Evolutionary Psychology

Atari, Mohammad

2017 Evolutionary Psychology

doi: 10.1177/1474704917702459pmid: 28401792

Previous research suggests that assessment of mate preferences has received relatively little psychometric attention from researchers, particularly in non-Western cultures. The current research was designed to (1) extend previous findings on long-term mate preferences by using a qualitative strategy, (2) develop a psychometrically sound scale for assessment of long-term mate preferences in men, and (3) develop a sex-neutral scale for assessment of long-term mate preferences. Six dimensions of mate preferences emerged for men: F = family/domesticity, A = attractiveness/sexuality, K = kindness/dependability, E = education/intelligence, R = religiosity/chastity, and S = status/resources. These male-specific dimensions of mate preferences showed satisfactory concurrent and convergent validity as well as high internal consistency coefficients. We mixed the female- and male-specific measures of mate preferences and arrived at 20 characteristics without culture- or sex-specific content. We further hypothesized that the 20-item scale of mate preferences would have a five-factor structure (i.e., kindness/dependability, attractiveness/sexuality, status/resources, education/intelligence, religiosity/chastity [KASER]) in men and women and that this model would replicate sex differences cited in the evolutionary psychological literature. Measurement invariance was evidenced across sexes and sex differences accorded with those in the literature. Therefore, the five-factor model of long-term mate preferences (i.e., KASER model) as measured by the Iranian Mate Preferences Scale-20 may be used to evaluate long-term mate preferences in men and women in Iran. Limitations are noted and future directions are discussed in the light of evolutionary perspective on human mating psychology.

Moncrieff, Michael; Lienard, Pierre

2017 Evolutionary Psychology

doi: 10.1177/1474704917707591pmid: 28508722

The drag queen cultural phenomenon has been described at length. However, the depiction of outlandish and hyperbolic womanhood and taunting and formidable behavior at the core of drag queens’ public persona has still to be fully accounted for. We argue that these aspects of the drag queen’s public appearance could best be understood in a signaling framework. Publicly donning extravagant woman’s costumes attracts harassment and brings financial, mating, and opportunity costs, generating the conditions for the transmission of honest signals. By successfully withstanding those odds, drag queen impersonators signal strategic qualities to members of the gay community. Data collected among gay and straight participants support a costly signaling reading of the drag queen cultural phenomenon. Participants generally agree that successful drag queens typically incur costs, while gaining specific social benefits.

Hughes, Susan M.; Harrison, Marissa A.

2017 Evolutionary Psychology

doi: 10.1177/1474704917711513pmid: 28580806

Evidence suggests that many physical, behavioral, and trait qualities can be detected solely from the sound of a person’s voice, irrespective of the semantic information conveyed through speech. This study examined whether raters could accurately assess the likelihood that a person has cheated on committed, romantic partners simply by hearing the speaker’s voice. Independent raters heard voice samples of individuals who self-reported that they either cheated or had never cheated on their romantic partners. To control for aspects that may clue a listener to the speaker’s mate value, we used voice samples that did not differ between these groups for voice attractiveness, age, voice pitch, and other acoustic measures. We found that participants indeed rated the voices of those who had a history of cheating as more likely to cheat. Male speakers were given higher ratings for cheating, while female raters were more likely to ascribe the likelihood to cheat to speakers. Additionally, we manipulated the pitch of the voice samples, and for both sexes, the lower pitched versions were consistently rated to be from those who were more likely to have cheated. Regardless of the pitch manipulation, speakers were able to assess actual history of infidelity; the one exception was that men’s accuracy decreased when judging women whose voices were lowered. These findings expand upon the idea that the human voice may be of value as a cheater detection tool and very thin slices of vocal information are all that is needed to make certain assessments about others.

Međedović, Janko

2017 Evolutionary Psychology

doi: 10.1177/1474704917706936pmid: 28504891

The evolutionary status of intelligence is not clear: It is positively related to various indicators of fitness but negatively to reproductive success as the most important fitness marker. In the present research, we explored the links between intelligence and three fitness indicators: number of children (short-term reproductive success), number of grandchildren (long-term reproductive success), and age at first birth. Participants were individuals in a postreproductive stage (N = 191; mean age = 66.5 years). Intelligence had a positive correlation with short-term reproductive success and age at first birth but a negative correlation with long-term reproductive success. Participants’ education turned out to be a significant mediator of the link between intelligence and criterion measures. The results showed that intelligence can elevate short-term reproductive success. Furthermore, individuals with higher intellectual abilities tended to delay reproduction, which negatively affected their long-term reproductive success. Education was revealed as a very important resource which affects the link between cognitive abilities and fitness, thus proving its evolutionary role in contemporary populations.

