Elsevier

Current Opinion in Psychology

Volume 1, February 2015, Pages 97-100
Current Opinion in Psychology

Romantic relationships, ideal standards, and mate selection

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2015.01.007Get rights and content

Highlights

  • •
    We discuss the nature of the Ideal Standards Model (ISM).
  • •
    Empirical research testing hypotheses derived from the ISM are discussed.
  • •
    Controversy regarding the role of ideal partner preferences in mate selection is discussed.
  • •
    The value of the ISM is in adopting a functional approach and focusing on dyadic influences.
In this article we discuss the origins of the Ideal Standards Model (ISM), the content of ideal standards, as well as the function of ideals in existing relationships as well as in mate selection. Empirical research testing hypotheses derived from the ISM are presented. Existing controversies, and suggestions for future research, are also discussed. We conclude that the ISM exemplifies the value of adopting a functional approach to social cognition in romantic relationships along with a focus on dyadic influences.

Section snippets

Romantic relationships, ideal standards, and mate selection

The Ideal Standards Model (ISM; [1, 2]) proposes that individuals possess chronically accessible mate and relationship ideal standards that are used to evaluate both potential mates and existing partners and romantic relationships. The development of the ISM was derived initially from perhaps the most important founding theory in social psychology concerned with romantic relationships — interdependence theory [3]. This theory postulates that perceptions of relationship quality are a function of

Partner discrepancies and evaluation

In an initial test of the evaluative function of the ISM, Fletcher et al. [1] found that individuals who reported smaller partner discrepancies rated their relationships more favorably. This finding has since been replicated may times (see [8•]). Longitudinal studies have also found that larger partner discrepancies predict higher rates of relationship dissolution both in the early stages of relationship formation [9] and in marital relationships (see [10••]).
Crucially, partner discrepancies

Partner discrepancies and regulation

In the first test of the regulatory functions of ideal standards, as proposed by the ISM, Overall and colleagues [7] reported that higher partner discrepancies were associated with greater regulation attempts, and these links operated independently within each of the ISM dimensions (warmth and trustworthiness, attractiveness and vitality, and status and resources). Longitudinal analyses over a 6-month period found that higher partner discrepancies predicted increased regulation attempts over

Trade-offs and sex differences

The ISM has also proved helpful in understanding sex differences in mate preferences, and how people trade-off different traits in mate selection. The classic sex difference replicated across cultures and studies is that women give more weight to status and resources than men, whereas women give less importance to physical attractiveness (see [8•]). The same pattern is observed in studies where individuals are forced to choose individuals who are either good-looking and poor or homely and

Conclusions

The initial development of the ISM, blending elements of interdependence and evolutionary theories, has generated original hypotheses regarding relationship processes and mate selection. Since its inception an impressive amount of research, including correlational, experimental, and dyadic designs, has provided general empirical support for the model. It exemplifies the value of adopting a functional approach to social cognition in romantic relationships along with a focus on dyadic influences.

References and recommended reading

Papers of particular interest, published within the period of review, have been highlighted as:
  • • of special interest
  • •• of outstanding interest

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