A new review published in Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences highlights the critical role of age in romantic relationship formation (Conroy-Beam & Buss, 2019). As has been discussed in the field of social and evolutionary psychology for decades now, the importance of age lies in its signaling power. Chronological age is a fairly reliable cue for adaptive reproductive and survival qualities in prospective mates. Because human sexual desire and long-term mating interest track age-related reproductive “fitness” qualities, age becomes a key marker for heterosexual romantic attraction.
