Study of Behavioral Criteria for Spouse Selection from an Evolutionary Standpoint

The purpose of this study was to determine gender differences in the behavioral criteria for spouse selection from the evolutionary perspective, and also to evaluate the relationship among behavioral criteria for spouse selection, gender, marital status and field of study. The population of this study consisted of 8487 students studying at some of the faculties of the Tehran University from which a sample of 416 men and women were selected through stratified sampling. The researchers formulated and subsequently administered a questionnaire entitled the “Behavioral Criteria for Spouse Selection Questionnaire”. Data analysis was carried out by the independent sample t-test, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and the Scheffe post hoc test. Results showed that the most important criteria were expressing expressing affection, attractive appearance, wealth, boldness, and religiousness were higher values for women compared to men. In contrast, a woman who had pride was valued more by men. Regarding marital status, both sexes who were married considered expressing affection as the most important factor, compared to their unwed counterparts. In respect to the field of study and behavioral criteria for spouse selection, students of the Faculty of Humanities valued expressing affection more than the Arts Faculty students. Likewise, the Arts Faculty students valued the same criteria more than the Faculty of Basic Sciences students. Humanities students valued wealth more than art students, and basic sciences students valued the same criteria higher than art students. Humanities students valued religiousness more than engineering students, and humanities students valued the same criteria higher than art students. Findings of this research have confirmed the hypothesis of the evolutionary theory of gender differences in spouse selection