Sexed up
Risky Business: Is There an Association between Casual Sex and Mental Health among Emerging Adults?
Melina Bersamin et al.
Journal of Sex Research, forthcoming
Abstract:
A multiethnic sample of single, heterosexual, emerging-adult college students (N = 3,907) ages 18 to 25, from 30 institutions across the United States, participated in a study about identity, culture, psychological well-being, and risky behaviors. Given ongoing debates about the connection between casual sex and psychological adjustment, in the current study we assessed the cross-sectional association of participation in casual sex with psychological well-being and distress. A greater proportion of men (18.6%) compared to women (7.4%) reported having had casual sex in the month prior to assessment. Structural equation modeling indicated that casual sex was negatively associated with well-being (ß = .20, p < .001) and positively associated with psychological distress (ß = .16, p < .001). Gender did not moderate these associations. For emerging-adult college students, engaging in casual sex may elevate risk for negative psychological outcomes.
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Daniel Gambacorta & Timothy Ketelaar
Evolution and Human Behavior, forthcoming
Abstract:
Dominance is a form of social status based on an individual's ability to inflict costs (e.g. physical aggression) onto others. Subordinate individuals defer to dominant individuals in order to avoid physical aggression. We hypothesized that relatively subordinate men defer to dominant men by inhibiting creative displays during mate competition. Male participants were led to believe they were competing for a date with an attractive female. Participants believed they were competing against either a strong or weak male. During an interview with the attractive female, participants were prompted to display their creativity to the female by telling funny jokes and interesting stories. We found that participants competing against a strong male were less likely to tell jokes and less likely to tell stories. Additionally, participants competing against a strong male told jokes that were less funny and less elaborate.
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Pathogen disgust predicts women's preferences for masculinity in men's voices, faces, and bodies
Benedict Jones et al.
Behavioral Ecology, March-April 2013, Pages 373-379
Abstract:
Recent studies suggest that pathogen-related factors may contribute to systematic variation in women's preferences for masculinity in men's faces. However, there is very little evidence for similar correlations between pathogen-related factors and women's preferences for masculinity in other domains (e.g., men's voices or bodies). Consequently, we conducted a series of studies to examine whether pathogen disgust (assessed using Tybur et al's Three Domains of Disgust Scale) predicts individual differences in women's preferences for masculine characteristics in men's voices, bodies, and faces. We also tested if pathogen disgust predicts individual differences in measures of women's actual mate choices in the same way. We observed positive correlations between women's pathogen disgust and their preferences for masculinity in men's voices (Study 1) and faces and bodies (Study 2). We also observed positive correlations between women's pathogen disgust and their masculinity ratings of both their current and ideal romantic partners (Study 3). Each of these correlations was independent of the possible effects of women's sexual and moral disgust. Together, these findings suggest that individual differences in pathogen disgust predict individual differences in women's masculinity preferences across multiple domains and may also predict individual differences in their actual mate choices.
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Women Are More Likely to Wear Red or Pink at Peak Fertility
Alec Beall & Jessica Tracy
Psychological Science, forthcoming
Abstract:
Although females of many species closely related to humans signal their fertile window in an observable manner, often involving red or pink coloration, no such display has been found for humans. Building on evidence that men are sexually attracted to women wearing or surrounded by red, we tested whether women show a behavioral tendency toward wearing reddish clothing when at peak fertility. Across two samples (N = 124), women at high conception risk were more than 3 times more likely to wear a red or pink shirt than were women at low conception risk, and 77% of women who wore red or pink were found to be at high, rather than low, risk. Conception risk had no effect on the prevalence of any other shirt color. Our results thus suggest that red and pink adornment in women is reliably associated with fertility and that female ovulation, long assumed to be hidden, is associated with a salient visual cue.
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Catherine Mercer et al.
