David Buss - Short Vs. Long-Term Mating Strategies

Short Vs. Long-Term Mating Strategies

One element of David Buss’ research involves studying the differences in mate selection between short-term and long-term mating strategies. Individuals differ in their preferences for either a short or long-term mating strategy (i.e. whether looking for a “hook-up” or a serious relationship). The Gangestad and Simpson Sociosexual Orientation Inventory determines whether a person favors a short-term or long-term strategy (also termed as unrestricted and restricted). Higher SOI scores indicate a less restricted orientation, and thus a preference for a short-term mating strategy.

David Buss and colleagues conducted a study that attempted to uncover where priorities lie in short and long-term mating strategies concerning determinants of attractiveness. In order to do this, participants’ mating strategies were determined using the Sociosexual Orientation Inventory (SOI), labeling each participant as favoring either a short or long-term mating strategy. Each individual was then given the choice to reveal either the face or body from a portrait of a person of the opposite gender. David Buss and his colleagues found that sociosexual orientation/favored mating strategy influenced which part of the portrait was revealed. Men who favored a short-term mating strategy revealed the woman’s body, whereas men who favored a long-term mating strategy revealed the woman’s face. David Buss and his colleagues found that favored mating strategies in women had no correlation with which part of the portrait was revealed. Attractiveness, from a male’s perspective, seems to be based on facial cues when seeking a long-term relationship, and bodily cues when seeking a short-term relationship. This finding adds to David Buss’ field of research by demonstrating differences in mating strategies across preferred relationship type.