Abstract
Previous research has shown that the qualities of nuptial gifts among nonhumans and marriage-related property transfers in human societies such as bridewealth and dowry covary with aspects of mate quality. This article explores this issue for another type of marriage-related property transfer: engagement rings. We obtained data on engagement ring costs and other variables through a mail survey sent to recently married individuals living in the American Midwest. This article focuses on survey responses regarding rings that were purchased by men acting alone and using only their own funds who then presented the rings while making surprise proposals of marriage (n = 127). Men marrying younger women spent more on rings, as did men who earned more money and whose fiancées earned more money. These findings suggest that the amounts spent on engagement rings, like bridewealth and dowry payments in other societies, reflect aspects of both male and female mate quality.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Blumberg, H. H., Fuller, C., & Hare, A. P. (1974). Response rates in postal surveys. Public Opinion Quarterly, 38, 113–123.
Borgerhoff Mulder, M. (1988). Kipsigis bridewealth payments. In L. L. Betzig, M. Borgerhoff Mulder, & P. W. Turke (Eds.), Human reproductive behaviour (pp. 65–82). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Bourque, L. B., & Fielder, E. P. (1995). How to conduct self-administered and mail surveys. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Brinig, M. F. (1990). Rings and promises. Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, 6, 203–215.
Buunk, B. P., Dijkstra, P., Kenrick, D. T., & Warntjes, A. (2001). Age preferences for mates as related to gender, own age, and involvement level. Evolution and Human Behavior, 22, 241–250.
Camerer, C. (1988). Gifts as economic signals and social symbols. American Journal of Sociology, 94, S180–S214.
Fedorka, K. M., Zuk, M., & Mousseau, T. A. (2005). Natural selection drives the link between male immune function and reproductive potential. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 83, 1012–1014.
Darwin, C. R. (1871). The descent of man and selection in relation to sex. New York: Random House.
Gaulin, S. J. C., & Boster, J. S. (1990). Dowry as female competition. American Anthropologist, 92, 994–1005.
Huber, B. A. (2005). Sexual selection research on spiders: Progress and biases. Biology Review, 80, 363–385.
Kenrick, D. T., & Keefe, R. C. (1992). Age preferences in mates reflect sex differences in reproductive strategies. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 15, 75–133.
Miller, G. (2000). The mating mind. New York: Doubleday.
Mougeot, F., Arroyo, B. E., & Bretagnolle, V. (2006). Paternity assurance responses to first-year and adult male territorial intrusions in a courtship-feeding raptor. Animal Behaviour, 71, 101–108.
Pawłowski, B., & Dunbar, R. I. M. (1999). Impact of market value on human mate choice decisions. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B, 266, 281–285.
Perrett, D. I., Lee, K., Penton-Voak, I., Burt, D. M., Rowland, D., Yoshikawa, S., et al. (1998). Sexual dimorphism and facial attractiveness. Nature, 394, 884–886.
Rothman, E. K. (1984). Hands and hearts: A history of courtship in America. New York: Basic Books.
Schmitt, D. P. (2005). Fundamentals of human mating strategies. In D. M. Buss (Ed.), Handbook of human evolutionary psychology (pp. 258–291). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Simpson, J. A., & Gangestad, S. W. (1991). Individual differences in sociosexuality: Evidence for convergent and discriminant validity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 60, 870–883.
Singh, D. (1993). Waist-to-hip ratio (WHR): A defining morphological feature of health and female attractiveness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65, 293–307.
Trivers, R. L. (1972). Parental investment and sexual selection. In B. Campbell (Ed.), Sexual selection and the descent of man, 1871–1971 (pp. 136–179). Chicago: Aldine.
Tushnet, R. (1998). Rules of engagement. Yale Law Journal, 107, 2583–2618.
Vahed, K. (1998). The function of nuptial feeding in insects: A review of empirical studies. Biology Review, 73, 43–78.
Van Valen, L. (1962). A study of fluctuating asymmetry. Evolution, 16, 125–142.
Acknowledgements
Funding for this project was provided by the Center for Human Evolutionary Studies and the Department of Anthropology at Rutgers University.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Cronk, L., Dunham, B. Amounts Spent on Engagement Rings Reflect Aspects of Male and Female Mate Quality. Hum Nat 18, 329–333 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12110-007-9018-9
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12110-007-9018-9