A hamburger that’s 90 per cent fat-free sounds a lot better than one with 10 per cent fat. And even when the choices are the same, humans are hard-wired to prefer the more positive option.
This is because of what’s known as the “framing effect,” a principle that new research from Concordia has proved applies to mate selection, too.
The study — co-authored by Concordia marketing professor Gad Saad and Wilfrid Laurier University’s Tripat Gill, and published in the journal Evolution and Human Behavior — shows that when we choose a partner, the framing effect is even stronger in women than it is for men.
“When it comes to mate selection, women are more attuned to negatively framed information due to an evolutionary phenomenon called ‘parental investment theory,’” says Saad, who has done extensive research on the evolutionary and biological roots of consumer behavior.
“Choosing someone who might be a poor provider or an unloving father would have serious consequences for a woman and for her offspring. So we hypothesized that women would naturally be more leery of negatively framed information when evaluating a prospective mate.”
To prove this, Saad and Gill called on hundreds of young men and women to take part in their study.
Participants were given positively and negatively framed descriptions of potential partners. For example:
“Seven out of 10 people who know this person think that this person is kind.”
[positive frame]
versus
“Three out of 10 people who know this person think that this person is not kind.”
[negative frame]
The researchers tested the framing effect using six key attributes, two of which are more important to men and women respectively, and two that are considered as necessities by both sexes:
- Attractive body (more important to men)
- Attractive face (more important to men)
- Earning potential (more important to women)
- Ambition (more important to women)
- Kindness (equally important to both)
- Intelligence (equally important to both)
Participants evaluated both high-quality (e.g. seven out of 10 people think this person is kind) and low-quality (e.g. three out of 10 people think this person is kind) prospective mates for these attributes, in the context of a short-term fling or a long-term relationship.
More often than not, women said they were far less likely to date the potential mates described in the negatively framed descriptions — even though in each instance, they were being presented with exactly the same information as in the positively framed descriptions.
Women also proved more susceptible to framing effects in attributes like ambition and earning potential, while men responded more strongly to framing when physical attractiveness was described.
This research highlights how an evolutionary lens could help explain the biologicial origins of seemingly “irrational” decision-making biases like the framing effect.
The information in this article is very interesting. I agree with some of the information. It is mostly true that woman tend to look at a man’s financial status to see if he can provide for his family one day, and it is also true that men look at a woman’s physical traits. I don’t think it is a bad thing, but you should not let that make up your mind as to date someone or not. To choose a life partner it is mainly about the love you to share and that you will be able to make each other happy for the rest of your lives!!
This is a fascinating article! It demonstrates the misconceptions that some people have! I for one enjoyed reading this immensely. I asked my boyfriend of four years to read it and his reaction was absolutely priceless.
He has a very negative personality, seeing the glass half empty. I on the other hand mostly see the glass as being half full. His negative reactions allow him to strive for success much more than I do.
The following points actually had both of us laughing, seeing as we always argue about the values of men.
Attractive body (more important to men)
Attractive face (more important to men)
Earning potential (more important to women)
Ambition (more important to women)
The research they did to procure their results is valid and one can see most of it is facts, not just opinions collected off the street. A person will not be honest when around friends, because of peer pressure. these results are accurate because no outside influences changed their opinions. Thumbs up from me!
The first thing that came up to me after reading this article was the difference between the partners me and my brother would choose one day. How I see my potential husband and how he sees his potential wife differs a lot. We look at different aspect. I would look at things like does he has a great job, even though I would have one to, would he be able to be a loving father, would he be able to be the man of the house. Aspects like his looks and body would not be that important to me where with my brother it would be the first thing that catches his eyes. I also think that even though it differs between men and women there is a big difference among women and men alone. Everybody has their own picture of how their partners must be and what characteristic they must have. The thing I notice about people’s partners is that most boys would chose a girl that is a lot like his mother, and most girls would chose a men that is a lot like her father.
u14164052
This article proves that no matter how hard society tries men and women will never be equal, it’s not saying that men and better then women or the other way, it is merely stating that they have different traits look for different things in life, yes this article is concentrating on partner preferences but it highlights that men and women have different views.
