UP686679 Help! Does my partner love me? Gender differences in attitudes towards romantic and sexual relationships. Word count: 1,970 Over the years, scientists suggest that gender dissimilarities have evolved to ensure an increased probability of offspring survival. Evolutionary psychologists propose that men prefer physically attractive mates, whereas, women prefer mates that have sufficient resources. The aim of this research is to investigate the differences in male and female attitudes towards romantic and sexual relationships. 31 male and female participants were asked to complete a Likert scale questionnaire and their responses compared using an independent groups design. Findings suggest there is a significantly large gender difference in the perceptions of sexuality: females were more positive concerning romantic relationships than men. In the case of partner provisions and physical attraction, the difference was not significant in line with the parental investment theory. Additionally, findings show that men had more conventional view towards females having multiple sexual relationships. Therefore, we can conclude that differences do occur but not explicitly due to gender. Introduction
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UP686679
Help! Does my partner love me? Gender differences in
attitudes towards romantic and sexual relationships.
Word count: 1,970
Over the years, scientists suggest that gender dissimilarities have evolved to ensure an
increased probability of offspring survival. Evolutionary psychologists propose that men
prefer physically attractive mates, whereas, women prefer mates that have sufficient
resources. The aim of this research is to investigate the differences in male and female
attitudes towards romantic and sexual relationships. 31 male and female participants were
asked to complete a Likert scale questionnaire and their responses compared using an
independent groups design. Findings suggest there is a significantly large gender difference
in the perceptions of sexuality: females were more positive concerning romantic relationships
than men. In the case of partner provisions and physical attraction, the difference was not
significant in line with the parental investment theory. Additionally, findings show that men
had more conventional view towards females having multiple sexual relationships. Therefore,
we can conclude that differences do occur but not explicitly due to gender.
Introduction
Is it about love? Is it about physical attraction? Or is it about sex? Trivers (1972) proposed
the parental investment theory to explain the essence of intimate relationships: women seek
physically attractive women perceived to be “more fertile” to spread his genes, whereas,
women wanted men that have sufficient resources to invest in her offspring.
Previous research has provided empirical evidence that indicates that men prefer physical
appearance, whereas, women chose mate based on their financial status (Castro and Lopes
2011). This is further supported by Herz & Inzlicht (2002) who using self-report methods
found that women gave higher ratings to resources than men who ranked physical appearance
higher. On the other hand, recent study by Castro, Hattori and Lopes (2012) indicated that
male preferences in mate selection fits with Trivers’s theory, whereas, females did not.
However, these studies cannot be generalised due to cultural differences. Buss (1989) tested
human differences in mate selection across 37 various cultures and findings reflect
evolutionary views on sexuality. Research disagrees with the female preferences: in the long
term, female who married for love had happier and stable marriages (Xu and Whyte, 1990).
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Therefore, do men care more about sexual desires and females care about love? But Regan
(1998) found that partners with high sexual desire were more satisfied, committed and in-love
than the partner that lacked the sexual yearnings. This provides the idea that sex has a
significant role in romantic relationships. So, do male and female views also vary in sexual
relationships?
Furthermore, the evolutionary explanation may have paved a way for “double standard”: a
greater sexual liberty to men than women. A very recent study found that men had more
traditional views about double standard whereas women believed it should be equally treated
for both genders (Allison and Risman, 2013). Research also showed that women were more
accepting to a man having had many sexual partners than men (Milhausen & Herold, 1999).
In contrast, research found that double standard only emerges in group situations (Marks &
Fraley, 2007). This suggests differences in male and female perspectives are not entirely due
to gender, might be influenced by other factors such as society.
Previous research have measured the gender differences which exists in romantic and sexual
relationships, however, their research was based on outdated concepts and some lacked
generalizability by ignoring individual differences. This research would focus on the views of
the younger generation, and, aim to examine if there has been a change in the gender
differences on attitudes towards romantic and sexual relationships while considering societal
influence. Do women have a more positive attitude towards intimate relations than men? Are
there any gender differences in the way double standard is perceived? Is the evolutionary
perspective a valid explanation for romantic and sexual relationships?
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Method
Participants:
This study consisted of 31 participants (14 Female and 17 Male). Data was collected from
University of Portsmouth undergraduates and the general public in areas of London and
Bristol using an opportunity sampling method. The participants used were between 19 and 26
years if age. The mean and standard deviation of the male participants’ age were 21.2 years
and 1.75 respectively. While, the mean age of the female participants was 20.4 years and
standard deviation was 1.81.
