Parental choice: What parents want in a son-in-law and a daughter-in-law across 67 pre-industrial societies

Parents are influential over mate choice, and in most human societies they choose spouses for their offspring according to their own preferences. However, surprising little is known about the qualities which make a woman desirable as a daughter-in-law and a man desirable as a son-in-law. Using evidence from 67 societies such traits are identified and three hypotheses are tested: first, the hypothesis is tested that parents desire in an in-law qualities which are beneficial to them and their kin. Second, it is hypothesized that such preferences are contingent upon the sex of the in-law, as traits are weighted differently in a daughter-in-law and in a son-in-law. The third hypothesis tested is that parental preferences vary according to the subsistence type of a given society, as traits are valued differently in agropastoral societies and foraging societies. The evidence presented here provides support for all three hypotheses.