Leveling the Playing Field: Longer Acquaintance Predicts Reduced Assortative Mating on Attractiveness.
Level 3 - non-randomized controlled study
Cross-sectional observational study examining associations within a cohort of couples.
PubMed 26068893 · doi:10.1177/0956797615579273
What was done
Assessed 167 couples to evaluate whether acquaintance length before dating and prior friendship moderated assortative mating on physical attractiveness. Measures included self-reported acquaintance duration prior to dating, whether the partners had been friends beforehand, and coder ratings of physical attractiveness.
What was found
The abstract reports directional findings without numerical values, effect sizes, or test statistics. Couples demonstrated stronger assortative mating on physical attractiveness when they had known each other for a shorter time and had not been friends prior to dating compared to couples with longer acquaintance.
Why it matters
This study provides empirical support for market-based mating models by showing that matching based on physical attractiveness weakens as pre-dating acquaintance lengthens.
Limits
The abstract reports no numerical effect sizes or confidence intervals. The sample size is modest (167 couples), the cross-sectional design prevents causal conclusions, and unmeasured factors such as participant demographics, relationship duration, and setting were not described in the abstract.