Role Player
Demonstrate values: Behavioral displays of moral outrage as a cue to long-term mate potential
Mitch Brown et al.
Emotion, forthcoming
Abstract:
Recent findings suggest that moral outrage signals trustworthiness to others, and such perceptions play a uniquely important role in identifying social opportunities. We conducted four studies (N = 870) investigating how displays of moral outrage are perceived in the specific context of mating. Results indicated participants, particularly women, found prospective mates describing outrage-signaling activism to be more desirable for long-term mating (Study 1), and this perception of desirability was similarly inferred among same-sex raters (Study 2). We further replicated findings in Study 1, while additionally considering the basis of women’s attraction toward outraged behavior through candidate mediators (Studies 3). Although we found consistent evidence for the desirability of an ostensibly outraged target, Study 4 finally identified a boundary condition on the desirability of outrage, wherein mere expression of outrage (without activism) was insufficient to bolster attraction. We frame results from complementary perspectives of trust signaling and sexual strategies theory.
Same‐Sex Couples and the Gains to Marriage: The Importance of the Legal Environment
Scott Delhommer & Daniel Hamermesh
Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, forthcoming
Abstract:
Same‐sex couples’ marital surplus, their excess total income over that predicted by their work times and expected wages, increases little as the duration of their relationship lengthens. When/where same‐sex marriage is legal, it rises sharply as duration increases. The availability of legal domestic partnership or civil union has no effect on the surplus. The likelihood of home ownership conditional on demographic characteristics also increases with partnerships’ duration only when/where same‐sex marriage is legal. These results, based on data from the American Community Survey 2013 to 2017, support the notion that greater legal protection enhances partners’ incentives to invest in their relationship, producing gains for society in the form of higher tax revenues, larger inheritances, and more stable communities.
For the love of money: The role of financially contingent self-worth in romantic relationships
Deborah Ward et al.
Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, forthcoming
Abstract:
Financial conflicts are among the top reasons for dissatisfaction and dissolution in romantic relationships. Beyond economic strain, however, few studies have examined the psychological antecedents of financial conflicts that contribute to relationship satisfaction. The present research examined whether basing one’s self-esteem on financial success was associated with greater perceived financial conflicts with one’s partner and worse relationship outcomes. A cross-sectional study (N = 167), dyadic study (N = 193 couples), and a 6-week diary study (N = 74 couples) revealed that participants with financially contingent self-worth reported having more financial conflicts with their partner, which was associated with lower relationship satisfaction and perceived partner support. In a final experiment (N = 337), participants who were led to expect many (vs. few) benefits of financial success based their current self-worth more on money, showed greater conflict responses to financial scenarios involving their partner, and reported lower relationship satisfaction and perceived partner support.
Gender Discrepancies in Perceptions of the Bodies of Female Fashion Models
Sarah Johnson & Renee Engeln
Sex Roles, March 2021, Pages 299–311
Abstract:
For over 30 years, researchers and journalists have made the claim that men do not prefer the level of thinness typically embodied by female fashion models, along with the secondary claim that women overestimate the extent to which men find these ultra-thin bodies attractive. The current studies examined men’s and women’s perceptions of the bodies of fashion models shown in media images, as well as how each gender believed the other would perceive the models’ bodies. In Study 1, 548 U.S. college students rated the body size and attractiveness of 13 images of models from women’s fashion magazines. Respondents also indicated how they thought the other gender would rate the models on these dimensions. In Study 2, 707 men and women recruited from Amazon’s Mechanical Turk completed the same rating task. Overall, both men and women overestimated how ideal the other gender would find the models’ bodies (both in terms of thinness and attractiveness). This misperception was strongest when women estimated how men would react to the models’ bodies. Results were consistent with previous studies suggesting that men do not find the ultra-thin body ideal for women as attractive as women believe men do. These gender-based misconceptions may contribute to the negative effects of viewing ultra-thin media images on women’s body image.
Facial shape provides a valid cue to sociosexuality in men but not women
Joseph Antar & Ian Stephen
Evolution and Human Behavior, forthcoming
Abstract:
Existing work suggests that observers' perceptions of sociosexuality from strangers' faces are positively associated with individuals' self-reported sociosexuality. However it is not clear what cues observers use to form these judgements. Over two studies we examined whether sociosexuality is reflected in faces, which cues contain information about sociosexuality, and whether observers' perceptions of sociosexuality from faces are positively associated with individuals' self-reported sociosexuality. In Study One, Geometric Morphometric Modelling (GMM) analysis of 103 Caucasian participants revealed that self-reported sociosexuality was predicted by facial morphology in male but not female faces. In Study Two, 65 Caucasian participants judged the sociosexuality of opposite sex faces (faces from Study One) at zero acquaintance. Perceived sociosexuality predicted self-reported sociosexuality for men, but not women. Participants were also presented with composites of faces of individuals with more unrestricted sociosexuality paired with composites of faces of individuals with more restricted sociosexuality and asked to indicate which was more unrestricted. Participants selected the more unrestricted sociosexuality male, but not female, facial composites at rates significantly above chance. GMM analyses also found that facial morphology statistically significantly predicted perceived sociosexuality in women's and, to a greater extent, in men's faces. Finally, facial shape mediated the relationship between perceived sociosexuality and self-reported sociosexuality in men's but not women's faces. Our results suggest that facial shape acts as a valid cue to sociosexuality in men's but not women's faces.
