Previous research has provided evidence that females are generally the more selective sex in humans. Moreover, both sexes have been found to be more selective in long-term mating compared to short-term mating. In this study, we have examined the effects of sex, mating strategy (preferred relationship length) and their interaction on mate preferences (i.e., mate selection criteria) in an egalitarian Nordic society, namely Norway. The study sample consisted of 1,000 individuals, 417 of whom were male and 583 female respondents. According to our findings, men were more selective in physical appearance, whereas women were more selective in all the other mate preferences (e.g., understanding, dominant, kind, intellectual etc.). The respondents that were seeking short-term relationships had higher preference for physical appearance, humorousness and sociability. On the other hand, the respondents that were seeking long-term relationships were more selective in most of the other mate preferences (i.e., understanding, kind, cultivated, domestic, reliable, and similar). Interestingly, no interaction effect was found between sex and mating strategy in that differences between long-term and short-term seekers in mate preferences did not change depending on sex. This suggests that men and women value the same traits in short-term relationships.

先前的研究提供的证据表明，女性通常是人类中更具选择性的性别。此外，与短期交配相比，两性在长期交配中都更具选择性。在这项研究中，我们研究了在平等主义的北欧社会（即挪威）中，性别、交配策略（首选关系长度）及其相互作用对择偶偏好（即择偶标准）的影响。研究样本由 1,000 人组成，其中 417 名男性和 583 名女性受访者。根据我们的研究结果，男性在外貌方面更具选择性，而女性在所有其他择偶偏好（例如理解性、主导性、善良、智力等）方面更具选择性。寻求短期关系的受访者更看重外表、幽默感和社交能力。另一方面，寻求长期关系的受访者在大多数其他择偶偏好上更具选择性（即理解、善良、有教养、家庭、可靠和类似）。有趣的是，没有发现性别和交配策略之间存在交互作用，因为长期和短期寻求者之间的择偶偏好差异并不因性别而改变。这表明男性和女性在短期关系中重视相同的特征。