American Journal of Epidemiology, forthcoming
Abstract:
Having multiple sexual partners concurrently increases the risk of transmission of a sexually transmitted infection. Even if partnerships do not overlap, transmission potential exists when the gap between partnerships is shorter than the remaining infectious period. In the present article, we quantify the gap between partners to assess transmission potential using data collected by a cross-sectional survey of 2,203 genitourinary medicine clinic patients in England in 2009. Questionnaires asked about patients' 3 most recent partnerships. Gaps were calculated as time (days) between the last sexual encounter with a former partner and the first sexual encounter with the next partner. Among 1,875 patients who reported 1 or more partners in the previous 3 months, 47.6% of men and 27.7% of women reported 2 or more partners. Forty-two percent of the gaps were negative (i.e., partnerships that were concurrent); the median gaps were -7 and -17 days for men and women, respectively (i.e., overlaps were 7 and 17 days for men and women, respectively). Although half of the gaps were positive (serially monogamous partnerships), many were of short duration; the median gaps were 14 and 24 days for men and women, respectively. In over half of the gaps, condoms were used inconsistently with one or both partners, and in one-quarter, condoms were never used with either partner. There is thus a high potential for sexually transmitted infections, as even if partnerships are not behaviorally concurrent, they may be biologically concurrent. These data have important implications for designing and targeting effective health promotion messages.
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Men's strategic preferences for femininity in female faces
Anthony Little et al.
British Journal of Psychology, forthcoming
Abstract:
Several evolutionarily relevant sources of individual differences in face preference have been documented for women. Here, we examine three such sources of individual variation in men's preference for female facial femininity: term of relationship, partnership status and self-perceived attractiveness. We show that men prefer more feminine female faces when rating for a short-term relationship and when they have a partner (Study 1). These variables were found to interact in a follow-up study (Study 2). Men who thought themselves attractive also preferred more feminized female faces for short-term relationships than men who thought themselves less attractive (Study 1 and Study 2). In women, similar findings for masculine preferences in male faces have been interpreted as adaptive. In men, such preferences potentially reflect that attractive males are able to compete for high-quality female partners in short-term contexts. When a man has secured a mate, the potential cost of being discovered may increase his choosiness regarding short-term partners relative to unpartnered men, who can better increase their short-term mating success by relaxing their standards. Such potentially strategic preferences imply that men also face trade-offs when choosing relatively masculine or feminine faced partners. In line with a trade-off, women with feminine faces were seen as more likely to be unfaithful and more likely to pursue short-term relationships (Study 3), suggesting that risk of cuckoldry is one factor that may limit men's preferences for femininity in women and could additionally lead to preferences for femininity in short-term mates.
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Not intending but somewhat willing: The influence of visual primes on risky sex decisions
Megan Roberts et al.
British Journal of Health Psychology, forthcoming
Objectives: This article investigates a potential mechanism underlying the ‘sexually conservative puzzle' (the scenario where people reporting little to no casual sex intentions nevertheless go on to engage in casual sex).
Methods: In two experiments, we tested whether people reporting no behavioural intentions (BI) for casual sex were nevertheless more responsive to risk-conducive cues, when compared to those with some BI. Responsiveness to cues was assessed in terms of increases in behavioural willingness (BW) for casual sex.
Results: In Study 1, subliminal priming of sexual images (vs. control images) increased the casual sex BW of male undergraduates, but only among those who had previously reported no BI for casual sex in a baseline survey. In Study 2, these results were replicated using supraliminal priming with a more diverse online sample; effects were not moderated by age, education, or relationship status.
Conclusions: Overall, these findings suggest that although sexually conservative people often do not plan on having sex (i.e., they have no BI), for some, their reactive, context-sensitive decision-making (i.e., their BW) can be swayed in the presence of risk-conducive cues.
