Scientific Data (Jul 2025)
Cross-cultural data on romantic love and mate preferences from 117,293 participants across 175 countries
- Marta Kowal,
- Piotr Sorokowski,
- Biljana Gjoneska,
- Katarzyna Pisanski,
- Gerit Pfuhl,
- Leonardo Aguilar,
- Steve M. J. Janssen,
- Benjamin Gelbart,
- Patrícia Arriaga,
- Jan Antfolk,
- Katarina Zvončáková,
- Linda H. Lidborg,
- Jorge Contreras-Garduño,
- Mikhail V. Kozlov,
- Taciano L. Milfont,
- Marco A. C. Varella,
- Valerija Križanić,
- Mahmoud Boussena,
- Tina Kavčič,
- Diana Ribeiro da Silva,
- Brahim Hamdaoui,
- Fatima Zahra Sahli,
- Karlijn Massar,
- Eliane Deschrijver,
- Tatsunori Ishii,
- Hakan Cetinkaya,
- Oksana Senyk,
- Farida Guemaz,
- Koen Ponnet,
- Yahya Don,
- Dušana Šakan,
- Gyesook Yoo,
- Ravit Nussinson,
- Joaquín Ungaretti,
- Ali R. Can,
- Izzet Duyar,
- Jiří Čeněk,
- Joao Carneiro,
- Norbert Meskó,
- Luca Kozma,
- Ellen K. Nyhus,
- Mona Vintila,
- Oulmann Zerhouni,
- Farid Pazhoohi,
- Maja Zupančič,
- Sinem Söylemez,
- Austin H.-E. Wang,
- Marietta Papadatou-Pastou,
- Irena Pavela Banai,
- Pavol Prokop,
- Mohd Sofian Omar Fauzee,
- Reza Afhami,
- Jean C. Natividade,
- Roberto Baiocco,
- Mara Morelli,
- Toivo Aavik,
- Ezgi Toplu-Demirtaş,
- Singha Tulyakul,
- Anna Wlodarczyk,
- Razieh Chegeni,
- Anabela C. Santos,
- Dmitry Grigoryev,
- Dmitrii Dubrov,
- Dimitri Chubinidze,
- Gözde Ikizer,
- Nana Burduli,
- Johanna Czamanski-Cohen,
- Rizwana Amin,
- Petros Roussos,
- Evgeniya Hristova,
- Rūta Sargautytė,
- Ekaterine Pirtskhalava,
- Tenuunjargal Avirmed,
- Arooj Najmussaqib,
- Abdelilah Charyate,
- Shagufta Batool,
- Tatiana Volkodav,
- Yoshihiko Kunisato,
- Yuki Yamada,
- Asako Toyama,
- Mariia Perun,
- Seda Dural,
- Tetyana Mandzyk,
- Anna Studzinska,
- Ognen Spasovski,
- Felipe E. García,
- Caterina Grano,
- Merve Boğa,
- Mehmet Koyuncu,
- Sangeeta Singh,
- Ju Hee Park,
- Derya Atamtürk,
- Samuel Lins,
- Martin Pírko,
- David Lacko,
- Balazs Aczel,
- Ferenc Kocsor,
- Ádám Putz,
- Tobias Otterbring,
- Pavol Kačmár,
- Efisio Manunta,
- Théo Besson,
- Nasim Ghahraman Moharrampour,
- Çağlar Solak,
- Bojana M. Dinić,
- Ignacio Estevan,
- Merve Topcu Bulut,
- Nicolas Kervyn,
- Moises Mebarak,
- Jackson G. Lu,
- Nejc Plohl,
- Bojan Musil,
- Adil Samekin,
- Kirill G. Miroshnik,
- Clément Cornec,
- Isabella Giammusso,
- Ulf-Dietrich Reips,
- Maria Rosa Miccoli,
- Miriam Parise,
- Sabrina Stöckli,
- Tiago Marot,
- Sibele D. Aquino,
- Amanda Londero-Santos,
- Antonio Chirumbolo,
- Aybegum Memisoglu-Sanli,
- Jaroslava V. Valentova,
- Cemre Karaarslan,
- Ivana Hromatko,
- Kevin Sevag Kertechian,
- Ogeday Çoker,
- Matheus F. Ribeiro,
- Carlota Batres,
- Ilker Dalgar,
- Stephanie J. Eder,
- Katarina Mišetić,
- Marios Argyrides,
- Vita Mikuličiūtė,
- Silvia Mari,
- Elisabeth Oberzaucher,
- Kathrin Masuch,
- Alan D. A. Mattiassi,
- Salma S. Omar,
- Elena Piccinelli,
- Eda Ermagan Caglar,
- Diogo Lamela,
- David A. Frederick,
- Aleksander Kobylarek,
- Ma Criselda T. Pacquing,
- Marc Eric S. Reyes,
- Marcos Zumárraga-Espinosa,
- Feten Fekih-Romdhane,
- Talía Gómez Yepes,
- Edgardo Etchezahar,
- Katarzyna Galasinska,
- Jan P. Röer,
- Ayşegül Şahin,
- Miguel Landa-Blanco,
- Izuchukwu L. G. Ndukaihe,
- Arkadiusz Urbanek,
- Chee-Seng Tan,
- Rita Castro,
- Ksenija Cunichina,
- Anna Krasnodębska,
- Daniel Conroy-Beam,
- Franciszek Ostaszewski,
- Izabela Chałatkiewicz,
- Beatriz Abad-Villaverde,
- Bastien Trémolière,
- Alexios Arvanitis,
- Gulmira T. Topanova,
- William J. Chopik,
- Grace Akello,
- Ariela F. Pagani,
- Silvia Donato,
- Peter Fedor,
- Tomasz Frackowiak,
- Simon Ozer,
- Marlon Mayorga-Lascano,
- Farah Khan,
- Maryanne L. Fisher,
- Princess Lovella G. Maturan,
- Tatiana Semenovskikh,
- Sanjana Dutt,
- William Tamayo-Agudelo,
- Gulnara Ismukhanova,
- Laith Al-Shawaf,
- Luisa Angelucci,
- Adam Bode,
- Sercan Balım,
- Jovi C. Dacanay,
- Chiemezie S. Atama,
- Kai A. D. Morgan Campbell,
- Tchilissila A. Simões,
- Barış Özener,
- Paula Błauciak,
- Filipe Prazeres
Affiliations
- Marta Kowal
- IDN Being Human Lab - Institute of Psychology, University of Wrocław
- Piotr Sorokowski
- Institute of Psychology, University of Wrocław
- Biljana Gjoneska
- Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts
- Katarzyna Pisanski
- Institute of Psychology, University of Wrocław
- Gerit Pfuhl
