Flashy cars a turn-off when looking for love
Driving a flashy car is a turn-off for men and women looking for a life partner, American researchers have found. According to their study, people seeking a long-term relationship are generally unimpressed by extravagant vehicles, seeing their drivers as unreliable and sexually promiscuous. The study suggests that people who are seeking marriage should ditch the sports car altogether and instead choose something more sensible.
IN HIS theory of evolution, Charles Darwin suggested that showy traits such as peacock feathers, which do not improve survival, must give a reproductive advantage for them to persist through natural selection.
But a study suggests similar ostentatious displays in humans may be detrimental to finding lasting love.
US researchers have found that driving a flashy car is a turn-off for both men and women who are looking for a life partner. Despite the hefty price tag and pleasing aesthetics, both sexes seeking a long-term relationship are unimpressed by extravagant vehicles, viewing their drivers as unreliable and sexually promiscuous.
In fact, the study suggests that people who are seeking marriage should ditch the sports car and instead choose something sensible.
It follows research which found that women believed Porsche Boxster owners were less likely to want a committed relationship than Honda Civic drivers.
“This contrasts with the notion that men’s conspicuous resource displays are attractive to women because they reliably signal expected future resource investment in partners and especially in offspring,” said Jessica Kruger, of the University of Buffalo, who co-authored the study with her husband, Daniel Kruger, of the University of Michigan.
Compared with women, men have a greater tendency to conspicuously display their wealth. But a woman’s preference for such displays reflects the type of partnership
‘This contrasts with the notion that men’s resource displays are attractive’
she is seeking. For example, physical qualities are more important when she has a brief fling in mind, while a man’s wealth is more influential when deciding on a suitable life partner who can provide for her children.
Researchers at the universities of Buffalo and Michigan asked 233 people of both sexes to state their preferences in two scenarios.
In the first scenario “Frugal Dan” bought a new car based on efficiency and reliability, which comes under warranty for the first few years. In contrast, “Flashy Dave” bought a used car and spent money on new paint, bigger wheels and a more powerful sound system.
The results showed that on a scale of how attractive the men were for a longterm relationship, Flashy Dave was only rated as 43 points out of 80, while Frugal Dan received 67 points.
The researchers concluded that when a man bought fancy cars, people intuitively interpreted it to mean he was more interested in a short-term dalliance than a romantic commitment.
Mr Kruger said: “Participants demonstrated an intuitive understanding that men investing in the display of goods featuring exaggerated sensory properties have reproductive strategies with higher mating effort and greater interest in shortterm sexual relationships, as well as lower paternal investment and interest in long-term committed romantic relationships than men investing in practical considerations.”
The research was published in Evolutionary Psychological Science.