Examining maximizers’ strategies to find “the best” romantic partner

The decision-making literature suggests that maximizers exhaustively sift through all their available options to make “the best” choice, and relational maximizing tendencies apply to maximizing within the context of romantic relationships (i.e., to find “the best” partner). Prior research has revealed how relational maximizing is associated with relationship outcomes, but research examining maximizers’ mating strategies for choosing “the best” partner is limited. The current work aims to close this gap by developing a better understanding of the strategies maximizers employ to seek “the best” partner. In Study 1, I used existing data to show that maximizing women are more likely to utilize a short-term mating strategy (i.e. unrestricted sociosexuality), and this positive association was strongest among women high (versus low) in short-term mate value. In Study 2, I examined whether this association would replicate in women, extend to men, and if relational maximizers attempt to find “the best” partner by seeking those higher in mate value than them. Contrary to predictions, Study 2 did not replicate the findings from Study 1, instead finding the positive association between relational maximizing and unrestricted sociosexuality emerged among men. Additionally, Study 2 did not find evidence that relational maximizers attempt to find partners higher in global mate value or on specific traits. These conflicting and null results indicate that further research needs to be conducted to fully grasp relational maximizers’ mating strategies.