What do women want? An interactionist account of women’s mate preferences

We investigated the moderating influence of individual differences in women’s sociosexuality on romantic preferences within three specific relationship contexts. Female participants were presented with four prospective mates, varying in their ambition and attractiveness, and were asked to rate interest in these targets as short-term sexual partners, as casual dating partners, and as long-term romantic partners. Short-term sexual appeal largely rested on targets’ attractiveness, particularly among women with an unrestricted sociosexual orientation. Dating appeal was dependent on attractiveness, particularly among unrestricted women, and on ambition. Ambition and attractiveness synergistically influenced targets’ long-term desirability, and these preferences were not moderated by women’s sociosexual orientation. These findings portray the textured manner in which sociosexual orientation shapes women’s mate preferences and underscore the need to delineate different types of short-term relationships. We advance an interactionist framework that considers how women’s dispositions and the traits of potential mates jointly operate to influence romantic preferences within distinct contexts.