The dating game
Amanda Gesselman, Gregory Webster & Justin Garcia
Journal of Sex Research, forthcoming
Abstract:
While virginity prior to marriage has been historically valued, changing sociosexual scripts in the United States have made premarital sexual activity the norm for young adults, with sexual debut generally occurring in late adolescence. In the current research, we examined the impact of being developmentally off-time with first coitus (i.e., not yet engaging in coitus when most same-aged peers have done so). Specifically, we investigated stigma toward sexually inexperienced adults and discrimination regarding romantic relationship formation. Across three methodologically diverse studies we observed that sexually inexperienced adults perceived themselves to be stigmatized due to their inexperience and that sexually inexperienced adults were not highly desired as relationship partners. Even sexually inexperienced adults themselves did not find other inexperienced adults to be attractive relationship partners. Although abstaining from sexual activity may bestow some health advantages, our studies show that being a sexual "late bloomer" may result in negative interpersonal consequences such as limited opportunities for romantic relationships.
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Other women's fertility moderates female resource distribution across the menstrual cycle
Elizabeth Necka et al.
Evolution and Human Behavior, forthcoming
Abstract:
Status competition among female mammals tends to intensify near ovulation. Females compete selectively, targeting females who most threaten their own likelihood of conception. The present study explored the extent to which regularly cycling women differentially compete with other women in a behavioral economic game as a function of both women's fertility. We find evidence for an interaction between participant and target fertility, such that women withhold more resources from another woman, thereby keeping more for themselves, when both women are in the fertile (late follicular) phase of their menstrual cycle. Results expand research on women's perception of fertility cues in other women by demonstrating a possible role for such cues in modulating female social behavior.
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Daniela Niesta Kayser, Maria Agthe & Jon Maner
PLoS ONE, March 2016
Abstract:
The color red has special meaning in mating-relevant contexts. Wearing red can enhance perceptions of women's attractiveness and desirability as a potential romantic partner. Building on recent findings, the present study examined whether women's (N = 74) choice to display the color red is influenced by the attractiveness of an expected opposite-sex interaction partner. Results indicated that female participants who expected to interact with an attractive man displayed red (on clothing, accessories, and/or makeup) more often than a baseline consisting of women in a natural environment with no induced expectation. In contrast, when women expected to interact with an unattractive man, they eschewed red, displaying it less often than in the baseline condition. Findings are discussed with respect to evolutionary and cultural perspectives on mate evaluation and selection.
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Dominant, open nonverbal displays are attractive at zero-acquaintance
Tanya Vacharkulksemsuk et al.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 12 April 2016, Pages 4009-4014
Abstract:
Across two field studies of romantic attraction, we demonstrate that postural expansiveness makes humans more romantically appealing. In a field study (n = 144 speed-dates), we coded nonverbal behaviors associated with liking, love, and dominance. Postural expansiveness - expanding the body in physical space - was most predictive of attraction, with each one-unit increase in coded behavior from the video recordings nearly doubling a person's odds of getting a "yes" response from one's speed-dating partner. In a subsequent field experiment (n = 3,000), we tested the causality of postural expansion (vs. contraction) on attraction using a popular Global Positioning System-based online-dating application. Mate-seekers rapidly flipped through photographs of potential sexual/date partners, selecting those they desired to meet for a date. Mate-seekers were significantly more likely to select partners displaying an expansive (vs. contractive) nonverbal posture. Mediation analyses demonstrate one plausible mechanism through which expansiveness is appealing: Expansiveness makes the dating candidate appear more dominant. In a dating world in which success sometimes is determined by a split-second decision rendered after a brief interaction or exposure to a static photograph, single persons have very little time to make a good impression. Our research suggests that a nonverbal dominance display increases a person's chances of being selected as a potential mate.
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A good story: Men's storytelling ability affects their attractiveness and perceived status
John Donahue & Melanie Green
Personal Relationships, forthcoming
Abstract:
Three studies examined gender differences in the effect of storytelling ability on perceptions of a person's attractiveness as a short-term and long-term romantic partner. In Study 1, information about a potential partner's storytelling ability was provided. Study 2 participants read a good or poor story supposedly written by a potential partner. Results suggested that only women's attractiveness assessments of men as a long-term date increased for good storytellers. Storytelling ability did not affect men's ratings of women nor did it affect ratings of short-term partners. Study 3 suggested that the effect of storytelling ability on long-term attractiveness for male targets may be mediated by perceived status. Storytelling ability appears to increase perceived status and thus helps men attract long-term partners.
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Are Women's Mate Preferences for Altruism Also Influenced by Physical Attractiveness?
Daniel Farrelly, Paul Clemson & Melissa Guthrie
Evolutionary Psychology, January 2016
Abstract:
Altruism plays a role in mate choice, particularly in women's preferences and in long-term (LT) relationships. The current study analyzed how these preferences interacted with another important mate choice variable, physical attractiveness. Here, female participants were presented with photographs of men of varying levels of physical attractiveness, alongside descriptions of them behaving either altruistically or not in different scenarios. The results showed women preferred altruistic men, particularly in LT relationships and that this interacted with physical attractiveness such that being both attractive and altruistic made a man more desirable than just the sum of the two desirable parts. Also, being altruistic made low attractive men more desirable but only for LT relationships. Finally, men who were just altruistic were rated more desirable than men who were just attractive, especially for LT relationships. Overall, these findings are discussed in terms of the role of altruism in mate choice, particularly in LT relationships and directions of future research.