Our brains are wired for evolution, we are constantly trying to become better than we were before so our interests are always higher than just an ordinary person. Men are always being put in the dominance position therefore yes they will want the prettiest and fittest women and it is the ultimate prize among the men. However whether women like it or not our genes have maternal instincts therefore they will automatically look for the best suited husband and father to their children with looks and fitness taking a back seat in the preferences.
I agree that we are built for evolution and we will always be more attracted to the positive aspects of a person, male and female. We strive to be better unconsciously.
I found that this article was insightful and provided facts that helps the reader better understand the aspect being discussed.
I agree with the point made by u14033692, that men seem to be more aesthetically inclined than women. In most cases this would be considered superficial but I disagree due to the simple fact that every individual’s idea of what is attractive is different and that appearance serves for primary attraction when it comes to both sexes.
This blog gave 6 key attributes and assigned them to either women, men or both. Whereas I don’t completely disagree with the blog, I found this to be a generalization. It was interesting to see from the comments that some people gave excellent arguments against the generalizations whereas others seemed to agree with the stereotypes. This in my opinion is an indication of how people of different genders actually think which contradicts the blog to a certain extent.
I do however highly agree with the fact that people find positive aspects much more appealing. I agree that women are more in tune with the framing effect; I believe this is because they are more emotional and therefore more vulnerable and by avoiding the negative attributes they feel they are protecting themselves. The framing effect however, should not be a process when looking for a partner as phrasing something differently just to make it appear more appealing seems dishonest and I don’t see how dishonestly is positive or appealing. It’s basically using euphemisms in daily life, and a euphemism is just a positive way of describing something negative. This in my opinion is deceiving.
When it comes to relationships there is no right or wrong, there is no simple answer. Its about a connection you find with a person, the chemistry and love you have and how compatible you are. The rest should not matter because subconsciously we all know what we are looking for in a partner and it is because of this that each individual has a unique “type”. You could find a person with all of the attributes mentioned but if there isn’t a connection then there will be less motivation to further the relationship. Relationships are not sales, marketing and advertising.
There will always be a difference in the way men and woman work as well as see the world. Each sex has a different perspective of how certain things should be. As woman grow older, the probability of them subconsciously picking men that will best suit their future needs also increases. If a woman is looking for a long term relationship, she will take into account the following; marriage, children and finance. Each woman is different but if a man doesn’t seem like a good match for her future interests, the probability of her taking a lot of interest is slim…
This is proven within the experiments that the above atricle mentions. Woman are attracted to the positive attributes in a “mate” rather than the negatives, even if you are giving her the same data but from different perspectives as shown in the tenth paragraph where it states that woman go for high-quality rather than low-quality.
While woman are more interested in the character of a “mate”, a man will look at a woman physically first.
All this considered, one should remember that every person is different with their own ambitions and qualities that they look for in potential “mates”.
This comparison between 90 percent low fat and 10 percent free is the first thing that caught my attention in this article because it is so true. Relating this kind of logic to choosing a partner makes a lot of sense. Many a time I have seen this very beautiful woman with a less attractive but well established spouse, a family man who can support his family. In most cases the lady has a little business or is working in a company and probably earning less than her spouse but they are still very compatible. This article makes it quite clear why this pairing normally works. Woman are interested in stability and long term relationships yet men of the other hand focus more on physical appearance and then simply work with whatever comes with it. This blog would also explain why man wealthy men may be found in a relationship with a woman who earns far less than them, a maid or waitress for example, but it hardly ever happens vice versa.
