Many women today, alike those in the past, choose mates before their potential partners have acquired resources on their own, creating an evolved preference for ambition that may signify future resource acquisition potential (Buss, 1989; Townsend & Wasserman, 1998). In modern societies, however, wealth can be inherited, allowing some to own resources that are not personally accrued. We conducted three studies with full factorial design to explore whether ambition or inherited wealth holds greater influence in determining potential mates’ desirability and how these effects vary depending on relationship contexts. Study 1 employed a ranked and forced-choice design, revealing that women generally prioritise ambition over inherited wealth in both relationship contexts. Study 2 corroborated these findings using Likert-scale measures. Study 3 employed perception of humour as an implicit measure of attraction, and found support for ambition as a stronger predictor of both desirability and perception of humour. Our results highlight the complex interplay between ambition, inherited wealth, and relationship contexts, with implications for understanding contemporary mate preferences.

Authors:
Nicole F. Ko, Singapore Management University, Singapore
Norman P. Li, Singapore Management University, Singapore
Kenneth Tan, Singapore Management University, Singapore
Kimin Eom, Australian National University, Australia

About the Presenter(s)
Nicole F. Ko is currently a PhD candidate in Psychology at SMU, working under the mentorship of Professor Norman P. Li. Her research is grounded in evolutionary psychology, with a focus on mate selection and mate preferences.

See this presentation on the full schedule – Wednesday Schedule

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