Hypergamy for the Win: Physical Attractiveness Outweighs Intelligence in Daughters’ and Parents’ Mate Choices
19th February 2025
The findings revealed a stark contrast between stated preferences and actual choices. While both daughters and parents initially rated intelligence as more important than attractiveness in an ideal partner, their selections told a different story. The majority of daughters (72.6%) and parents (59.6%) chose the more attractive man, regardless of his intelligence level, suggesting that physical appearance exerts a stronger influence in constrained decisions than individuals consciously recognize.
The reference to ‘parents’ in the headline is misleading: “The researchers recruited 201 daughters (ages 18-33) and 187 parents, primarily mothers, from a university community and social media.” [emphasis added]. So the finding relates to women, mothers and daughters, rather than parents equally.