Interesting I have seen research that suggests a major difference in perceptions between men and women. Men tend to assess the average woman as, well, average in overall attractiveness. Women tend to assess about 80% of men as below average. So in a monogamous society women tend to think they have settled too low.
Such a gap in perceptions would make sense in a polygamous society where a few men at the top have most of the women—so the women marry up, and end up perceiving this as normal. From my reading, most hunter gatherer societies were polygamous.
Interesting I have seen research that suggests a major difference in perceptions between men and women. Men tend to assess the average woman as, well, average in overall attractiveness. Women tend to assess about 80% of men as below average. So in a monogamous society women tend to think they have settled too low.
Such a gap in perceptions would make sense in a polygamous society where a few men at the top have most of the women—so the women marry up, and end up perceiving this as normal. From my reading, most hunter gatherer societies were polygamous.