- Department of Psychology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology
- Leonardo Aguilar
- School of Psychology, Central University of Venezuela
- Steve M. J. Janssen
- School of Psychology, University of Nottingham Malaysia
- Benjamin Gelbart
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California
- Patrícia Arriaga
- Departament of Psychology & CIS-Iscte, ISCTE - Instituto Universitário de Lisboa
- Jan Antfolk
- Faculty of Arts, Psychology and Theology, Åbo Akademi University
- Katarina Zvončáková
- Institute of Psychology, Czech Academy of Sciences
- Linda H. Lidborg
- Department of Psychology, Durham University
- Jorge Contreras-Garduño
- Escuela Nacional de Estudios Superiores Unidad Morelia, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
- Mikhail V. Kozlov
- Department of Biology, University of Turku
- Taciano L. Milfont
- School of Psychological and Social Sciences, University of Waikato
- Marco A. C. Varella
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Institute of Psychology, University of São Paulo
- Valerija Križanić
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, J. J. Strossmayer University of Osijek
- Mahmoud Boussena
- Department of Psychology, University Mohamed lamine Debaghine Setif2
- Tina Kavčič
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana
- Diana Ribeiro da Silva
- CINEICC – Center for Research in Neuropsychology and Cognitive Behavioral Intervention, University of Coimbra
- Brahim Hamdaoui
- Departement of Sociology, Ibn Tofail University
- Fatima Zahra Sahli
- Ibn Tofail University
- Karlijn Massar
- Department of Work & Social Psychology, Maastricht University
- Eliane Deschrijver
- School of Psychology, University of Sydney
- Tatsunori Ishii
- Department of Psychology, Japan Women’s University
- Hakan Cetinkaya
- Department of Psychology, Yaşar University
- Oksana Senyk
- Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, WSB Merito University in Gdansk
- Farida Guemaz
- Department of Psychology and Eduactional sciences and Orthophony, Mohamed Lamine Debaghine University Setif2
- Koen Ponnet
- Faculty of Social Sciences, Ghent University
- Yahya Don
- School of Education (SoE), Universiti Utara Malaysia
- Dušana Šakan
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Legal and Business Studies dr Lazar Vrkatić
- Gyesook Yoo
- Department of Child & Family Studies, Kyung Hee University
- Ravit Nussinson
- Department of Education and Psychology, The Open University of Israel
- Joaquín Ungaretti
- Faculty of Education, Valencian Internacional University
- Ali R. Can
- Department of Anthropology, Hatay Mustafa Kemal University
- Izzet Duyar
- Department of Anthropology, Istanbul University
- Jiří Čeněk
- Department of Social Studies, Mendel University in Brno
- Joao Carneiro
- Department of Psychology, University of Porto
- Norbert Meskó
- Institute of Psychology, University of Pécs
- Luca Kozma
- Division of Psychology, University of the West of Scotland
- Ellen K. Nyhus
- Department of management, University of Agder
- Mona Vintila
- Psychology Department, West University of Timisoara
- Oulmann Zerhouni
- Centre de Recherche sur les Fonctionnements et Dysfonctionnements Psychologiques, Université de Rouen Normandie
- Farid Pazhoohi
- School of Psychology, University of Plymouth
- Maja Zupančič
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana
- Sinem Söylemez
- Department of Psychology, Manisa Celal Bayar University
- Austin H.-E. Wang
- Department of Political Science, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
- Marietta Papadatou-Pastou
- Department of Primary Education, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
- Irena Pavela Banai
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, J. J. Strossmayer University of Osijek
- Pavol Prokop
- Department of Environmental Ecology, Comenius University
- Mohd Sofian Omar Fauzee
- Faculty of Education and Liberal Arts, INTI International University
- Reza Afhami
- Department of Art Studies, Tarbiat Modares University
- Jean C. Natividade
- Department of Psychology, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro
- Roberto Baiocco
- Department of Developmental and Social Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome
- Mara Morelli
