Sex differences in sexual attraction for aesthetics, resources and personality across age.
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Cross-sectional observational survey
PubMed 34010298 · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0250151
What was done
A cross-sectional online survey of over 7,000 respondents aged 18 to 65 assessed self-reported sexual attractiveness preferences across aesthetic, resource, and personality traits on a 0 to 100 scale. Multiple regression and relative importance analyses evaluated sex differences and how preferences change across age.
What was found
Females rated age, education, intelligence, income, trust, and emotional connection 9 to 14 points higher than males on a 0–100 scale. Males showed greater relative priority for physical attractiveness and build compared to all other traits. The male preference bias for aesthetics decreased linearly with age, whereas female preference for resources and personality was strongest in younger cohorts. Contour plots showed sex differences in attractiveness were driven primarily by males aged 30 to 40, while intelligence differences were driven by females aged 40 to 55.
Why it matters
The study shows that sex differences in human mate preferences are not static across adulthood, but vary across distinct life stages.
Limits
The cross-sectional design cannot differentiate true aging effects from cohort effects. Measures reflect stated online survey preferences rather than realized mating behaviors, and details regarding geographic origin and sampling methodology are not reported in the abstract.