Those who see themselves as less attractive might be willing to reject more attractive partners as a protective strategy

Harper, Kaitlyn, Fiona Stanley, Morgan Sidari, Anthony J. Lee, and Brendan P. Zietsch. 2021. “The Role of Accurate Self-assessments in Optimising Mate Choice.” PsyArXiv. March 23. doi:10.31234/osf.io/4qmuv

Abstract: Individuals are thought to seek the best possible romantic partner in exchange for their own desirability. We investigated the strategies that individuals use when choosing a partner, and whether these strategies optimise the quality of mutually interested partners (‘matches’). Further, we investigated whether these matching outcomes were affected by the accuracy of one’s self-perceived mate value. Participants (1501 total) took part in a speed dating experiment whereby they rated themselves and others on attractiveness variables and indicated their willingness to date each opposite sex partner they interacted with. We then calculated participants’ selectivity, minimum and maximum standards, accuracy, match quality, and match quantity. Individuals were somewhat accurate in their self-evaluations, and these self-evaluations guided individual’s minimum and maximum quality standards for a potential partner, leading to higher quality matches. These findings extend social exchange models by emphasising the adaptiveness of accurate self-evaluations in mating contexts.