When Love Meets Money: Priming the Possession of Money Influences Mating Strategies.
Level 2 - randomized trial
Randomized laboratory experiments evaluated by design analogy.
PubMed 27047415 · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00387
What was done
Mainland Chinese college students involved in steady, heterosexual romantic relationships participated in two laboratory experiments. Participants were experimentally primed to feel they had relatively more or relatively less money. Researchers then assessed long-term and short-term mating thoughts and behaviors, specifically satisfaction with current partner physical attractiveness (Study 1) and behavioral approach tendencies toward an attractive opposite-sex individual (Study 2).
What was found
The abstract does not report specific sample sizes, effect sizes, or p-values. In Study 1, men primed to feel they had more money reported lower satisfaction with their partner's physical attractiveness compared to men primed to feel they had less money; this difference was not statistically significant among women. In Study 2, both men and women primed to feel wealthier exhibited a significantly greater behavioral approach tendency toward an attractive member of the opposite sex compared to those primed to feel less wealthy.
Why it matters
The findings provide experimental evidence that subjective feelings of resource possession can causally alter mating preferences and approach behaviors, supporting evolutionary psychology models of conditional mating strategies.
Limits
The abstract does not disclose participant counts (n), effect sizes, or statistical metrics. Findings are drawn from college students in China in heterosexual relationships and rely on acute psychological priming rather than actual changes in financial wealth, which may limit generalizability to broader populations and real-world financial transitions.
Cited by
- supports Higher-income women have stronger overall mate preferences across multiple traits, including physical attractiveness, compared to lower-income women.