Abstract
Few material goods entail as high a cost and carry as little practical value as an engagement ring. Despite their obvious signaling value, engagement ring expenditures have rarely been studied. The purpose of the current study was to experimentally manipulate a discrepancy in the physical attractiveness of romantic partners to determine its effect on hypothetical engagement ring purchases. We predicted that (1) men would purchase larger, more expensive engagement rings when imagining themselves mated to a more attractive rather than less attractive woman and (2) women would desire larger, more expensive engagement rings when imagining themselves mated to a less attractive rather than more attractive man. We further predicted a positive correlation between women’s self-ratings of attractiveness and the size and cost of the engagement ring women chose, regardless of target attractiveness. Results supported all three predictions. Data about the cost and quality of actual engagement rings was also collected to explore their correlations with age and attractiveness discrepancies in real-world couples; however, we failed to find a consistent pattern whereby more desirable women received more expensive and higher quality engagement rings. Results from the experimental portion of the current study show that men invest greater resources in attractive women and that increased resource investment can compensate for decreased physical attractiveness within the domain of women’s mate preferences.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
Correlational analyses on participants’ ratings of the target’s attractiveness in an absolute sense and ring choice echoed these findings. A significant positive correlation emerged among male participants, r(335) = .28, p < .001, such that as participants’ perception of the target’s attractiveness increased, they chose larger, more expensive rings. In contrast, a significant negative correlation emerged among female participants, r(251) = − .21, p = .001, such that as participants’ perception of the target’s attractiveness decreased, they desired larger, more expensive rings.
References
Buss, D. M. (1985). Human mate selection. American Scientist, 73, 47–51.
Buss, D. M. (1988). The evolution of human intrasexual competition: tactics of mate attraction. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54, 616–628. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-35.54.4.616.
Buss, D. M. (1989). Sex differences in human mate preferences: evolutionary hypotheses tested in 37 cultures. Behavioral & Brain Sciences, 12, 1–49.
Buss, D. M., & Barnes, M. (1986). Preferences in human mate selection. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 50(3), 559–570. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.50.3.559.
Buss, D. M., & Schmitt, D. P. (1993). Sexual strategies theory: a contextual evolutionary analysis of human mating. Psychological Review, 100, 204–232. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.100.2.204.
Cronk, L., & Dunham, B. (2007). Amounts spent on engagement rings reflect aspects of male and female mate quality. Human Nature, 18, 329–333. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12110-007-9018-9.
Fink, B., Grammar, K., & Thornhill, R. (2001). Human (Homo sapiens) facial attractiveness in relation to skin texture and color. Journal of Comparative Psychology, 115, 92–99. https://doi.org/10.1037/0735-7036.115.1.92.
Gassman, K. (2007). IDEX online research: Bridal jewelry business high-growth & less seasonal. International Diamond Exchange. Retrieved from http://www.idexonline.com/FullArticle?id=27380.
Griskevicius, V., Tybur, J. M., Ackerman, J. M., Delton, A. W., Robertson, T. E., & White, A. E. (2012). The financial consequences of too many men: sex ratio effects on saving, borrowing, and spending. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 102(1), 69–80. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0024761.
Hrdy, S. B. (1999). Mother nature: maternal instincts and how they shape the human species. New York: Ballantine Books.
Li, N. P., Bailey, J. M., Kenrick, D. T., & Linsenmeier, J. A. (2002). The necessities and luxuries of mate preferences: testing the tradeoffs. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82(6), 947–955. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.82.6.947.
McClintock, E. A. (2014). Beauty and status: the illusion of exchange in partner selection? American Sociological Review, 79(4), 575–604. https://doi.org/10.1177/0003122414536391.
Miller, G. (2000). The mating mind. New York: Doubleday.
Only 1 in 3. (2017). US marriage proposals are a surprise; engagement ring spend rises, according to The Knot 2017 Jewelry & Engagement Study. XO Group, Inc. Retrieved from https://xogroupinc.com/press-releases/3496.
Saad, G., & Gill, T. (2003). An evolutionary psychology perspective on gift giving among young adults. Psychology & Marketing, 20(9), 765–784. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.10096.
Singh, D. (1993). Adaptive significance of female physical attractiveness: role of waist-to-hip ratio. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65, 293–307. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.65.2.293.
Sugiyama, L. S. (2005). Physical attractiveness in adaptationist perspective. In D. M. Buss (Ed.), The handbook of evolutionary psychology (pp. 292–343). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Symons, D. (1979). The evolution of human sexuality. New York: Oxford University Press.
Thornhill, R., & Gangestad, S. W. (1994). Human fluctuating asymmetry and sexual behavior. Psychological Science, 5, 297–302. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.1994.tb00629.x.
Watson, D., Klohnen, E. C., Casillas, A., Simms, E. N., Haig, J., & Berry, D. S. (2004). Match makers and deal breakers: analyses of assortative mating in newlywed couples. Journal of Personality, 72(5), 1029–1068. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0022-3506.2004.00289.x.
Waynforth, D., & Dunbar, R. I. M. (1995). Conditional mate choice strategies in humans: evidence from “lonely hearts” advertisements. Behaviour, 132(9), 755–779.
Zahavi, A. (1975). Mate selection: a selection for a handicap. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 53, 205–214. https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-5193(75)90111-3.
Acknowledgements
The authors thank Mark D. Cloud, Carin Perilloux, and Zachary L. Simmons for providing helpful feedback on drafts of this manuscript.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Ethical Approval
All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Appendix
Appendix
Example Experimental Photograph and Vignette
Instructions: Please imagine yourself as the boyfriend of the woman shown below. Below her picture are a few quick facts describing the woman you are dating in greater detail.
Quick Facts:
-
Hometown: Bend, OR
-
Hobbies: Hiking, watching movies
-
Favorite Food: Pizza
-
Descriptive Traits: kind, outgoing, and creative
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Cloud, J.M., Taylor, M.H. The Effect of Mate Value Discrepancy on Hypothetical Engagement Ring Purchases. Evolutionary Psychological Science 5, 22–28 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40806-018-0156-6
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40806-018-0156-6