What do humans really want in a long-term partner? If people were given a limited menu of characteristics from which to choose, what would be the non-negotiables? And how much of what we value in a partner is influenced by culture and how much is innate? In a nifty new report out of the University of Swansea in the U.K., researchers got 2,700 college students from five countries to progressively narrow down which characteristics were most important to them in a lifetime mate, and the one that emerged from all cultures was kindness.

The study, which was published in the Journal of Personality on Sept. 8, compared the dating preferences of students from two countries traditionally considered as "Eastern" (Singapore and Malaysia) and three counties considered as "Western" (Australia, Norway and the U.K.).

It offered up eight attributes on which participants could spend "mate dollars": Physical attractiveness, good financial prospects, kindness, humor, chastity, religiosity, the desire for children, and creativity. Each dollar represented an increase of 10% in one trait. To make their partner funnier than 40% of the population, for example, participants had to spend $40. At first they spent big on everything, but as their budget grew smaller in each round of the study, they had to really figure out what they wanted. After kindness, men almost universally favored physical attractiveness and women chose good financial prospects.