Design
The study used an independent groups design to investigate the difference between male and
female perspectives of romantic and sexual relationships which was measured using a Likert
scale. The independent variable was the participants’ gender, while the dependent variable
was their totals i.e. how positive their perspective of romantic and relationships are.
Materials
Participants were provided with a consent form (appendix 1a) that provided information
about the anonymity of their data and their right to withdraw from the study to prevent ethical
issues. The questionnaire (appendix 1b) comprised of 22 questions that asked the participants
to rate each statement on a scale of 1 to 5 (1 being strongly disagree and 5 being strongly
agree); the statements were based on their personal beliefs towards romantic and sexual
relationships. They were asked to be as honest as possible to ensure the data collected is
reliable and valid. Scores ranged from 22 to 110 where a high score would indicate a positive
attitude towards romantic and sexual relationship. An example of questions used:
1. I believe in love at first sight
(As illustrated in Appendix 1b)
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To avoid response bias, various positive and negative statements were utilised e.g. I get bored
easily in romantic relationships/ I rely on a being in a relationship to make me happy.
Cronbach’s Alpha was calculated on each question scores, giving a value of 0.876. A
debriefing form (appendix 1c) was provided to each participant at the end of the study.
Procedure
To construct the questionnaire, research into the subject of romantic and sexual relationships
were carried out. Previous literature were reviewed to see the questions other researchers
used and ensure the questions generated were not gender specific or invalid.
Opportunity sample was the method used to acquire participants. Participants were asked to
complete the consent form. After giving their consent, they were given the questionnaire to
complete in a non-busy and quiet environment with no time limit, in the absence of the
experimenter to avoid experimenter bias or socially desirable answers. Participants were
given a number to allow obscurity; the only personal data provided to the experimenter was
the age and gender of the participant. When the questionnaires were complete, any questions
asked were answered, issues resolved and participants were debriefed. Data was collected,
response to negative questions were reversed i.e. if participants strongly agreed scoring 5; it
would be recorded as 1.
Results
Reliability
The Cronbach’s α-values of original questionnaire (N = 29) was 0.762 (item total statistics in
appendix 2a). The questionnaire was found to be highly reliable after revising the
questionnaire (item total statistics in appendix 2b) and deleting some items (N = 22, α =
0.876).
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Validity
Who is more positive about intimate relationship, men or women?
An independent-samples t-test was carried out to compare the gender differences in the
attitudes towards romantic and sexual relationships. Findings show that there was a
difference in the mean scores between Females (M=78.79, SD=11.99) and Males (M=67.82,
SD=12.90). Furthermore, an independent t-test showed this difference was statistically
significant; (t (29) = 2.249, p = 0.022 (2-tailed)). The magnitude of the difference in the
means (mean difference = 10.97, 95% CI: 1.73 to 20.19) was large (d = 0.88). This suggests
that, in intimate relationships, females generally have more positive attitudes than males.
Hence, we can accept the experimental hypothesis.
Figure1: Mean attitude score towards romantic relationship for male (n=17) and females (n=14).
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What perspective do males and females have about double standard?
Findings show that there was a difference in the mean scores between males and females with regards to their views on double standard. When the responses in question 7 were compared, more males (M = 3.18, SD = 1.63) agreed to the concept of double standards than females (M = 1.29, SD = 0.61) who disagreed. The difference between the two groups were also found to be statistically significant (t (21.175) = 4.222, p <0.001) and large (Cohen’s d = 1.54). Therefore suggesting that men had a more traditional outlook about double standard.
Physical attractiveness or materialism? Is it about what they can provide?
As table I shows, based on the questions: “I would be okay with marrying someone based
on what they can provide, rather than because I love them” and “Materialistic factors are
important to me in a romantic relationship”, there was no significant difference in the mean
responses.
Table 1
Differences between male and female perception of materialism in romantic and sexual
relationships.
Female (N =14) Male ( N = 17)
Mean SD Mean SD
QUESTION 14 4.36 0.93 4.00 1.12
QUESTION 26 4.00 1.11 3.94 1.09
In the case of physicality, findings illustrate that there was a difference in the mean responses
between males and females. When the responses were compared, the difference was not
DiscussionThe Cronbach’s alpha value show that the questionnaire constructed to test attitudes of males
and females towards intimacy has internal consistency.
