The role of ego-identity status in mating preferences.

Dunkel, Curtis S. ; Papini, Dennis R.

"One could make a point for an evolutionary rationale which would explain why sexual differences should not fully divide the sexes until competence and fidelity permit their division to be one of polarization, that is, one of mutual enhancement of experience and of distribution of labor within a stylized pattern of love and care. Such a rationale of human development would also suggest that the sexes are less different in regard to the capacities and virtues which further communication and cooperation; while the differences are greatest where divergence is of the essence, that is, in the counterpoints of love life and the divided functions of procreation. One could say, then, that the sexes are most similar in the workings of the ego, which-being closest to consciousness, language and ethics-must serve both to integrate the fact of sexual mutuality and bipolarity" (Erikson, 1964; p. 129).

This quote from Erik Erikson suggests that he recognized that both ego-identity and sex play important roles in many areas of life including mating preferences, and that at the level of mating preferences, these two factors most likely function independently. The purpose of the current study is to examine this possibility while juxtaposing two other views on mating preferences: Sexual Strategies Theory (SST) and Social Role Theory (SRT).

Although there have been a number of negative critiques (e.g., most recently van Hoof, 1999), the identity statuses (Marcia, 1966) continue to be the most utilized model in identity research. The status model is composed of two criteria: identity exploration and identity commitment. Exploration is defined as actively investigating one's identity options. Commitment is deciding to pursue a particular option and investing in it.

Individuals can be further classified into statuses based on these two criteria. Individuals are classified as identity achieved if they exhibit exploration and commitment, identity moratorium if they exhibit exploration without commitment, identity foreclosed if they exhibit commitment without exploration, and identity diffused if they do not exhibit exploration or commitment. Research has shown that the statuses vary along a number of important social and personal dimensions (Marcia, 1980). One area that is pertinent to the development of sexuality that has received some attention from identity researchers is menarche.

Both Berzonsky and Lombardo (1983) and Papini, Sebby, and Clark (1989) found links between pubertal maturation, the affective quality of the family environment, and identity. The convergence of pubertal maturation and identity during the early adolescent years permits the suggestion that later sexual strategies may be tempered by the exploration and commitment processes that underlie the identity statuses. Despite the abundance of research on status differences across a wide range of topics including identity and menarche, no research has been conducted on ego-identity and mating preferences and very little on ego-identity and any aspect of sexuality.

One notable exception to the paucity of research is an unpublished Master's thesis by King (1993), in which the relationship between identity status and self-reported sexual behavior was examined. King (1993) hypothesized that because an array of troublesome behaviors (e.g., drug use, delinquency) is associated with identity diffusion, identity diffusion would also be positively associated with risky sexual behavior (e.g., having multiple partners). She also predicted that because identity foreclosure is associated with conservative/traditional attitudes, identity foreclosure should be negatively correlated with risky sexual behavior. Empirical support was found for both hypotheses. Although demographic information (including sex) on the participants was reported, no statistical tests examining possible identity status x sex interactions were reported.

Because the statuses differ on the amount of risky sexual behavior exhibited, the results suggest that identity status may play a role in mating preferences. Additionally, the research suggests that identity diffusion and identity foreclosure adolescents should exhibit the clearest differences. Identity diffusion should be positively associated with a desire for a greater number of partners and a penchant for short-term mating. The opposite trend should be found for identity foreclosure. However, because the role played by sex was not examined, the possible independence of, or interaction between, sex and identity status on mating preferences remains unexamined.

Buss and Schmitt (1993) proposed that differences in the number of sexual partners desired, interest in short-term mating, and desired partner characteristics exhibited by men and women reflect evolved mating strategies. Although, the differences between the sexes are not categorical, cross-cultural research has shown that these differences are likely to be universal (Buss, 1989; Schmitt, 2003).

SST is founded on the biologically based reproductive differences between males and females. According to SST, each sex faces unique challenges for reproductive success and therefore different strategies for meeting these challenges have evolved. Sex differences in the amount of parental investment are at the heart of these differences. Men produce a vastly larger number of gametes than do women and they need to and do exhibit (Low, 1989) lower investment to produce viable offspring. Thus, because it was advantageous for reproduction, males evolved a greater desire for short-term mating and desire more sexual partners than do women. An additional tenet of SST, is that men place greater emphasis on physical beauty than do women because beauty is correlated with age and health and is therefore an indicator of reproductive fitness.

