Men not women it seems are far more likely to have their head turned by material possessions and what someone does for a living when it comes to weighing up a potential love interest according to AA Insurance.
In a slightly whimsical valentine’s day poll question, AA Insurance talked to almost 10,000 males and 6,500 females asking them what importance they would place on age old classic status symbols such as a big house and a flashy car when looking for a new partner. Despite the term “gold digger” being traditionally more synonymous with women, AA Insurance can reveal that a higher percentage of males than females admitted that wealth and social standing would influence their taste in partners.
In addition to those driving sports cars; surgeons, barristers and architects could be in high demand this Valentine’s Day. A prestige profession proved the most influential of all in terms of attractive status symbols the AA reveals. To claim the top spot, a prestige job trumped a place in the sun, a swish pad, a sexy set of wheels and designer threads according to the results of the AA Insurance Poll.
After a prestige profession, 29% of men compared to 18% of women said they’d be impressed by a place in the sun. A similar number of men, 28% said they’d rate a big house as important compared to 20% of women. Following this 26% of men compared to 16% women said they’d ideally like to see their partner driving a high end car.
“We do however warn those looking for love this Valentine’s Day not to get too carried away with the results! Statistics gleaned from the same poll suggest that as many as 10% of motorists have at some point bought a car that was beyond their budget for aspirational reasons.” Says AA’s Conor Faughnan.
Confirming the trend more men, 11.4%, than women, 7.5% admitted they have done so.
Fig.1 What importance if any, hypothetically speaking, respondents indicated they would place on the following classic status symbols when considering a love interest? (Based on 16,867 responses)
| Very important | Somewhat important | Neutral | Not very important | Not at all important | I’m not sure | Does not apply to me | |
| A luxury car | 4.9% | 16.8% | 16.5% | 20.4% | 30.6% | 0.6% | 10.2% |
| A big house | 6.0% | 19.2% | 18.4% | 19.3% | 26.8% | 0.6% | 9.6% |
| Designer clothes or accessories | 3.1% | 11.8% | 18.1% | 20.0% | 35.7% | 0.5% | 10.8% |
| A prestigious job or profession (e.g. Doctor) | 8.0% | 22.3% | 18.1% | 16.1% | 24.4% | 0.6% | 10.3% |
| A place in the sun | 9.6% | 15.1% | 18.0% | 15.8% | 30.3% | 1.2% | 10.0% |
Fig. 2 What importance if any, hypothetically speaking, MALE respondents indicated they would place on the following classic status symbols when considering a love interest? (Based on 9962 responses)
| Very important | Somewhat important | Neutral | Not very important | Not at all important | I’m not sure | Does not apply to me | |
| A luxury car | 6.3% | 19.3% | 18.6% | 18.5% | 26.1% | 0.7% | 10.6% |
| A big house | 7.4% | 21.3% | 20.3% | 17.1% | 23.3% | 0.6% | 10.0% |
| Designer clothes or accessories | 3.8% | 14.3% | 20.7% | 18.7% | 30.1% | 0.6% | 11.6% |
| A prestigious job or profession (e.g. Doctor) | 9.5% | 22.7% | 19.6% | 14.5% | 21.8% | 0.7% | 11.1% |
| A place in the sun | 11.0% | 17.8% | 19.8% | 15.1% | 24.9% | 1.3% | 10.2% |
Fig. 3 What importance if any, hypothetically speaking, FEMALE respondents indicated they would place on the following classic status symbols when considering a love interest? (Based on 6,532 responses)
| Very important | Somewhat important | Neutral | Not very important | Not at all important | I’m not sure | Does not apply to me | |
| A luxury car | 2.7% | 13.2% | 13.2% | 23.1% | 37.6% | 0.5% | 9.7% |
| A big house | 3.8% | 16.1% | 15.6% | 22.6% | 32.3% | 0.6% | 9.0% |
| Designer clothes or accessories | 1.9% | 7.7% | 14.0% | 21.9% | 44.4% | 0.4% | 9.6% |
| A prestigious job or profession (e.g. Doctor) | 5.6% | 21.5% | 15.9% | 18.6% | 28.5% | 0.6% | 9.2% |
| A place in the sun | 7.4% | 11.0% | 15.2% | 17.0% | 38.7% | 1.0% | 9.8% |
