So they conducted three other experimental studies, varying the deal-breaking information that participants received about potential mates.
In one experiment, 132 adults evaluated profiles of four potential mates who were attractive and successful.
Participants then re-evaluated their interest type of relationship with the person, including friendship.
The deal-breakers that involved discrepancies between their own and the potential mate's dating intentions, however, only negatively impacted romantic interest.
The table below shows the percentage of participants who chose each of the 17 traits, broken down by gender.
Participants chose an average of six deal-breakers, with women choosing slightly more than men. The researchers also wanted to understand how these deal-breakers affect our dating decisions.
The researchers interpreted their findings as being consistent with evolutionary theory which posits that women are more discriminating in their mating choices than men. The short and long term consequences of unemployment adversely impacts relationships.
This was supported by women’s slightly greater tendency to deem various traits deal-breakers and their tendency to be especially affected by the presence of deal-breakers in a potential mate. My observation is that while we may have a list of specific deal-breakers, we can fool ourselves into overlooking gigantic, waving red flags showing that these unwelcome traits exist. So I catch her playing games with me even once, I hit the eject button.
And while one might have expected men to be more willing than women to date someone interested in casual sex when they wanted something more, the researchers did not observe this.
Men were generally more willing than women to engage in both short- and long-term relationships with each of the potential mates.
So in a third study, the researchers surveyed a nationally representative sample of 2,744 single American adults.