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Behavioral Sciences
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Psychology of Mate Choice, Romantic Relationships and Sexuality
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Psychology of Mate Choice, Romantic Relationships and Sexuality

A special issue of Behavioral Sciences (ISSN 2076-328X).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2025 | Viewed by 10598

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Mehmet Mehmetoglu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Psychology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 7034 Trondheim, Norway
Interests: evolutionary psychology; statistical methods; human mate choice behavior; consumer psychology; structural equation modelling

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Unearthing the intricacies and complexities of human mate choice behavior, romantic relationships, and human sexuality is pivotal for a deeper understanding of human behavior. The psychology underlying these domains encompasses a diverse array of phenomena, ranging from mate selection criteria to the dynamics of romantic relationships, and the enigmatic nature of human sexuality. Despite extensive research efforts in these areas, there persists a pressing need for in-depth studies, delving further into these domains and topics, and examining diverse populations and contexts. 

We are thrilled to announce a Special Issue, dedicated to exploring the psychology of human mate choice behavior, romantic relationships, and human sexuality. This issue aims to shed light on the factors shaping mate choice behavior, the inherent dynamics of romantic relationships, and the psychological foundations of human sexuality. We welcome submissions that investigate these topics from diverse theoretical perspectives and methodological approaches, including empirical research and theoretical contributions. We invite submissions from a variety of fields and disciplines, such as biology, evolutionary psychology, sociology, economics, and anthropology. Below is a non-exhaustive list of suggested topics/areas for submission for the Special Issue:

  • Factors influencing the choice of romantic partners (e.g., age, mating strategy, culture, personality, personal upbringing).
  • Factors affecting relationship satisfaction and dissatisfaction (e.g., mate value, sexual behavior, personality, expectations).
  • Psychological mechanisms underlying different mating systems and sexual behavior.

By nurturing a deeper understanding of these domains, this Special Issue aims to advance the knowledge in the field. We encourage researchers to submit original research articles that offer fresh insights, contributing to scholarly discourse.

We eagerly anticipate your contributions to this important endeavor.

Kind regards,

Prof. Dr. Mehmet Mehmetoglu
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Behavioral Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • mate choice
  • romantic partner
  • relationship dynamics
  • mating strategies
  • evolutionary psychology
  • romantic partner selection
  • attachment styles
  • human sexuality
  • mating systems
  • gender differences in mate choice

