Females Who Choose Their Mates Care More About Their Offspring — In Bird Populations, Anyway

Dating is a wonderfully terrible pastime, filled with boredom, rejection, and cycles of hope and heartbreak. In order to better understand the mystery behind human dating and mate selection, scientists looked to the birds (curiously, not the bees).

Researchers Malika Ihle, Bart Kempenaers, and Wolfgang Forstmeier published in the Public Library of Science, Cambridge, a study in which zebra finches were split into two groups: ones that were allowed to choose their mates, and ones that had their mates chosen for them. In the group that chose their mates, the offspring had a much higher survival rate than those in the other group. The lady birds in the “arranged marriage” group were less interested in hooking up with their partners, and were more likely to abandon their eggs. The takeaway is that when we get to choose our mate, we are more likely to continue our species. It matters less whether we’re genetically compatible and matters more whether we, well, like you.

On the other hand, having too many dating choices can make us shallow.