Mate selection theories

Unit 2, Lesson 6, Key question # 9 For this report I have decided to interview my father to learn more about the process he went through when selecting my mother as his mate. I have developed questions to ask my father during the interview process. These questions relate to the mate selection theories. The purpose of my research is to get an in depth understanding of the mate selection process, and to determine if any of the mate selection theories can be applied to my parents. The social homogamy theory explains that individuals are attracted to people from similar social backgrounds. Considering my father’s answer for the first question, “Finding a mate with a similar social background was very important to me”, it can clearly be seen that that the social homogamy theory applied to my father during his mate selection process. My father also explained thoroughly that finding a mate within his social environment ensured that he would end up with a mate who has similar interests, job, religious and political views. When asking my dad if he would of considered selecting a mate from a different social group he responded: “I would have considered a mate from a different social group if I were presented with the opportunity, but so far this has not been the case as all of my friends, family, and everyone I know comes from a similar social group”. It is very clear here that finding a mate within the same social group was critical for my father. According to the ideal mate theory, attraction is based on an individual’s unconscious perspective of the ideal mate formed from his/her perception. After reviewing my father’s answer to my research questions, I have come to conclude that this theory did not have any involvement or relation during my father’s mate selection process. This perception of an “ideal mate” comes from positive experiences with other individuals. At this time my father did not consider who an ideal mate would be, rather he was hoping to find a