Consistent individual differences in behavior [i.e., behavioral types (BTs)], are common across the animal kingdom. Consistency can make behavior an adaptive trait for mate choice decisions. Here, we present a conceptual framework to explain how and why females might evaluate a male’s BT before mating. Because BTs are consistent across time or context, a male’s BT can be a reliable indicator of his potential to provide direct benefits. Heritable BTs can enable informed mate choice via indirect benefits. Many key issues regarding patterns of mate choice, including sensory biases, context dependence, and assortative mating apply to BT-dependent mate choice. Understanding the relationship between BTs and mate choice may offer insights into patterns of variation and consistency common in behavioral traits.

在动物界，行为的一致个体差异（即行为类型（BTs））是常见的。一致性可以使行为成为伴侣选择决定的适应性特征。在这里，我们提供了一个概念框架来解释雌性如何以及为什么在交配之前评估雄性的BT。由于BT在整个时间或环境中都是一致的，因此男性的BT可以可靠地表明其提供直接收益的潜力。可遗传的BT可以通过间接收益实现明智的配偶选择。有关配偶选择模式的许多关键问题，包括感觉偏差，情境依赖性和分类交配都适用于依赖BT的配偶选择。了解BT和伴侣选择之间的关系可以提供对行为特征中常见的变异和一致性模式的见解。