating the original findings, idiosyncratic attractiveness was related to more positive impressions. The association between idiosyncratic attractiveness and accuracy was again dependent on consensual attractiveness, but here, idiosyncratic attractiveness was associated with lower accuracy for less consensually attractive targets. Perceivers’ attention helped explain these associations. These results partially replicate the original findings while also providing new insight: What is beautiful to the beholder is good but is less accurately understood if the target is consensually less attractive.