Conversely, the female's investment in producing viable offspring is high because it includes pregnancy, labor, and nursing. On top of the increased investment in offspring by women, they are much more limited in the number of offspring they can produce. To pass on their genes, women need to make sure that the relatively smaller number of children they can birth survive. Therefore, SST states that women are more selective in their choice of mating partners and prefer partners who can help provide resources to assist in the raising of offspring. In summary, SST predicts that women are less likely to exhibit interest in short-term mating, desire fewer sexual partners, and show greater preference for a mate who can provide resources. Research has consistently found support for the sex differences in mating preferences hypothesized by SST (e.g., Buss, 1989; Buss & Schmitt, 1993; Schmitt, 2003).

SST does not even remotely address ego-identity. Evolutionary psychologists have viewed ego-identity as a cultural phenomenon (Bjorklund & Pellegrini, 2002; McDonald, 1988). For example, MacDonald (1988) notes, "From an evolutionary perspective identity formation affects parent-child transmission of culture" (pp. 161-162). However, SST does not exclude the possible role ego-identity may play in mating preferences. Given that sex differences explain only a portion of the variance on mating preference variables, it seems reasonable to examine other factors that may explain some of the variance. And because adolescence is an important time for both sexual and identity development, ego-identity may prove a useful explanatory variable in understanding gender differences in mate selection strategies. However, as also suggested by Erikson (1964) in the opening quote, if ego-identity does play a role it is most likely independent of the differences due to sex.

SRT (Eagly & Wood, 1999; Wood & Eagly, 2002) recognizes the sex differences in mating preferences that have been found, but attributes the differences to the gender roles proscribed by society and adopted by individuals. Men and women guide or script their behavior so that it matches the gender roles promoted by society. Therefore, sex differences in the number of partners desired (Eagly, 2004), interest in short-term mating (Eagly, 2004), and the idealistic characteristics of a potential mate are also a function of gender roles--not specific evolved adaptations (Eagly & Wood, 1999).

SRT (Eagly & Wood, 1999) predicts that because gender roles vary across cultures, in those cultures with more traditional and prescribed gender roles, sex differences in mating preferences should be more pronounced. Results have shown that in less sexually egalitarian societies, sex differences in what characteristics were desired in a mate were more pronounced (Eagly & Wood, 1999; Kasser & Sharma, 1999).

Additionally, because individuals within any given culture vary in the degree to which they identify with and have been socialized to accept traditional gender roles, sex differences within a given culture should also be of importance. Johannesen-Schmidt and Eagly (2002) tested this proposition by examining the preferred mate characteristics in American college students as a function of sex and the endorsement of the traditional female role. The general pattern of the results conformed to SRT because the sex differences in mate preference characteristics were most pronounced in individuals who endorsed a traditional female role.

If the prescription of behavior by the culture is the primary cause of sex differences in mating preferences, it follows that those who actively identity with the culture should be more likely to exhibit the sex differences. Thus, individuals who have not questioned the prevailing cultural attitudes or explored alternative points of view should exhibit greater sex differences in mating preferences. Lack of exploration of the traditional cultural view combined with a commitment to it may be especially important in the examination of sex differences in that these individuals should exhibit more sex-typed preferences.

The identity foreclosed status is defined by the commitment to beliefs and values without exploration. Identity foreclosure is associated with a number of variables that suggest adherence to a traditional view. Identity foreclosure is associated with greater obedience to authority (Podd, 1972), greater incidence of conventional moral reasoning (Podd, 1972), high levels of authoritarianism (Marcia, 1966), a lack of openness (Clancy & Dollinger, 1993; Schwartz, 2001), high parental identification (MacDonald, 1988) and foreclosure status individuals are described by experts in the field as conservative, conventional, and exhibiting sex-appropriate behavior (Mallory, 1989).

Thus from a social-role perspective ego-identity should interact with sex to predict mating preferences. Specifically, because identity foreclosure represents an identity closely tied with the traditional culture, the sex differences in mating preferences should be most pronounced in identity foreclosed individuals.

Restating the hypotheses:

(1) Ego-identity hypothesis: Both ego-identity and sex should independently act as significant predictors of mating preferences with identity diffusion being associated with a desire for a greater number of sexual partners and greater interest in short-term mating.