Findings in this study indicate that both male and female have varied attitudes towards
romantic and sexual relationship. The data calculated suggests that in sexuality, women hold
more positive views: they consider love to be an important factor. This supports previous
research that showed that women who married for love had happier and stable marriages (Xu
et al, 1990). The results also show that both men and women were interested in what their
partners would provide, and the difference perceived was not significant. Hence contrasting
research that suggested that men considered physical attributes as the most important factor
during mate selection (Castro et al, 2011; Herz et al, 2002).
When measuring the importance of physical characteristics on romantic and sexual
relationship, the scale used, if a participant responded, “Neither agree nor disagree” with each
item, they would have a score of 18. Findings show that both men and women were not
interested in the appearance of their mate in both sexual and romantic relationships. This
disputes the Parental Investment theory proposed by Trivers (1972). Hereby suggesting that
there are other factors that affect the opinions of each gender when it comes to making
decisions that relate to love or sex. However, this might not be entirely true as the parental
investment theory only apply to relationships with offspring which the participants used do
not represent.
Furthermore, Allison and Risman (2013) found that men held more old fashioned views
about “double standard”. This study provides further evidence that describe women to be
more egalitarians than men towards the idea of double standards. But, are men just really
biased towards the opposite sex? Well, this finding could be explained by the fact that
throughout the years, the society has engrossed our minds with the idea that males and
females are not equal. Moreover, this difference could also be due to the effect of the “need
to appeal to peers”. Mark and Fraley (2007) established that double standards only occurred
in group conditions. This highlights the impact of external factors on the opinions individuals
possess.
This study can be criticised for making assumptions: the experimenter supposed that the
participants all shared the same situation i.e. they were all single or in a relationship.
Therefore, the responses given by individuals in a relationship would differ from the
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responses of the “singletons”. Therefore, the researcher would be criticised for making a
fundamental attribution error as they underestimated the effects of the situation of the
participants. However, this research has shown that views of the gender has changed over the
years and become more susceptible to the current situation-participants sampled cared more
about what their partners could provide more than their physicality due to the importance of
“wealth” portrayed by the media.
As there is no argument with the fact that there are gender differences in individuals ranging
from their physical anatomy to their opinions. Therefore, future research should investigate
the effect of religion on the attitudes towards sexual and romantic relationships of both males
and females. As there are many religious beliefs that have been placed in an individual’s life,
how significant is the effect of religion on attitudes towards intimate relationship?
To conclude, this research has identified that there is a significant difference between the
perspective of men and women towards sexual and romantic relationships. However, in
contrast to previous studies, it shows that the difference in views on what the partner should
provide in an intimate relationship is not statistically significant. Additionally, further
research should consider the influence of other factors.
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References
1 Allison, R., & Risman, B. J. (2013). A double standard for “Hooking Up”: How far
have we come toward gender equality? Social Science Research, 42(5), 1191-1206.
2 Buss, D.M. (1989). Sex differences in human mate preferences: Evolutionary
hypothesis tested in 37 cultures. Behavioural and Brain Sciences, Vol 12 pp 1-49.
3 Castro, F. N. & Lopes, F. (2011). Romantic Preferences in Brazilian Undergraduate
Students: From the Short term to the Long term. Journal of Sex Research, Vol 48 (5)
pp 479-485.
4 Castro, F. N., Hattori, W.T. & Lopes, F. (2012). Relationship maintenance or
preference Satisfaction? Male and Female Strategies in romantic partner choice.
Journal of Social, Evolutionary and Cultural Psychology, Vol 6(2) pp 217-226.
5 Herz, R.S. & Inzlicht, M. (2002). Sex differences in response to physical and social
factors involved in human mate selection, Evolution & Human Behaviour, Vol 23,
359-364.
6 Marks, M., & Chris Fraley, R. (2007). The impact of social interaction on the sexual
double standard. Social Influence, 2(1), 29-54.
7 Milhausen, R., & Herold, E. (1999). Does the sexual double standard still exist?
Perceptions of university women. Journal of Sex Research, 36(4), 361-368.
8 Regan, P. C., Lakhanpal, S. & Anguiano, C. (2012). The Relationship outcomes in
Indian-American love based and arranged marriages. Psychological Reports, Vol
110(3) pp 915-924.
9 Trivers, R. L. (1972). Parental Investment and Sexual Selection. Illinois: Aldine
Publishing Company.
10 Xu, X. & Whyte, M.K. (1990). Love matches and arranged marriages: A Chinese
Replication. Journal of Marriage and Family, Vol 50(3) pp 702-722.