- Department of Dynamic and Clinical Psychology, and Health Studies, Sapienza University of Rome
- Toivo Aavik
- Institute of Psychology, University of Tartu
- Ezgi Toplu-Demirtaş
- Department of Psychological Counseling and Guidance, MEF University
- Singha Tulyakul
- Faculty of Education, Thaksin University
- Anna Wlodarczyk
- Escuela de Psicología, Universidad Católica del Norte
- Razieh Chegeni
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo
- Anabela C. Santos
- CIS – Centro de Investigação e Intervenção Social (CIS-ISCTE), ISCTE - Instituto Universitário de Lisboa
- Dmitry Grigoryev
- Center for Sociocultural Research, HSE University
- Dmitrii Dubrov
- Center for Sociocultural Research, HSE University
- Dimitri Chubinidze
- Psychological Medicine, IoPPN, King’s College London
- Gözde Ikizer
- Department of Psychology, TOBB University of Economics and Technology
- Nana Burduli
- Department of Psychology, University of Georgia
- Johanna Czamanski-Cohen
- School of Creative Arts Therapies, University of Haifa
- Rizwana Amin
- Psychology Department, Effat university
- Petros Roussos
- Department of Psychology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
- Evgeniya Hristova
- Department of Cognitive Science and Psychology, New Bulgarian University
- Rūta Sargautytė
- Institute of Psychology, Vilnius University
- Ekaterine Pirtskhalava
- Department of Psychology, Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State Univeristy
- Tenuunjargal Avirmed
- Department of Sociology and Social Work, National University of Mongolia
- Arooj Najmussaqib
- Independent Researcher, Independent Researcher
- Abdelilah Charyate
- Département des Sciences de l’éducation, Ecole Supérieure de l’éducation et de la Formation, Université Ibn Tofail
- Shagufta Batool
- Department of Psychology, Northeast Normal University
- Tatiana Volkodav
- Department of Pedagogy and Psychology, Kuban State University
- Yoshihiko Kunisato
- Department of Psychology, Senshu University
- Yuki Yamada
- Faculty of Arts and Science, Kyushu University
- Asako Toyama
- Graduate School of the Humanities, Senshu University
- Mariia Perun
- Department of Psychology, Ivan Franko National University of Lviv
- Seda Dural
- Department of Psychology, Izmir University of Economics
- Tetyana Mandzyk
- Department of Psychology, Ivan Franko National University of Lviv
- Anna Studzinska
- Humanities Department, Icam School of Engineering, Toulouse campus
- Ognen Spasovski
- Department of Psychology, Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje
- Felipe E. García
- Departamento de Psiquiatría y Salud Mental, Universidad de Concepción
- Caterina Grano
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University
- Merve Boğa
- Department of Psychology, Erciyes University
- Mehmet Koyuncu
- Department of Psychology, Izmir Bakırçay University
- Sangeeta Singh
- Department of Strategy, University of Agder
- Ju Hee Park
- Department of Child and Family Studies, Yonsei University
- Derya Atamtürk
- Department of Anthropology, Istanbul University
- Samuel Lins
- Department of Psychology, University of Porto
- Martin Pírko
- Institute of Lifelong Learning, Mendel University in Brno
- David Lacko
- Institute of Psychology, Czech Academy of Sciences
- Balazs Aczel
- Institute of Psychology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University
- Ferenc Kocsor
- Institute of Psychology, University of Pécs
- Ádám Putz
- Department of Cognitive and Evolutionary Psychology, University of Pécs
- Tobias Otterbring
- Department of Management, University of Agder
- Pavol Kačmár
- Department of Psychology, University of Pavol Jozef Šafárik in Košice
- Efisio Manunta
- CLLE, Université de Toulouse
- Théo Besson
- Laboratoire de Psychologie Sociale, Université Paris Cité
- Nasim Ghahraman Moharrampour
- School of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne
- Çağlar Solak
- Department of Psychology, Manisa Celal Bayar University
- Bojana M. Dinić
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Novi Sad
- Ignacio Estevan
- Instituto de Fundamentos y Métodos en Psicología, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de la República
- Merve Topcu Bulut
- Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Atılım University
- Nicolas Kervyn
- Louvain School of Management, Université Catholique de Louvain
