Complementarity versus Similarity of Traits Operating in the Choice of Marriage and Dating Partners

In order to test the theory proposed by Winch [in Mate Selection: A Study in Complementary Needs. New York; Harper & Row, 1958], that people tend to choose partners whose need patterns are complementary, rather than similar, to their own, a cross-cultural study was conducted on students in the United States, Australia, and New Zealand. The obtained data tended strongly towards supporting the idea of similarity, rather than complementarit