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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15 pages, 414 KiB  
Article
How People Manage Relationship Problems: An Exploratory Study in the Greek Cultural Context
by Menelaos Apostolou, Anthi Samara and Timo Juhani Lajunen
Behav. Sci. 2025, 15(2), 218; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15020218 - 15 Feb 2025
Viewed by 612
Abstract
Problems frequently arise in intimate relationships, and people need to find ways to manage them if they want their relationships to continue. The purpose of the current research was to identify the strategies that people use to manage relationship problems, employing a mixed-methods [...] Read more.
Problems frequently arise in intimate relationships, and people need to find ways to manage them if they want their relationships to continue. The purpose of the current research was to identify the strategies that people use to manage relationship problems, employing a mixed-methods approach, specifically, in a sample of 224 Greek-speaking participants. Study 1 employed qualitative research methods and identified 93 actions that people perform to manage relationship problems. Study 2 employed quantitative research methods in a sample of 526 Greek-speaking participants and classified these actions into three main strategies. The most likely to be used main strategy was “Solve the problem”, where participants attempted to solve the problem by discussing and negotiating it with their partners, making compromises, improving physical intimacy, and avoiding acting in the heat of the moment. The second most likely to be used main strategy was “External input”, where participants aimed to obtain advice and support from others, including friends, relatives, and psychologists. The least likely to be used strategy was “Avoid the problem”, where participants attempted to manage their problems by ignoring or avoiding them. Participants indicated that they were likely to use a combination of strategies to manage their problems. Men and women were generally in agreement over which strategy to use, while age effects were found for several strategies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Psychology of Mate Choice, Romantic Relationships and Sexuality)
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16 pages, 985 KiB  
Article
Who Is Afraid of Romantic Relationships? Relationship Fears and Their Connection with Personal Values and Socio-Demographic Variables
by Eugene Tartakovsky
Behav. Sci. 2025, 15(2), 191; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15020191 - 11 Feb 2025
Viewed by 1127
Abstract
This study investigates the fears of romantic relationships. Based on Schwartz’s theory of values, we built a comprehensive inventory of the fears that young people seeking romantic relationships may experience. We tested the fears’ structure and the connections with personal values and socio-demographic [...] Read more.
This study investigates the fears of romantic relationships. Based on Schwartz’s theory of values, we built a comprehensive inventory of the fears that young people seeking romantic relationships may experience. We tested the fears’ structure and the connections with personal values and socio-demographic variables. The study was conducted in Israel using a community sample of young Jews and Palestinians without romantic partners (n = 1083, 57% female, age 18–30). We discovered ten basic fears clustered into three groups (concerns). The ineptitude concern combines two fears: failing one’s partner’s expectations and failing expectations of one’s relatives and friends. The subjugation concern combines four fears: loss of independence, boredom, sexual frustration, and thwarting one’s achievements. Finally, the abuse concern combines four fears: losing control over one’s resources, being hurt physically or sexually, harming relationships with one’s relatives and friends, and being accused of inappropriate behavior. The ranking of concerns was identical among men and women, with ineptitude being the strongest concern, followed by subjugation and abuse. The ineptitude concern was associated with a higher preference for self-transcendence vs. self-enhancement values. The subjugation concern was associated with higher preferences for openness to change vs. conservation and self-enhancement vs. self-transcendence values. The abuse concern was associated with a higher preference for conservation vs. openness to change values. The ineptitude concern was stronger among younger ages, females, and Jews. The subjugation concern was stronger among older ages, males, and less religious people. Finally, the abuse concern was stronger among younger ages, males, religious people, and Palestinian Israelis. Socio-demographic variables affected relationship concerns directly and indirectly through their connection with personal values. The present study advances the theory of values connecting context-specific and general motivations. The results obtained will be helpful in youth counseling to promote satisfactory decisions regarding romantic relationships. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Psychology of Mate Choice, Romantic Relationships and Sexuality)
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13 pages, 242 KiB  
Article
Aspects of Quality of Life: Single vs. Mated People
by Menelaos Apostolou, Burcu Tekeş, Antonios Kagialis and Timo Juhani Lajunen
Behav. Sci. 2024, 14(10), 954; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs14100954 - 16 Oct 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1707
Abstract
Not having an intimate partner constitutes a common state in contemporary post-industrial societies. The current research aimed to address the question of whether single people score higher than mated people in various dimensions of quality of life. For this purpose, we employed quantitative [...] Read more.
Not having an intimate partner constitutes a common state in contemporary post-industrial societies. The current research aimed to address the question of whether single people score higher than mated people in various dimensions of quality of life. For this purpose, we employed quantitative research methods, measuring different aspects of quality of life that we treated as the dependent variables, with relationship status as the independent variable. In a sample of 1929 participants from Greece and Turkey, we found that relationship status was not significantly associated with physical health, relationships with friends and family, self-development, independence, recreation, or participation in social and communal activities. On the other hand, it was significantly associated with material goods, disposable income, social support, sexual satisfaction, and having children, with mated people scoring higher than single people. Despite using different methodologies for data collection, similar results were obtained in the two cultural contexts. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Psychology of Mate Choice, Romantic Relationships and Sexuality)
11 pages, 299 KiB  
Article
Sexual Excitation in Young Women with Different Levels of Sexual Satisfaction in Relationships: A Laboratory Study
by María del Mar Sánchez-Fuentes, Ana Álvarez-Muelas, Oscar Cervilla, Reina Granados and Juan Carlos Sierra
Behav. Sci. 2024, 14(9), 769; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs14090769 - 2 Sep 2024
Viewed by 1714
Abstract
Sexual satisfaction is an important dimension of sexual health. Despite there being evidence about its relations with sexual arousal, this association has not been addressed considering arousal as a trait and as a state. Therefore, the goal of this laboratory study was to [...] Read more.
Sexual satisfaction is an important dimension of sexual health. Despite there being evidence about its relations with sexual arousal, this association has not been addressed considering arousal as a trait and as a state. Therefore, the goal of this laboratory study was to examine, in young women with different levels of sexual satisfaction in their relationships, sexual arousal as a trait (i.e., propensity for sexual excitation/inhibition) and as a state (i.e., genital response and self-reported sexual arousal to a video with explicit sexual content). The sample was composed of 45 Spanish heterosexual women with a partner, from 18 to 25 years old. In the first phase, we evaluated the propensity for sexual inhibition/excitation and sexual satisfaction of the participants. In the second phase—in the context of a sexuality laboratory—the vaginal pulse amplitude, the rating of sexual arousal, and the rating of genital sensations were evaluated. The participants, distributed in three groups with different levels of sexual satisfaction (p < 0.001), were compared based on the different measures of sexual arousal. The results indicated that the group with lower sexual satisfaction, compared to the group with higher sexual satisfaction, reported more sexual inhibition due to the threat of performance failure (p = 0.011) and due to the threat of performance consequences (p = 0.038). However, no significant differences in sexual arousal status were found between the three groups. In conclusion, the negative association between sexual satisfaction and propensity for sexual inhibition in young women with a partner is supported, but not the positive association between trait/state sexual arousal and sexual satisfaction. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Psychology of Mate Choice, Romantic Relationships and Sexuality)
13 pages, 475 KiB  
Article
Mate Choice Plurality, Choice Overload, and Singlehood: Are More Options Always Better?
by Menelaos Apostolou, Loukia Constantinidou and Antonios Kagialis
Behav. Sci. 2024, 14(8), 703; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs14080703 - 12 Aug 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2530
Abstract
A lack of options can make it challenging for individuals to find a desirable intimate partner. Conversely, an abundance of choices might lead to mate choice overload, making it difficult to determine the most suitable match. Additionally, having numerous alternatives after entering a [...] Read more.
A lack of options can make it challenging for individuals to find a desirable intimate partner. Conversely, an abundance of choices might lead to mate choice overload, making it difficult to determine the most suitable match. Additionally, having numerous alternatives after entering a relationship could undermine its stability by decreasing satisfaction with the current partner. The present research aimed to examine the effects of mate choice plurality on singlehood status and the willingness to stay in a relationship within the Greek cultural context. Specifically, we employed closed-ended questionnaires, which included instruments developed using AI, with a sample of 804 Greek-speaking participants. We found that participants who perceived they had a wider range of potential romantic partners reported a lower likelihood of being single. Furthermore, more perceived mate choices were associated with fewer years spent as single. However, mate choice plurality was also linked to higher choice overload, which, in turn, increased the likelihood of being single rather than in an intimate relationship. Moreover, more perceived mate choices were associated with more regrets about being in the current relationship. These regrets were linked to lower relationship satisfaction and ultimately contributed to a decreased willingness to stay in the relationship. Notably, this indirect effect was significant only for male participants. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Psychology of Mate Choice, Romantic Relationships and Sexuality)
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Review