- Moises Mebarak
- Department of psychology, Universidad del Norte
- Jackson G. Lu
- MIT Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Nejc Plohl
- Department of Psychology, University of Maribor
- Bojan Musil
- Department of Psychology, University of Maribor
- Adil Samekin
- School of Liberal Arts, M. Narikbayev KAZGUU University
- Kirill G. Miroshnik
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste
- Clément Cornec
- ENES Bioacoustics Research Lab, Jean Monnet University of Saint-Etienne
- Isabella Giammusso
- Department of Psychology, Educational Science and Human Movement, University of Palermo
- Ulf-Dietrich Reips
- Department of Psychology, University of Konstanz
- Maria Rosa Miccoli
- Department of Psychology, University of Konstanz
- Miriam Parise
- Department of Psychology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore
- Sabrina Stöckli
- Chair of Marketing, University of Zurich
- Tiago Marot
- Department of Psychology, Federal Fluminense University
- Sibele D. Aquino
- Department of Psychology, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro
- Amanda Londero-Santos
- Department of Psychometric - Institute of Psychology, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro
- Antonio Chirumbolo
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome
- Aybegum Memisoglu-Sanli
- Department of Psychology, Ankara Medipol University
- Jaroslava V. Valentova
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Institute of Psychology, University of Sao Paulo
- Cemre Karaarslan
- Department of Psychology, Baskent University
- Ivana Hromatko
- Department of Psychology, University of Zagreb
- Kevin Sevag Kertechian
- Department of Organization, Management, and Human Resource, ESSCA School of Management
- Ogeday Çoker
- Psychology, Pamukkale University
- Matheus F. Ribeiro
- Department of Psychology, University of Uberaba
- Carlota Batres
- Department of Psychology, Franklin and Marshall College
- Ilker Dalgar
- Department of Psychology, Ankara Medipol University
- Stephanie J. Eder
- Department of Neurosciences and Developmental Biology, University of Vienna
- Katarina Mišetić
- Department of Psychology, University of Sarajevo
- Marios Argyrides
- Department of Psychology, Neapolis University Pafos
- Vita Mikuličiūtė
- Institute of Psychology, Vilnius University
- Silvia Mari
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca
- Elisabeth Oberzaucher
- Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Vienna
- Kathrin Masuch
- Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Vienna
- Alan D. A. Mattiassi
- Department of Education, Literatures, Intercultural Studies, Languages and Psychology, University of Florence
- Salma S. Omar
- Department of Dermatology & Andrology, Alexandria University
- Elena Piccinelli
- CIS-Iscte, Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (Iscte-IUL)
- Eda Ermagan Caglar
- Department of Psychology, Sakarya University
- Diogo Lamela
- HEI-Lab, Lusófona University
- David A. Frederick
- Crean College of Health and Behavioral Sciences, Chapman University
- Aleksander Kobylarek
- Department of Pedagogy, University of Wrocław
- Ma Criselda T. Pacquing
- Department of Psychology, University of Santo Tomas
- Marc Eric S. Reyes
- Department of Psychology, University of Santo Tomas
- Marcos Zumárraga-Espinosa
- Carrera de Psicología, Universidad Politécnica Salesiana (UPS)
- Feten Fekih-Romdhane
- Faculty of Medicine of Tunis, Tunis El Manar University
- Talía Gómez Yepes
- Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
- Edgardo Etchezahar
- Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
- Katarzyna Galasinska
- Department of Psychology, SWPS University
- Jan P. Röer
- Department of Psychology and Psychotherapy, Witten/Herdecke University
- Ayşegül Şahin
- Department of Anthropology, Istanbul University
- Miguel Landa-Blanco
- School of Psychological Sciences, National Autonomous University of Honduras
- Izuchukwu L. G. Ndukaihe
- Department of Psychology, Alex Ekwueme Federal University
- Arkadiusz Urbanek
- Department of Pedagogy, University of Wrocław
- Chee-Seng Tan
- School of Psychology, Wenzhou-Kean University
- Rita Castro
- Department of Psychology, University of Porto
- Ksenija Cunichina
- Institute of Psychology, Vilnius University