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AppendicesAppendix 1a
CONSENT FORM
Dear Participant
Thank you for agreeing to take part in our study. You are going to be asked a number of questioned based on personal opinions and attitudes towards romantic and sexual relationships. You need to answer these as honestly as possible, and there are no right or wrong answers.
All results will be completely anonymous and all data will be kept confidential and will be used for the purpose of this study only. Filling in the questionnaire should only take approximately 15 minutes: however, you can complete it in your own time. If you have any questions please feel free to ask the experimenter. Please note that if you feel uncomfortable with any of the questions you do not have to answer them. You have the right to withdraw your data at any time if you no longer wish to take part in the study, although your results would be extremely useful to us. Your participant number is ___. Please quote this number if you contact the experimenter regarding your specific questionnaire.
Please sign below if you are happy to take part in this study
You will now need to fill out a questionnaire on your attitudes towards romantic and sexual relationships. Please indicate how strongly you agree with the following statements by choosing and circling an option from 1-5 (1 being strongly disagree and 5 being strongly agree with the statement). Please feel free to ask the experimenter any questions if you do not understand.
1. I believe in love at first sight
2. It is better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all
3. I would consider physical appearance to be more important when seeking a romantic relationship compared to a casual relationship
4. I don't have to be physically attracted to someone to be in love with them
5. I look for a certain physical appearance when seeking a romantic relationship
6. I get bored easily in romantic relationships
7. I feel that it is more acceptable for a male to sleep with a number of casual partners compared to a female doing the same
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8. I would like to be in a romantic relationship
9. I would be sceptical about developing a romantic relationship with someone if I found out they had a more extensive sexual history than my own
10. I feel somewhat embarrassed when talking about my sexual history
11. I would feel more comfortable experimenting with sex when in a romantic relationship, compared to having sex with casual partners
12. In a romantic relationship, it is absolutely necessary for me to be physically attracted to my partner
13. Love is very important in a romantic relationship
14. I would be okay with marrying someone based on what they can provide, rather than because I love them
15. I prefer a long lasting, romantic relationship over a having a number of casual partners
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16. I would be open to trying a long distance relationship
17. I would feel comfortable being in a polygamous or 'open' relationship
18. I would feel highly disappointed if I were in a romantic relationship where there was little sex
19. I do or previously have felt jealous of someone else's relationship
20. I feel sexual intercourse with a romantic partner is much more fulfilling and exciting than casual sex
21. I have to feel a strong attraction to somebody in order to have sex with them
22. I don't have to have sex to be in love with someone
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23. A relationship without physical intimacy and sex wouldn't work
24. I feel happier when in a stable, romantic relationship, compared to having a number of casual partners
25. I rely on a being in a relationship to make me happy
26. Materialistic factors are important to me in a romantic relationship
27. I would do anything for the person that I love
28. I would have to be physically attracted to someone in order to have casual sex with them
29. I would feel happy if someone said that they wanted to have casual sex with me
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Appendix 1c
DEBRIEF
Thank you for taking part in our study. The aim of the study was to see if the attitudes of romantic relationships differ between men and women. If you have any questions or have been affected by any of the questions you came across in this questionnaire then please do not hesitate to ask the experimenters, or alternatively feel free to contact us at [email protected]. If you are not happy with any of the answers then you can still withdraw at any time and your scores will not be used.
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Appendix 2a
Group Statistics
Gender N Mean Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean
Version_2 Male 17 67.8235 12.90463 3.12983
Female 14 78.7857 11.99473 3.20573
Independent Samples Test
Levene's Test for Equality of Variances
F Sig.