(2) Sexual strategies hypothesis: Sex should predict mating preferences. Ego-identity may or may not account for additional variance.

(3) Social-role hypothesis: Ego-identity and sex should interact to predict mating preferences with the greatest sex differences being exhibited by those who are identity foreclosed.

METHOD

Participants

Based on a demographic questionnaire, potential participants were screened for marital status, sexual orientation, and age. Only participants who were single, heterosexual, and under 25 were included in the study. After screening, 231 (136 female) undergraduate students from a Midwestern community college and a Midwestern university (Age: M = 19.41, SD = 1.34) participated in the study for extra class credit. The sample included 208 Whites, 10 Blacks, 8 Hispanics, 4 Asian-Americans, and 1 student who marked "other" on the demographics questionnaire and supplied no further information.

Materials and Procedure

Ego-identity. The Ego-Identity Process Questionnaire (EIPQ; Balistreri, Busch-Rossnagel, & Geisinger, 1995) was used to measure identity status. The EIPQ is made up of items designed to tap the eight identity domains of occupation, religion, politics, values, family, friendships, dating, and sex roles. The EIPQ is a 32-item Likert-type measure with subscales pertaining to identity exploration (e.g., I have undergone several experiences that made me change my views on men's and women's roles) and identity commitment (e.g., My ideas about men's and women's roles will never change). The coefficient alpha using this sample was: exploration: ([alpha] = .72), commitment ([alpha] = .73).

The EIPQ scoring system for making status assignments was followed. Median splits for both the exploration and commitment scores were computed and individuals who scored below the median on each scale were placed in the diffusion category (n = 52), those scoring above the median on commitment and below in exploration were placed in the foreclosure category (n = 70), those scoring below on commitment and above on exploration were placed in the moratorium category (n = 63), and those scoring above the median on each scale were placed in the achievement category (n = 46).

Mating preferences. Three aspects of mating preferences were examined: (1) total number of sexual partners desired in a lifetime, (2), extent to which the participant is actively seeking a short-term partner, and (3) preferred mate characteristics (i.e., physical attractiveness and earning capacity).

The total number of sexual partners desired in a lifetime was measured by an open-ended question taken from the "number of partners" measure originally used by Buss and Schmitt (1993). Participants were simply asked "Over your entire lifetime, how many sexual partners would you ideally like to have?"

The extent to which a participant is seeking a short-term partner was measured by a one-item, seven-point (1--not currently seeking, 7--strongly currently seeking), Likert-type scale (Buss & Schmitt, 1993; Schmitt, 2003), which asks participants the extent to which they are actively seeking a short-term mating partner (e.g., one-night stand).

Following Buss (1989), a compilation of characteristics (e.g., religious, exciting personality) of a potential mate was administered to participants who were instructed to rate the importance of each characteristic in a potential mate on a scale from 0 (not important at all) to 3 (extremely important). A total of 26 characteristics were on the list including the two target characteristics (good earning capacity and physically attractive). Because the characteristics deemed most desirable can vary according to the level of commitment in the relationship (Buss & Schmitt, 1993; Kendrick, Sadalla, Groth, & Trost, 1990), the list was presented twice. The participants were instructed to rate the importance of the characteristics for both a potential dating partner and a potential marriage partner.

RESULTS

Number of Partners Desired

Three participants responded to the question in a non-quantitative manner and their data is not included in the analysis. A 2 (sex) x 4 (identity status) between subjects analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed with the number of partners desired acting as the dependent variable. The assumption of homogeneity of variance was violated, inflating the likelihood that the null hypothesis would be rejected. Log-transformation of the data did not resolve the violation; therefore, as suggested by Stevens (1996) the probability for rejection of the null hypothesis was changed to p < .01 (1). When the probability was changed to p < .01 the main effects were not impacted, but the interaction term was no longer significant. As seen in Table 1, the ANOVA resulted in a main effect for sex, F(1, 220) = 13.92, p < .001, [[eta].sup.2] = .06, with males expressing a desire for a greater number of partners than females. There was also a main effect for identity status, F(3, 220) = 5.96, p < .005, [[eta].sup.2] = .08. A Tukey's HSD post hoc test (p < .05) revealed that the diffusion status participants expressed a desire for a greater number of partners than did foreclosure status and achievement status participants, and moratorium status participants expressed a desire for a greater number of partners than did achievement status participants.

