Human Mate Copying as a Form of Nonindependent Mate Selection: Findings and Considerations

Mate copying, or mate-choice copying, refers to the heightened probability of choosing or preferring a prospective mate as a result of them having been previously chosen by another individual. First demonstrated in nonhuman species. increasing evidence suggests the phenomenon also occurs in humans. Mate copying may be considered a form of nonindependent mate choice, whereby individuals incorporate additional information supplied by conspecifics into the selective process. Such additional information would be especially advantageous to individuals (typically females) who face higher informational constraints in selecting mates, and who are subject to greater fitness costs in the process of selection or as a result of poor mate choice decisions. In nonhumans, mate copying occurs largely as a result of visual association, following a potential mate being observed in courtship with another opposite sex conspecific. In human beings, who use many informational modalities, including visual, verbal, social, and deductive reasoning, mate copying may be based on a wider variety of cues and factors. This article reviews the evidence for human mate copying. beginning with that predating, yet foreshadowing, recognition of the phenomenon. As the evidence is somewhat equivocal and inconsistent, an attempt to comprehend how methodological or other factors may increase, attenuate, or modulate the probability of human mate copying or its detection is undertaken. In particular, the additional roles of nonvisual or inferred information, such as a potential mate's current availability, willingness to commit, their friendships with opposite sex peers, a former partner's characteristics, the valence of information provided about a potential mate, expected duration of a relationship, and a rater's level of experience in mate selection are considered.