People who sort their rubbish, drive an electric car or give up single-use plastic are perceived as more desirable romantic partners than those who neglect the environment. That is according to two online experiments published in the journal Environmental Psychology Research. However, the strength of this effect depends on the observer's own views: those who feel positively about nature find "green" partners especially attractive for serious relationships.
Eco-friendly behaviour means everyday actions that reduce harm to the environment or benefit it. The researchers suggest that such habits serve as a social signal: they require time, effort or money without immediate personal gain, so others may perceive them as a sign of willingness to cooperate and help others. From the perspective of evolutionary psychology, such traits matter in partner choice, since they hint at reliability and the ability to be a good parent.
In the new study, Daniel Farrelly of the University of Worcester and Manpal Singh Bhogal of the University of Wolverhampton (both in the UK) conducted two experiments. The first involved 140 heterosexual adults (70 women and 70 men) over the age of 18. They were shown descriptions of people with eco-friendly and wasteful habits in four areas: rubbish sorting, printing documents, driving an electric car and using fireworks. Participants rated each character's attractiveness for short-term and long-term relationships on a five-point scale.
The results showed that people with eco-habits were generally rated as more desirable partners than those who ignore the environment. However, contrary to expectations, they were not rated higher for long-term relationships than for fleeting encounters. Meanwhile, those who neglect nature seemed to participants more attractive for short flings than for serious relationships. The difference between men's and women's ratings was statistically insignificant.
The second experiment involved 133 heterosexual adults (103 women and 30 men, average age about 26). First they completed a questionnaire about their attitudes to the environment, and then rated 12 profiles: four eco-friendly, four wasteful and four neutral (for example, car colour or choice of lunch). It turned out that personal attitudes to nature partly explain preferences. People with more pronounced pro-environmental views rated eco-characters higher specifically as long-term partners, and wasteful ones lower for both short and long relationships. Women overall rated eco-profiles higher than neutral ones, and wasteful ones lower; among men no such differences were found. The authors caution that since men made up less than a quarter of the second sample, the gender conclusions are preliminary.
The researchers emphasise that these are correlations - statistical associations that in themselves do not prove cause-and-effect relationships. In addition, participants rated short text descriptions rather than real people and made hypothetical judgements. Both experiments included only heterosexual adults from the UK, mostly students, so the results may not extend to other groups and cultures. Nevertheless, the authors conclude that eco-friendly habits may work as a signal in partner choice, especially for those who care about the planet.