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25 pages, 804 KiB  
Review
The Overlooked and the Overstudied: A Scoping Review of Qualitative Research on Pursuing Sexual, Romantic, and Loving Relationships Through Online Dating
by Plata S. Diesen, Lene Pettersen and Faltin Karlsen
Behav. Sci. 2025, 15(3), 247; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15030247 - 21 Feb 2025
Viewed by 2557
Abstract
This paper presents a scoping review of the qualitative research (N = 125) on the use of online dating sites and applications for adults pursuing relationships, including sex, love, and romance, from 2014 to 2023. Our review supports previous literature reviews’ findings, which [...] Read more.
This paper presents a scoping review of the qualitative research (N = 125) on the use of online dating sites and applications for adults pursuing relationships, including sex, love, and romance, from 2014 to 2023. Our review supports previous literature reviews’ findings, which reveal that research on the topic is predominantly focused on young, well-educated, ethnic-majority, and primarily female heterosexuals or men seeking men in Western societies. Hence, a sample-selection bias shapes our scientific understanding of online dating, leaving other user groups underrepresented. Despite the diversity of scientific fields involved in qualitative research, the methods used are notably similar, indicating a relatively narrow scope in both demographic variables and research approaches. Although the researched themes and perspectives appear diverse at first glance, the research often centers on problem-oriented topics, such as the risks and emotional aspects of online dating, insecurities in self-presentation, negative technological communication traits, and the de-romanticization of society. We conclude that, despite the growing body of research on online dating, significant areas of the topic remain unexplored. There is a need for broader, more inclusive research to fully understand the complexities of online dating in the digital age. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Psychology of Mate Choice, Romantic Relationships and Sexuality)
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