However, I do think times have changed and this perception is also changing over time. These day, due to gender equality many women are well established and educated. Therefore it is no longer about finding a man who can provide for the whole family because she can do that herself. Many women, like men, are also now looking a bit more at physical appearance. They look for a well-built, tall man who goes to gym rather that a financially stable, ambitious man who is overweight. This them raised the questions, if both men and women are starting to look more at appearance than character then are our future relationships really sustainable?
it is fascinating facts these article provide,however it came to my attentiion on things we need when coming to choose for a spouse,the question is how does the look tell about the love the person has and the same goes for the income?you cant go around asking people about the person you are attracted to,i suupose love it goes with what you feel inside your heart and you have to trust your guts that the personhas some love for you.
Until today I had never heard of the “framing effect” and found it to be quite an interesting and insightful topic. It is certainly very true that one always go for the more positive and appealing option because, naturally, all we want in the end is to live a happy life. Although I find this article to be true in many aspects it is also faulty in others. For example if one looks at celebrity couples, who are attracted to the very things that were mentioned in the article above, the successful rate between their relationships, marriages and even flings are very short lived. One cannot use the excuse that they lead stressful lives as they are also just people at the end of the day who are hardwired the same as everyone else. Even though it has been proven that women will go for men who are financially stable this doesn’t mean that it is the best choice. I am however a strong believer that first appearances with regards to the physical appearance of someone may be everything but looks can also be deceiving. On the other hand first appearances when it comes to mannerism, attitude and social behaviour can be a true reflection of ones character. Although this can be manipulated and changed over time. In conclusion due to how our brain works when it comes to decision making it is evident that we tend to ignore and over look these possibilities and go with what we see. This could be the very reason why relationships end as quickly as they start.
This is a very interesting article especially because everyone,male and female needs a partner.My question is,aren’t we searching for partners to spend the rest of our lives with?Yes it is true that men usually look at women’s physical traits and women also makes it depend on how much money a man earns.It shouldn’t be like that.Men need to know that physical attributes such as beauty fades.It should depend on the love and happiness that both offers to one another.
Love shouldn’t come with conditions.
This is a very interesting article, and it opened my eyes to a new light as to how we make our daily decisions. As humans we naturally attracted to the things in life that will bring us the most “happiness”, hence we will choose our partners based on what seems most appealing to us. However this may be different for each individual as in my opinion, I think that a persons up-bringing and own personal life experiences plays a very important role as well. We all have different cultures, beliefs, morals and values, and I think we are naturally inclined to be attracted to people who share the same views as us.
From the research mentioned above, it is interested to note what each sex is attracted to. For instance woman being attracted to wealth, although there is a stigma attached to rich men that they may be arrogant and less family orientated which may be a “turn-off” for some woman. Therefore I do agree that woman and men are naturally attracted to certain characteristics more than others, but I think we as humans are more inclined to be attracted to the overall “package”.
It may also be interesting to note that a study done by psychologists revealed that if you are asked to talk about yourself, and you start by talking about all your negative qualities before you talk about your positive ones, people are already put-off before you even get to your positive aspects. This shows how we are naturally attracted to the positive options and why you should never talk about your negative aspects first.
Wow what an interesting article. this shows how different men and women are.
In doing my research I found the meaning of the Parental Investment Theory, which is a biological theory that attempts to explain the dynamic, give-and-take relationships among parents, their offspring, and limited resources.
It is proven that male invest less in their offspring than women do due to the fact that females carry their offspring to a term, in addition, offer them food and protection. It is also scientifically proven that during breastfeeding offspring create a special bond with their mothers.
Although men and women are attracted to different qualities in the opposite sex, it is clear that intelligence and kindness are mutual qualities that they both look for. Some people believe that men and women choose their significant other based on similarities they see in their parents or siblings. It is important that you choose the right partner to build a family with as your partners character will have a huge impact on your childrens’ behavior and their well-being.
More positive option is always everyone’s choice. Now we understand why women are easily influenced by the “framing effect”, a principle that applies to mate selection. Attributes like ambition and earning potential are more important to women because they prefer a man who will be able to provide for the family. “Parental investment theory” support that it is natural for a woman to be cautious about possible dangers or problems when evaluating a future husband. While on men side physical attraction is more important, including kindness and intelligence. Is this the reason why men are into a short-term fling?
