“The Mate Screening Motive: How Women Use Luxury Consumption to Signal to Men”, 2022-07-26 ():
Previous research has found that for men, activating a mating motive increases luxury consumption as a way to attract a romantic partner. However, little is known about the role of luxury consumption in women’s romantic endeavors.
The present research conceptualizes a mate screening motive, which explains how women use luxury consumption to romantically signal to men…by sporting a luxury product in a mating context, a woman may signal that she is highly selective (ie. “out of your league” for the masses of suitors).
Six studies and two follow-ups conducted in controlled and field settings [in China] show that:
the mate screening motive boosts women’s consumption of luxury goods as a way to signal their mating standards to men and thereby deter undesirable pursuers. The effect is diminished when mate screening is less necessary such as when external screening tools are available (eg. screening filters on dating websites), the quality of potential mates is high, and the focus is on selecting a desirable partner rather than deterring undesirable pursuers.
The findings have important implications for understanding how consumers use products and brands in romantic relationships and for designing marketing strategies and communication for luxury brands, commercial dating services, and dating apps. Our findings also provide insights for consumers on how to use brands and products as effective communication devices in romantic endeavors.
[Keywords: mating motive, mate screening motive, romantic relationship, luxury consumption, conspicuous consumption]
…Study 1 demonstrated that a stronger mate screening motive among actual female customers of a real-world dating service led to women’s stronger preference for luxury brands. Study 2 tested hypothesis 1 in a controlled lab setting and showed the proposed effect is driven by the positive effect on luxury consumption of a stronger mate screening motive, rather than the negative effect of a weaker mate screening motive. Studies 3–5 explored the 3 theory-driven boundary conditions (hypotheses 2–4). They showed that the effect is attenuated when external screening tools are present (vs. absent) (Study 3), the quality of men is high (vs. mixed) (Study 4), and a selection (vs. rejection) mindset is externally induced (Study 5). The studies also compared the role of the screening motive within a mating vis-à-vis a non-mating context and showed that the proposed effect of screening on luxury consumption is unique to mating environments. Finally, to reconcile our propositions with prior work on the link between women’s mate guarding motives and luxury preferences (2014), Study 6 contrasted the effect on the desire for luxury consumption of single women’s mate screening motive in the relationship formation stage vis-à-vis non-single women’s mate guarding motive in the relationship maintenance stage.
See Also:
Are men intimidated by highly educated women? Undercover on Tinder
Sex Differences in Mate Preferences Across 45 Countries: A Large-Scale Replication
Known by the company she keeps: Women’s friendship preferences influence interpersonal evaluations
Negligible evidence that people desire partners who uniquely fit their ideals
Not the Cat’s Meow? The Impact of Posing with Cats on Female Perceptions of Male Dateability
Height in women predicts maternal tendencies and career orientation