What motives do people prioritize in their social lives? Historically, social psychologists, especially those adopting an evolutionary perspective, have devoted a great deal of research attention to sexual attraction and romantic-partner choice (mate seeking). Research on long-term familial bonds (mate retention and kin care) has been less thoroughly connected to relevant comparative and evolutionary work on other species, and in the case of kin care, these bonds have been less well researched. Examining varied sources of data from 27 societies around the world, we found that people generally view familial motives as primary in importance and mate-seeking motives as relatively low in importance. Compared with other groups, college students, single people, and men place relatively higher emphasis on mate seeking, but even those samples rated kin-care motives as more important. Furthermore, motives linked to long-term familial bonds are positively associated with psychological well-being, but mate-seeking motives are associated with anxiety and depression. We address theoretical and empirical reasons why there has been extensive research on mate seeking and why people prioritize goals related to long-term familial bonds over mating goals. Reallocating relatively greater research effort toward long-term familial relationships would likely yield many interesting new findings relevant to everyday people’s highest social priorities.

人们在社交生活中优先考虑哪些动机？从历史上看，社会心理学家，尤其是那些采用进化论观点的社会心理学家，对性吸引力和浪漫伴侣的选择（寻求伴侣）投入了大量研究关注。关于长期家庭联系（伴侣保留和亲属关系）的研究与其他物种的相关比较和进化研究之间的联系不够全面，在亲属关系方面，对这些联系的研究较少。通过研究来自世界各地27个社会的各种数据来源，我们发现人们通常将家庭动机视为首要重要性，而将寻求伴侣动机视为重要性较低。与其他群体相比，大学生，单身人士和男人更加注重求偶，但即使是那些样本，也将亲属保健动机视为更重要。此外，与长期家庭联系相关的动机与心理健康有正相关，而寻求伴侣的动机与焦虑和抑郁有关。我们解决了理论和经验上的原因，为什么对伴侣寻找进行了广泛的研究，为什么人们将与长期家庭关系有关的目标放在优先于交配目标的位置。将更多的研究精力重新分配给长期的家庭关系，可能会产生许多有趣的新发现，这些发现与每天人们的最高社会优先事项有关。我们解决了理论和经验上的原因，为什么对伴侣寻找进行了广泛的研究，为什么人们将与长期家庭关系有关的目标放在优先于交配目标的位置。将更多的研究精力重新分配给长期的家庭关系，可能会产生许多有趣的新发现，这些发现与每天人们的最高社会优先事项有关。我们解决了理论和经验上的原因，为什么对伴侣寻找进行了广泛的研究，为什么人们将与长期家庭关系有关的目标放在优先于交配目标的位置。将更多的研究精力重新分配给长期的家庭关系，可能会产生许多有趣的新发现，这些发现与每天人们的最高社会优先事项有关。