Although the change in the probability impacted the significance of the interaction, due to its significance to the hypotheses, the results are reported and the reader is asked to judge the findings with this knowledge in mind. The interaction term resulted in a F(3, 220) = 2.68, p < .05, [[eta].sup.2] = .04. An examination of simple effects revealed that significant gender differences where apparent only in the diffusion and foreclosure status groups.

Penchant for Short-term Mating

A 2 (sex) x 4 (identity status) between subjects ANOVA was performed with the degree to which a short-term mate is sought acting as the dependent variable. The homogeneity of variance assumption was violated, but a transformation of the data did not clear up the matter, therefore probability was adjusted to p < .01 (Stevens, 1996). As seen in Table 1, the ANOVA resulted in a significant main effect for sex, F(1, 223) = 15.98, p < .001, [[eta].sup.2] = .07, and a main effect for identity status, F(3, 223) = 4.47, p < .005, [[eta].sup.2] = .06. Males reported a higher level of seeking a short-term relationship than did females and a Tukey's HSD post hoc test (p < .05) revealed that identity diffusion participants reported a higher level of short-term relationship seeking than did identity foreclosure and identity achieved participants. The interaction between sex and identity status was not significant.

Preferred Mate Characteristics

Data from two participants is not included in the analyses because they failed to complete the mate characteristics questionnaire. Two 2 (sex) x 2 (commitment level: dating and marriage) x 4 (identity status) mixed ANOVAs were performed with the rating of physical beauty acting as the dependent variable for one analysis and earning potential acting as the dependent variable on the second analysis. Sex and identity status were between-subjects variables and commitment level was a within-subjects variable.

For good earning capacity, there were significant main effects for sex x commitment level. However, the main effects were superseded by a significant sex x commitment level interaction, F(1,221) = 9.38, p < .005, [[eta].sup.2] = .04. An examination of the simple effects revealed that for both levels of commitment, females placed greater importance on earning capacity than did males and that both sexes placed greater importance on earning capacity in a marriage partner. The interaction appears to be a result of the greater shift in importance with females increasing the importance of earning capacity for a marriage partner more than did males (see Table 2). The main effect for identity status and all other interactions were not significant. The only significant result for physical attractiveness was sex, F(1,221) = 15.48, p < .001, [[eta].sup.2] = .07, with males (across level of commitment; M = 2.36, SD = .60) placing more importance on physical attractiveness than did females (across level of commitment; M = 2.03, SD = .74).

DISCUSSION

Three contrasting hypotheses were tested in this study: the ego-identity hypothesis proposes that ego-identity and sex play independent roles in determining mating preferences, the sexual strategies hypothesis suggests sex plays a role in mating preferences and ego-identity may or may not play a role, and the social-role hypothesis suggests that sex and ego-identity interact to determine mating preferences. While the results were mixed, the majority of the findings lend support to the ego-identity and sexual strategies hypotheses.

As predicted by the ego-identity hypothesis, both sex and identity status explained a significant amount of variance in the number or partners desired, with ego-identity actually accounting for more variance than sex. Consistent with a multitude of former findings, men expressed a desire for a greater number of partners (e.g., Schmitt, 2003). Post hoc analyses also revealed a pattern in which participants in the status groups defined by lack of commitment (diffusion and moratorium) expressed a desire for a greater number of partners than did those in the status groups defined by the presence of commitment (achievement and foreclosure). Consistent with the findings of King (1993), the diffusion status group exhibited a desire for the greatest number of partners. Differing from King (1993), it was found that the moratorium group desired a greater number of partners than did the achievement group. The findings suggest that a desire for a relatively large number of partners it not just associated with identity diffusion, but with a general lack of commitment.

Depending on how one wants to interpret the statistics, there may also have been a significant status by sex interaction on the number of partners desired, and this interaction would qualify the main effects. The simple effects showed that, as predicted by social role theory, sex differences were more pronounced in the foreclosure status group. However, the diffusion status group also exhibited a significant sex difference. It may be that while identity foreclosure represents an active commitment to the roles put forth by the larger culture, identity diffusion represents a passive adoption of expectations. The orientation of passive acceptance of norms is seen as a hallmark of the information processing style of the diffusion status (Berzonsky & Sullivan, 1992). Of course, this is a speculative post hoc analysis of a statistically questionable interaction. Additional research would be needed to clarify this possibility.