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Towards a More Complete Understanding of Reactions to Hooking Up Among College Women
Jesse Owen, Kelley Quirk & Frank Fincham
Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, forthcoming
Abstract:
Hooking up, a relatively common behavior among young adults, refers to a casual sexual encounter, ranging from kissing to sexual intercourse, without an expectation of ongoing physical encounters or relational commitment (Fielder & Carey, 2010b; Grello, Welsh, & Harper, 2006; Owen, Rhoades, Stanley, & Fincham, 2008). Reactions to hooking up have examined psychosocial outcomes as a proxy for specific reactions. The current study examined the reactions of 190 college women, with a specific focus on the impact of hooking up on their social/peer network, their sexual/romantic sense of self, and their academic performance. Results demonstrated large positive effects for Sexual/Romantic Reactions and Social/Academic Engagement Reactions as compared to Negative Personal Reactions. In addition, higher ratings of anxious attachment, loneliness, and relational/intimacy sex motives were related to less positive reactions, highlighting the importance of attachment and motivations behind hooking up experiences. Implications for educational practice and future research are offered.
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The Long-Term Effects of Stress on Partner Weight Characteristics
Jason Fletcher & Nathan Tefft
PLoS ONE, June 2013
Background: Recent experimental evidence suggests that stressed males find heavier women more attractive than non-stressed males. The aim of this study is to examine whether these results also appear in actual mating patterns of adults from a national sample.
Methods: Regression analysis linking partner weight measures to own measures of childhood stress, as measured by mistreatment. Cross-sectional data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, Romantic Partners Sample is used to measure partner weight, childhood stressful events, and socio-demographic characteristics. Childhood experiences of adult mistreatment are retrospectively collected.
Results: Men who experienced childhood mistreatment are more likely to have obese female partners during young adulthood. The results are strongest for interactions with social services, adult neglect and physical abuse. We also present novel evidence of the opposite association in similarly stressed women whose male partners are more likely to be thin.
Conclusions: These results suggest that preferences for partner characteristics are sensitive to histories of stress and that previously hypothesized patterns occur outside the experimental setting.
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Jochen Gebauer et al.
Social Psychological and Personality Science, forthcoming
Abstract:
Sexual desire may change according to two principles: the satisfaction principle (high sexual opportunity/frequency decreases sexual desire) and the adaptation principle (high sexual opportunity/frequency increases sexual desire). We explore the workings of these opposing principles separately for both genders across the adult life span. Two tests within a large (N = 181,546) and cross-cultural (11 countries) data set revealed that the satisfaction principle accounts for sexual desire in men throughout the entire life and it accounts for sexual desire in women until their mid-30s. From that point onward, however, the pattern of female sexual desire becomes increasingly consistent with the adaptation principle. What sets older women apart from younger women and men of all ages? We discuss several mechanisms, with a focus on the satisfaction principle's evolutionary value in life phases of high reproductive capacity and the adaptation principle's evolutionary value in life phases of low reproductive capacity.
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Hormonal contraceptive use lowers female intrasexual competition in pair-bonded women
Kelly Cobey, Christine Klipping & Abraham Buunk
Evolution and Human Behavior, July 2013, Pages 294-298
Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to test the influence of hormonal contraceptive use on levels of female intrasexual competition. Twenty-eight women completed a scale for intrasexual competition on three occasions: when using hormonal contraceptives and when regularly cycling at a fertile and a non-fertile cycle stage. When using hormonal contraception, pair-bonded, but not single women, reported significantly lower levels of intrasexual competition than when regularly cycling at either fertile or non-fertile cycle stages. This effect remained significant when controlling for age, length of relationship and relationship satisfaction. Neither pair-bonded nor single women reported shifts in intrasexual competition across the menstrual cycle when fertile as compared to non-fertile. This study benefited from a within-subjects design and a more rigorous assessment of fertility status (transvaginal ultrasonography) than which is typical in the field. Results are discussed in consideration of the evolutionary literature on the stability of romantic relationships and fitness advantages associated with intrasexual competition.
