Dating preferences

Dating preferences refers to the preferences that individuals have towards a potential partner when approaching the formation of a romantic relationship. This concept is related to mate choice in humans, the research literature there primarily discusses the preference for traits that are evolutionarily desirable, such as physical symmetry, waist-to-chest ratio, and waist-to-hip ratio. Dating preferences differ in that there are often social mechanisms that explain phenomena, rather than strictly evolutionary.

Research

Ideal preferences debate

Recent research has found that people seek romantic partners who exhibit their ideal preferences. Shared musical taste and personality traits have been strongly linked to bonding between romantic partners. Though this research is not specifically related to romantic relationships, it provides further evidence of the link between preferences and relationships.

However, other authors have found that the preferences people report on the dimensions of physical attractiveness, earning prospects, and personability do not align with the characteristics of the people they genuinely seek when forming new relationships. Yet they were unable to identify a mechanism to explain their findings. In another study of theirs, it was found that if there was a difference between ideal preferences and potential partner traits in face-to-face meeting contexts, it did not predict worse relationship satisfaction than contexts where ideal preferences and potential partner traits align. In a response to these contradictory findings, a meta-analysis found that less than 5% of the studies used by these authors focused on the link between ideal preferences and initial relationship formation, while the remaining majority of studies evaluate general attraction and processes later in people's relationships.