The study has shown that women think more for the future when choosing a partner than men do, when a man is financially stable and ambitious you know sure that offspring will be taken care of regardless of how a man appears. On the contrary though men tend to focus more on how a woman looks like than what she can offer in a relationship. I believe men do so because they believe that no matter how beautiful or physically appealing a woman is, she will know her place in the kitchen and sadly in most cases it is not so.Men choose partners with their naked eyes while women choose partners using the positive framing effect, this might be reason why many relationships do not last when women are not willing to make it work.
In terms of the attributes tested i think it is not necessarily relevant as to what each sex finds appealing but the outcome of how they found their mate to be suitable using the framing mindset. This information becomes vital in terms of consumer studies as human behaviour impacts why and how people choose to buy things far greater than we imagined. For example ‘full cream’ milk sounds better than ‘full fat milk’ . Advertisers realised that conventionally it is mom’s who would go buy the milk for the family at the shop. Therefore the result above about woman being more exposed to the framing effect is proven to improve sales remarkably. The study of how your brain perceives things makes me wonder in how many aspects of our lives are run by this framing effect? Are our choices solely ours or are the irrationally influenced by the more positive frame?
The way in which we think is not always based on personal choice we are more inclined to choose partners based on the 6 attributes , this study has extensively shown that , it has been proven that women will go for men that are financially viable and are stable than those that ain’t irrespective of the attractiveness because of the thinking of the offspring and wanting to provide for them, this is seen even in the animal Kingdom the bigger and stronger he is the more females he will have. This study was abit different in that it showed we all look for the good in people and want to associate with kind and generally good people so it showed that despite how skeptic or pessimistic we as humans may try to act there is a natural tendances to look for good
It’s interesting how hardwired we are to ignore details. I saw a test done where a guy would be explaining things to people while subtly changing his clothes and appearance. Not one person noticed, although at the end he looked completely different. In the end, we all want to feel like things are looking up. This study shows that people not only tend to miss the obvious, but that no matter how negative people seem to be, we always look for the positive without even questioning it.
It is true that we are more inclined to choosing what appears positive than what appears negative even though the two are the same just put differently, I guess it is simply how our brain works. we tern to reject anything that appears negative, our brains are channelled that way because it is a lot harder for our brain to erase a negative thought than it is to deal with a positive one, for example if someone tells you something negative about yourself, something you believe to be true it will be very hard for you to change this self image or even to change the thought, hense people say that it takes a hundred positive thoughts to remove a single negative one. Our brains reject any negative idea as its defence mechanism, here is an example, we will be more attracted to the idea of getting a 30% off rather than paying 70% although these are the same. media specialists use this human tendency in advertising. it truly is interesting how the brain works particularly how male and females also have their specific preferences.
This could be seen as another form of survival of the fittest. One could say that framing is an unconscious act of finding the best possible mate.
For example, you are more likely to be more derogatory about yourself if you are amongst friends as opposed to potential partners. You want a potential partner to see the best in you, and in effect, mate with you because you are seen as a good “set of genes” to be passing on to the next generation.
The problem with framing is that once you become comfortable with your spouse, most particularly in women’s cases, you start to fall back in to the old habit of framing yourself negatively.
Could this be a reason why so many relationships fall apart? Because we don’t keep up the “positive framing”?
I’ve never thought about how framing or phrasing the same concept in a different way could affect an individuals choices. I always thought that the way we go about making decisions would depend on if a person is a pessimist , optimist or realist. If you consider the study done in this article those characteristics would be irrelevant. Its very interesting that our brains automatically makes a negative connection to an inferior number even though the two statements mean exactly the same thing. The results also demonstrates how people react without contemplating what the true meaning of a question is.
On the other hand previous studies done by psychologists has shown that men are more visually stimulated then women and women are more emotionally stimulated than men thus giving further support to the findings in this study.