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Pornography and Sexist Attitudes Among Heterosexuals
Gert Martin Hald, Neil Malamuth & Theis Lange
Journal of Communication, forthcoming
Abstract:
Using a probability-based sample of young Danish adults and a randomized experimental design, this study investigated effects of past pornography consumption, experimental exposure to nonviolent pornography, perceived realism of pornography, and personality (i.e., agreeableness) on sexist attitudes (i.e., attitudes toward women, hostile and benevolent sexism). Further, sexual arousal mediation was assessed. Results showed that, among men, an increased past pornography consumption was significantly associated with less egalitarian attitudes toward women and more hostile sexism. Further, lower agreeableness was found to significantly predict higher sexist attitudes. Significant effects of experimental exposure to pornography were found for hostile sexism among low in agreeableness participants and for benevolent sexism among women. These experimental exposure effects were found to be mediated by sexual arousal.
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Internet Pornography and U.S. Women's Sexual Behavior: Results from a National Sample
Paul Wright
Mass Communication and Society, forthcoming
Abstract:
Representative studies on internet pornography exposure and adult females' sexual behavior are needed. National data were utilized to explore the association between 1,077 adult U.S. females' exposure to internet pornography and number of sexual partners. Internet pornography exposure and number of sexual partners were positively correlated. This association remained after controlling for age, marital status, ethnicity, education, and religiosity. However, the association was moderated in theoretically predictable ways by women's confidence in media and perceived life dullness.
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Slow and steady wins the race: Life history, mate value, and mate settling
Haley Moss Dillon et al.
Personality and Individual Differences, September 2013, Pages 612-618
Abstract:
Life history theory explains how individuals decide to invest their limited resources, which involves several trade-offs. Particularly relevant to the current work, individuals can choose to invest in current or delayed reproduction (a slow life history strategy), which implicates a trade-off between the quantity and the quality of one's offspring. Choosing to delay reproduction allows for increased self-investment, and previous research has demonstrated that traits requiring self-investment are related to higher mate value. As such, the current study hypothesizes that slow life history strategy will predict high personal mate value and high levels of partner mate-value within heterosexual partnerships. Similarly, those with a slow life history strategy should display fewer tendencies toward mate-settling. The current work employs both subjective and objective measures of mate value within mateships to investigate these hypothesized relationships. As hypothesized, significant positive relationships among life history and mate value were detected, suggesting that a slower life history strategy corresponds to high ratings of mate value for both self and partner. Also, life history strategy is a significant predictor of subjective, objective, and Mate Value Inventory ratings of partner and self. Further implications and potential future works are discussed.
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What do women's advertised mate preferences reveal? An analysis of video dating profiles
Cari Goetz
Evolutionary Psychology, May 2013, Pages 383-391
Abstract:
This study examined women's video dating profiles to determine what their advertised mate preferences revealed about their mate value and relationship interests. Women created a one-minute long video dating profile for a hypothetical dating website. The videos were content analyzed into four categories of stated mate preferences: 1) "good genes" indicators 2) good resource investment potential indicators 3) good parenting indicators and 4) good partner indicators. Long-term mating interest was positively correlated with describing good partner indicators and self-perceived mate value was positively correlated with describing good genes indicators. Short-term mating interest was negatively correlated with describing any mate preferences while attractiveness was positively correlated with doing so. Results suggest that women's advertised mate preferences provide clues to their underlying relationship interests and mate value.
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Melanie Beaussart & James Kaufman
Computers in Human Behavior, November 2013, Pages 2524-2529
Abstract:
The use of the Internet for conducting research has found that the level of anonymity intrinsic to web-based surveys is useful in deterring various participant biases. Though, concerns about Internet privacy could interfere with the effects of perceived anonymity and influence how a person responds. In this study, participants were asked to take an Internet survey and then were randomly assigned to conditions with varying degrees of implied privacy in which they answered questions about their desire for casual sex (sociosexuality) and their lifetime sexual partners. Only in the condition without any threat to the participant's anonymity was there no difference between men and women's reports of their sexual behavior. However, in every condition men reported having a significantly higher sociosexuality than women. Findings are consistent with both the biologic and gender-biased explanations in differences of self-report for sexual information. Implications for social constraints and Internet based research are discussed.