Initial Engagement in Oral Sex and Sexual Intercourse Among Adolescent Girls With and Without Childhood Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
Ashley Halkett & Stephen Hinshaw
Archives of Sexual Behavior, January 2021, Pages 181–190
Abstract:
We investigated initial engagement in oral sex and sexual intercourse, as well as number of sexual partners, among a prospectively followed sample of adolescent girls with and without a thorough childhood diagnosis of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Participants were adolescent girls (ages 12–19) followed longitudinally as part of a study of ADHD in females. A diverse sample of 140 girls with clinician-diagnosed ADHD (47 inattentive, 93 combined) and 88 age- and ethnicity-matched comparison girls were initially recruited and invited to partake in research summer programs. We utilized data on initial engagement in oral sex, sexual intercourse, and number of sexual partners, collected during follow-up interviews conducted 5 and 10 years after baseline participation. Girls with a childhood diagnosis of ADHD engaged in oral sex at a significantly younger age and reported nearly twice as many oral sex partners than their typically developing peers. Post hoc tests revealed that group differences were driven largely by girls with the combined presentation of ADHD (i.e., those with childhood histories of both inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity). No significant differences emerged with respect to age of initial sexual intercourse or number of male sexual intercourse partners. In sum, adolescent girls with ADHD, particularly those with the combined presentation, were more likely to engage in oral sexual activity at a young age and with a greater number of both male and female partners. Findings highlight the need for longitudinal research that quantifies and distinguishes between various forms of sexual behavior and later reproductive and mental health outcomes.
Effects of Access to Legal Same‐Sex Marriage on Marriage and Health
Christopher Carpenter et al.
Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, forthcoming
Abstract:
We provide the first comprehensive evidence on the effects of access to legal same‐sex marriage (SSM) on marriage and adult health using the full rollout of marriage equality across the United States. Using data from the CDC BRFSS from 2000 to 2017, we relate changes in outcomes for individuals in same‐sex households (SSH) coincident with adoption of legal SSM in two‐way fixed effects models. A substantial share of these households includes gay and lesbian couples. For men in SSH, we find robust evidence that access to legal SSM significantly increased marriage take‐up, health insurance coverage, access to care, and healthcare utilization. Results for women in SSH are inconclusive apart from a clear increase in marriage take‐up. Our results provide the first evidence that legal access to SSM significantly improved health for adult gay men.
Illness, Social Disadvantage, and Sexual Risk Behavior in Adolescence and the Transition to Adulthood
Jenna Alley et al.
Archives of Sexual Behavior, January 2021, Pages 205–217
Abstract:
This study investigated the influence of illness on sexual risk behavior in adolescence and the transition to adulthood, both directly and through moderation of the impact of social disadvantage. We hypothesized positive effects for social disadvantages and illness on sexual risk behavior, consistent with the development of faster life history strategies among young people facing greater life adversity. Using the first two waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, we developed a mixed-effects multinomial logistic regression model predicting sexual risk behavior in three comparisons: risky nonmonogamous sex versus safer nonmonogamous sex, versus monogamous sex, and versus being sexually inactive, by social characteristics, illness, interactions thereof, and control covariates. Multiple imputation was used to address a modest amount of missing data. Subjects reporting higher levels of illness had lower odds of having safer nonmonogamous sex (OR = 0.84, p < .001), monogamous sex (OR = 0.82, p < .001), and being sexually inactive (OR = 0.74, p < .001) versus risky nonmonogamous sex, relative to subjects in better health. Illness significantly moderated the sex (OR = 0.88, p < .01), race/ethnicity (e.g., OR = 1.21, p < .001), and childhood SES (OR = 0.94; p < .01) effects for the sexually inactive versus risky nonmonogamous sex comparison. Substantive findings were generally robust across waves and in sensitivity analyses. These findings offer general support for the predictions of life history theory. Illness and various social disadvantages are associated with increased sexual risk behavior in adolescence and the transition to adulthood. Further, analyses indicate that the buffering effects of several protective social statuses against sexual risk-taking are substantially eroded by illness.
Sugaring: Understanding the World of Sugar Daddies and Sugar Babies
Srushti Upadhyay
Journal of Sex Research, forthcoming
Abstract:
A growing practice reflecting hookup culture and technological entrepreneurship, a “sugar arrangement” is a “beneficial relationship” between a “sugar baby” and a “sugar daddy”. In exchange for financial support, a sugar baby offers dating and companionship. In this study, I explored sugar culture in the United States: the reasons individuals are attracted to it and the benefits sugaring provides for them. I examined 90 sugar baby profiles and 108 sugar daddy profiles on SeekingArrangement.com; I also studied discussion forums and responses on LetsTalkSugar.com. Participants perceived sugar dating to be drama-free, casual, mutually beneficial and different from conventional romantic relationships. Sugaring provides a discrete, short- or long-term arrangement for individuals who attempt to avoid the stigma associated with commercial sex workers. A key finding was that both sugar babies and sugar daddies described techniques to mentally and emotionally distance themselves from being associated with the sex industry.