Studying “the necessities and luxuries in mate preferences,” Norman Li and others asked participants to design an ideal marriage partner by purchasing different characteristics using “mate dollars.” In some cases, they were granted a large budget to work with; in other cases, the budget was limited. In the large-budget condition, men spent somewhat more play money on physical attractiveness, and women spent somewhat more on social status, but both were just as interested in a partner who was kind, lively, and creative. In the low-budget condition, however, men spent even more of their play money on physical attractiveness, and women spent even more on social status. When mate seekers can’t have it all and must therefore focus on what’s most important, they prioritize their choices in the ways predicted by evolutionary theory.
Also consistent with the evolutionary perspective is a universal tendency for men to seek younger women (who are most likely to be fertile) and for women to desire older men (who are most likely to have financial resources). Buss found this age-preference discrepancy in all cultures he studied, with men on average wanting to marry women who were 2.7 years younger and women want- ing men who were 3.4 years older.