The penchant for short-term mating also showed effects of identity status and sex. Consistent with a multitude of former findings, men expressed a desire for a greater number of partners (e.g., Schmitt, 2003). Consistent with what was found with the number of partners desired, identity diffusion was associated with a greater penchant for short-term mating. This lends further support for the ego-identity hypothesis.

The results of the analyses for the preferred mating characteristics strongly support the sexual strategies hypotheses because sex was the only significant predictor of preference for physical attractiveness and good earning capacity in a mate, with men placing more emphasis than women on the former characteristic and women placing more emphasis than men on the former. This finding has been consistently found by researchers emphasizing both an evolutionary and social role perspective. The findings of the current study suggest an important caveat to the general sex differences. Sex differences are moderated by the commitment level of the relationship (Buss & Schmitt, 1993; Kendrick et al., 1990). In this study, greater level of commitment increased the sex difference in the importance of good earning capacity.

In past research (Buss, 1989; Johannesen-Schmidt & Eagley, 2002) participants have been instructed to rate the characteristics they desire in a mate. The term mate is ambiguous and could be interpreted any number of ways. The current findings girder past research showing that the characteristics emphasized in a potential mate vary according to the level of commitment. It could be, for example, that the influence of the attitudes toward women's roles on sex differences varies according to the level of commitment in the specified relationship.

CONCLUSIONS

Psychoanalytic and evolutionary psychology are not necessarily at odds (Badcock, 1998; Surbey, 1998), and this research represents one manner in which a traditional psychoanalytic domain of study (ego-identity) helped explain variance in variables that are at the heart of evolutionary psychology. The inclusion of ego-identity in the prediction of the number of partners desired and the penchant for short-term mating added explanatory power and was used to address an important controversy in evolutionary psychology. Further research could continue to explore the possibility that the expression of evolutionary sexual strategies may be moderated by identity processes which serve as the conduit through which the tension between sexual desires and socialization pressures are resolved.

REFERENCES

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FOOTNOTE

(1) The use of mean-based statistics for the number of sexual partners desired measure has been critized (Pedersen, Miller, Putcha-Bhagavatula, & Yang, 2002). When the number of partners variable was categorized into three equal (n) groups (high/medium/low based on the number of partners desired) and Chi-square analyses were computed for the variables of sex, identity status, and number of partners desired, the sex differences, [chi square] (2, N = 226) = 18.59, p < .001, and identity differences, [chi square] (6, N = 226) = 21.35, p < .005, remained.

Dennis R. Papini, Psychology Department, Box 87, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN 37132

Reprint requests should be sent to Curtis S. Dunkel, Social Sciences, Illinois Central College, One College Drive, East Peoria, IL 61635. E-mail, cdunkel@icc.edu

Table 1
Means for the Number of Partners Desired
and Penchant for Short-term Mating by Sex and
Identity Status

Sex Diffusion Foreclosure Moratorium

 Number of partners desired

Male 10.14 (8.70) 5.33 (6.86) 5.19 (6.79)
Female 4.05 (4.56) 2.79 (3.52) 4.88 (5.50)
Total 6.61 (7.22) 3.84 (5.29) 5.02 (5.20)

 Penchant for short-term mating

Male 3.14 (1.01) 2.13 (1.61) 2.14 (1.53)
Female 2.17 (1.64) 1.38 (1.00) 1.85 (1.33)
Total 2.58 (1.85) 1.70 (1.34) 1.94 (1.39)

Sex Achievement Total

 Number of
 partners desired

Male 3.57 (4.73) 5.99 (6.80)
Female 1.88 (1.55) 3.54 (4.33)
Total 2.68 (3.52) --

 Penchant for
 short-term mating

Male 2.32 (1.84) 2.41 (1.77)
Female 1.17 (0.64) 1.66 (1.27)
Total 1.72 (1.46) --

Note. Standard deviations are in parentheses.

Table 2
Preference for a Mate with Good Earning Capacity
by Sex and Level of Commitment

Commitment Male Female

Dating 1.51 (0.88) 1.75 (0.81)
Marriage 1.70 (0.85) 2.25 (0.76)

Note. Standard deviations are in parentheses.