Barking up the wrong tree

Stereotypes of older adults as withdrawn or asexual fail to recognize that romantic relationships in later life are increasingly common. The authors analyzed 600 Internet personal ads from 4 age groups: 20–34, 40–54, 60–74, and 75+ years. Predictions from evolutionary theory held true in later life, when reproduction is no longer a concern. Across the life span, men sought physical attractiveness and offered status-related information more than women; women were more selective than men and sought status more than men. With age, men desired women increasingly younger than themselves, whereas women desired older men until ages 75 and over, when they sought men younger than themselves.

Source: "Partner preferences across the life span: Online dating by older adults." from Psychology and Aging

And I'm guessing the women over 75 only sought younger men because there aren't that many guys over that age to choose from...

Interesting to see that we're pretty much hardwired about this stuff. An often mentioned book about evo-psych is Why Beautiful People Have More Daughters. Haven't gotten around to reading it yet but if this stuff interests you, you might want to check it out.

Related posts:

How have young people's sexual behavior and attitudes changed over the years?

Do people who look young for their age live longer?

Can living like you're young prevent aging?

Stanford's Robert Sapolsky lectures on the science behind human sexuality (Video)

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