Description

Sexual selection and mate preference is dynamic and can be influenced by a number of environmental factors. The purpose of my study was to determine if there is a correlation between environmental factors and human female mate preference in cities across Canada. Environmental, economic, and mate preference data were collected from 26 cities across Canada. Mate preference data was collected by looking at the first 50 online profiles for each city on a popular online dating site. Across the 26 cities, I recorded variation in both environmental (e.g., sex ratio, population density, population size) and mate preference data (resource holding potential, physical attractiveness, emotional appeal and personal activities and interests). I then asked whether the observed variation in stated preferences could be explained by variation in environmental and economic conditions across these cities. Furthermore, because this dating site includes the poster's characteristics, I also examined whether age was correlated to mate preference and if it explained the relationships between mate preference and the environmental influences. I found that preference for resource holding potential was positively related to population density and negatively related to age. In addition, I found that population size was positively related to preference for physical attractiveness and negatively related to preference for personal activities and interests. The findings from this research expand our current knowledge of the influences of environment on female human mate preference. My work also highlights the importance of examining poster characteristics, especially age, as they tend to vary across cities and can have a strong effect on observed patterns of female human mate preferences.