Sex differences in online dating according to attractiveness, job status, and deception across the spousal value trait of altruism

Desrochers, J., MacKinnon, M., Kelly, B., et al. Sex differences in online dating according to attractiveness, work status, and deception across the spousal value trait of altruism. Arch Sex Behav (2021) https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-021-01945-6

Commentary

Gender differences in spousal preferences are well established, and people often try to manipulate their positions based on important spousal values.

In response to deception along these important dimensions, there is a lack of research examining potential sex differences.

In Study 1, a sample of 280 undergraduates (123 women) responded to a fictional online dating scenario and were asked to rank how upset they would be if deceived about a date's attractiveness, occupation, or volunteer work.

The results showed that women ranked occupation deception as more upsetting than men, and men ranked attractiveness deception as more upsetting than women.

To investigate potential measurement differences between the forced choice and continuous response options, Study 2 randomly assigned 364 undergraduates (188 females) to one of the deception conditions and asked them to report their level of upset and willingness to go about their day using a continuous response scale.

When the deception was related to volunteering or occupation, women were more likely than men to cancel the date, and there were no significant gender differences in attractiveness status. Neither spousal value nor social sexuality moderated sex differences in levels of upset due to deception.

These findings indicate that, consistent with evolving sex differences in spousal preferences, self-perceived spousal worth and social sexuality show differences in the extent to which online dating is upset by opposite-sex deception.