Version_2 Equal variances assumed .215 .647
Equal variances not assumed
t-test for Equality of Means
t df Sig. (2-tailed) Mean Difference
-2.429 29 .022 -10.96218
-2.447 28.532 .021 -10.96218
Std. Error
Difference
4.51309
4.48024
95% Confidence Interval of the Difference
Lower Upper
-20.19249 -1.73188
-20.13184 -1.79253
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Appendix 2b
Item-Total Statistics
Scale Mean if
Item Deleted
Scale Variance if
Item Deleted
Corrected Item-
Total Correlation
Cronbach's Alpha
if Item Deleted
Q4 70.6774 172.892 .250 .877
Q6 69.1613 158.673 .684 .863
Q8 68.7097 161.280 .700 .864
Q11 68.9032 153.490 .773 .859
Q12 70.8387 174.873 .296 .875
Q13 68.5484 165.656 .681 .866
Q14 68.6129 170.645 .377 .873
Q15 68.7742 159.047 .739 .862
Q16 69.9677 161.499 .529 .869
Q17 68.5806 163.252 .636 .866
Q18 70.8710 175.849 .230 .877
Q19 69.8710 172.116 .203 .881
Q20 68.6774 159.692 .801 .861
Q21 69.7419 169.598 .330 .875
Q22 69.1290 170.249 .271 .878
Q23 70.6452 164.903 .466 .871
Q24 68.9677 159.032 .752 .862
Q25 70.6129 176.712 .126 .881
Q26 68.8065 171.295 .335 .875
Q27 68.7097 174.746 .285 .875
Q28 69.4194 167.918 .416 .872
Q29 70.0323 164.632 .440 .872
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Appendix 4
question 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
AGE 20 19 19 19 19 20 19 21 21 20
GENDER female female female male female male female male female male
1 3 2 1 2 1 1 3 1 3 2
2 4 2 3 3 1 3 3 3 4 5
3 2 1 3 3 4 2 4 4 1 3
4 2 1 3 4 2 2 2 1 1 2
5 4 4 3 2 4 5 4 2 4 3
6 5 3 5 4 3 4 5 3 4 3
7 1 1 1 1 1 4 3 1 2 1
8 5 3 5 5 1 4 4 5 5 4
9 4 2 2 3 2 2 4 3 3 4
10 5 5 2 1 3 5 2 5 2 5
11 5 2 5 5 3 3 5 3 5 5
12 2 1 3 3 2 2 2 1 1 3
13 5 3 5 5 3 3 4 5 5 5
14 5 5 4 3 2 5 4 5 5 5
15 4 4 5 5 3 4 5 4 5 4
16 5 2 5 2 3 4 5 5 3 3
17 4 4 4 4 3 5 5 5 5 5
18 1 2 3 3 3 1 1 1 2 2
19 5 4 4 1 3 3 2 4 5 4
20 4 3 5 5 3 4 5 5 5 5
21 2 1 4 5 3 1 2 4 2 4
22 4 4 5 5 3 4 4 1 5 5
23 1 1 4 4 3 2 3 1 1 2
24 5 3 5 5 3 4 4 5 2 3
25 4 1 1 3 3 1 2 1 4 1
26 5 4 5 4 3 5 4 5 2 4
27 5 4 3 4 3 4 4 5 3 4
28 2 4 5 3 3 2 3 5 5 4
29 3 2 5 5 3 2 2 5 3 3
question 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
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AGE 20 19 19 19 19 20 19 21 21 20
GENDER female female female male female male female male female male
1 3 2 1 2 1 1 3 1 3 2
2 4 2 3 3 1 3 3 3 4 5
3 2 1 3 3 4 2 4 4 1 3
4 2 1 3 4 2 2 2 1 1 2
5 4 4 3 2 4 5 4 2 4 3
6 5 3 5 4 3 4 5 3 4 3
7 1 1 1 1 1 4 3 1 2 1
8 5 3 5 5 1 4 4 5 5 4
9 4 2 2 3 2 2 4 3 3 4
10 5 5 2 1 3 5 2 5 2 5
11 5 2 5 5 3 3 5 3 5 5
12 2 1 3 3 2 2 2 1 1 3
13 5 3 5 5 3 3 4 5 5 5
14 5 5 4 3 2 5 4 5 5 5
15 4 4 5 5 3 4 5 4 5 4
16 5 2 5 2 3 4 5 5 3 3
17 4 4 4 4 3 5 5 5 5 5
18 1 2 3 3 3 1 1 1 2 2
19 5 4 4 1 3 3 2 4 5 4
20 4 3 5 5 3 4 5 5 5 5
21 2 1 4 5 3 1 2 4 2 4
22 4 4 5 5 3 4 4 1 5 5
23 1 1 4 4 3 2 3 1 1 2
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24 5 3 5 5 3 4 4 5 2 3
25 4 1 1 3 3 1 2 1 4 1
26 5 4 5 4 3 5 4 5 2 4
27 5 4 3 4 3 4 4 5 3 4
28 2 4 5 3 3 2 3 5 5 4
29 3 2 5 5 3 2 2 5 3 3
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
21 20 20 21 20 21 22 19 20 22 22 21
female male female female male female male female female male male male