Settling for ‘okay’ might be better than waiting for the perfect guy, scientists advise

Settling for ‘okay’ might be better than waiting for the perfect guy, scientists advise

Mr. Right vs Mr. Right Now

We have all heard and sometimes believed in the notion that everyone has a perfect mate out there somewhere, but maybe we should consider the idea that waiting for Mr. Right is a lot harder and riskier than settling for Mr. Right Now. A study conducted at Michigan State University suggests that it is an evolutionary advantage to take the chance on a possibly inferior mate and risk inferior offspring rather than to risk never mating when the perfect mate never comes along.

The study done at Michigan State University consisted of a computational model to track the risk-taking behaviors of digital organisms through thousands of generations of evolution. These digital organisms were programmed to make life-altering decisions, or bets, in high-stakes situations, like whether or not to mate.

The researchers speculate that primitive humans were forced to make this decision in their early lives. They also speculate that whichever a human may decide, to wait or to mate, was probably directly related to the size of the group they lived in. In a small group, about 150 or less, humans would be much less likely to take the risk of waiting around for Mr. or Ms. Perfect. In a larger group, there are automatically more mating options, therefore someone would have a better chance of meeting that person who they think is perfect and it is less of a risk to wait.

The researchers also noted, however, that we do not all evolve to be the same. They say that their study showed them that evolution allows for differences in an individual’s acceptance of risk. Some people are just naturally more comfortable taking risks, and the digital study confirmed this.

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