- Anna Krasnodębska
- Administracja i Bezpieczeństwo Wewnętrzne, Uniwersytet WSB Merito Opole
- Daniel Conroy-Beam
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California
- Franciszek Ostaszewski
- Department of Psychology, SWPS University
- Izabela Chałatkiewicz
- Department of Psychology, SWPS University
- Beatriz Abad-Villaverde
- Faculty of Humanities and Education, Universidad Nacional Pedro Henríquez Ureña
- Bastien Trémolière
- Department of Psychology, Université de Toulouse
- Alexios Arvanitis
- Department of Psychology, University of Crete
- Gulmira T. Topanova
- The Department of Theoretical and Practical Psychology, Информация Kazakh National Women’s Teacher Training University
- William J. Chopik
- Department of Psychology, Michigan State University
- Grace Akello
- Department of Mental Health, Gulu University
- Ariela F. Pagani
- Departement of Humanities, University of Urbino Carlo Bo
- Silvia Donato
- Department of Psychology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore
- Peter Fedor
- Department of Environmental Ecology, Comenius University
- Tomasz Frackowiak
- Institute of Psychology, University of Wrocław
- Simon Ozer
- Department of Psychology and Behavioural Sciences, Aarhus University
- Marlon Mayorga-Lascano
- Escuela de Pscicología, Pontificia Universidad del Ecuador- Ambato
- Farah Khan
- Department of Education, Women University Mardan KP, Pakistan
- Maryanne L. Fisher
- Department of Psychology, Saint Mary’s University
- Princess Lovella G. Maturan
- Department of Psychology, University of the Philippines Diliman
- Tatiana Semenovskikh
- School of Education, Tyumen State University
- Sanjana Dutt
- Faculty of Earth Sciences and Spatial Management, Nicolaus Copernicus University
- William Tamayo-Agudelo
- Faculty of Psychology, Universidad Cooperativa de Colombia
- Gulnara Ismukhanova
- Department of Political Sciences and Political Technologies, al-Farabi Kazakh National University
- Laith Al-Shawaf
- Department of Psychology, University of Colorado
- Luisa Angelucci
- Psychology School, Universidad Católica Andrés Bello
- Adam Bode
- School of Archaeology and Anthropology, The Australian National University
- Sercan Balım
- Department of Psychology, Bursa Technical University
- Jovi C. Dacanay
- School of Economics, University of Asia and the Pacific
- Chiemezie S. Atama
- Department of Sociology & Anthropology, University of Nigeria
- Kai A. D. Morgan Campbell
- Kultivating and Healing, KAHLE Journey
- Tchilissila A. Simões
- School of Psychology and Vision Sciences, University of Leicester
- Barış Özener
- Department of Anthropology, Istanbul University
- Paula Błauciak
- Institute of Psychology, University College of Professional Education
- Filipe Prazeres
- Departamento de Ciências Médicas, Universidade da Beira Interior
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-025-05365-2
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 12,
no. 1
pp. 1 – 12
Abstract
Abstract Psychological studies on close relationships have often overlooked cultural diversity, dynamic processes, and potentially universal principles that shape intimate partnerships. To address the limited generalizability of previous research and advance our understanding of romantic love experiences, mate preferences, and physical attractiveness, we conducted a large-scale cross-cultural survey study on these topics. A total of 404 researchers collected data in 45 languages from April to August 2021, involving 117,293 participants from 175 countries. Aside from standard demographic questions, the survey included valuable information on variables relevant to romantic relationships: intimate, passionate, and committed love within romantic relationships, physical-attractiveness enhancing behaviors, gender equality endorsement, collectivistic attitudes, personal history of pathogenic diseases, relationship quality, jealousy, personal involvement in sexual and/or emotional infidelity, relational mobility, mate preferences, and acceptance of sugar relationships. The resulting dataset provides a rich resource for investigating patterns within, and associations across, a broad range of variables relevant to romantic relationships, with extensive opportunities to analyze individual experiences worldwide.