Vincke, Eveline

2017 Evolutionary Psychology

doi: 10.1177/1474704917707073pmid: 28508723

Previous research indicates that drinking large quantities of alcohol could function as a short-term mating strategy for young adults in mating situations. However, no study investigated whether this is actually the case. Therefore, in this article, the link between short-term mating motivations and drinking high amounts of alcohol is tested. First, a survey study (N = 345) confirmed that young adults who engage in binge drinking are more short-term oriented in their mating strategy than young adults who never engage in binge drinking. Also, the more short-term-oriented young adults were in their mating strategy, the more often binge drinking behavior was conducted. In addition, an experimental study (N = 229) empirically verified that short-term mating motivations increase young adults’ drinking behavior, more so than long-term mating motivations. Results of the experiment clearly showed that young men and young women are triggered to drink more alcoholic beverages in a short-term mating situation compared to a long-term mating situation. Furthermore, the mating situation also affected young adults’ perception of drinking behavior. Young adults in a short-term mating context perceived a higher amount of alcoholic beverages as heavy drinking compared to peers in a long-term mating context. These findings confirm that a high alcohol consumption functions as a short-term mating strategy for both young men and young women. Insights gained from this article might be of interest to institutions aimed at targeting youth alcohol (ab)use.

Antfolk, Jan; Karlsson, Linda C.; Söderlund, Johanna; Szala, Anna

2017 Evolutionary Psychology

doi: 10.1177/1474704917705730pmid: 28441879

In general, adults invest more in related children compared to unrelated children. To test whether this pattern reflects variations in psychological kinship estimates (i.e., putative relatedness weighted by certainty in relatedness), willingness to invest in children belonging to different categories (direct offspring, nieces/nephews, stepchildren, and friends’ children) was measured in a population-based sample of 1,012 adults. Respondents reported more willingness to invest in their own biological children, than in other related children (nieces and nephews), or in stepchildren and friends’ children. Compared to putative relatedness, respondents’ psychological kinship estimates better predicted the willingness to invest. This association was partially mediated by emotional closeness. Additionally, the age of a child and the number of children in the care of the respondent were negatively associated with willingness to invest. The association between psychological kinship estimates and willingness to invest supports evolutionary predictions. Investment in stepchildren was, however, higher than expected.

DeLecce, Tara; Barbaro, Nicole; Mohamedally, Derek; Shackelford, Todd K.

2017 Evolutionary Psychology

doi: 10.1177/1474704917705062pmid: 28420246

Males among many species, including humans, evaluate cues of sperm competition risk and adjust accordingly their sperm competition tactics. The number of potential sexual rivals can serve as an index of sperm competition risk. Therefore, men may adjust their in-pair copulatory interest in accordance with the presence of sexual rivals. Using self-reports from 45 married men, we test the hypotheses that the time a man’s wife spends with other men—either male friends or male coworkers—will positively predict a man’s copulatory interest in his wife (Hypothesis 1) and his anger (Hypothesis 2), upset (Hypothesis 3), and frustration (Hypothesis 4) in response to his wife’s sexual rejection. The results show that the time wives spend with male friends (but not male coworkers) predicts their husbands’ anger, upset, and frustration in response to sexual rejection, providing support for Hypotheses 2–4. Discussion highlights novel contributions of the current research and provides a potential explanation for the discrepant findings regarding male friends versus male coworkers.

Anderson, Kermyt G.

2017 Evolutionary Psychology

doi: 10.1177/1474704917710115pmid: 28580807

A substantial theoretical and empirical literature suggests that stressful events in childhood influence the timing and patterning of subsequent sexual and reproductive behaviors. Stressful childhood environments have been predicted to produce a life history strategy in which adults are oriented more toward short-term mating behaviors and less toward behaviors consistent with longevity. This article tests the hypothesis that adverse childhood environment will predict adult outcomes in two areas: risky sexual behavior (engagement in sexual risk behavior or having taken an HIV test) and marital status (currently married vs. never married, divorced, or a member of an unmarried couple). Data come from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. The sample contains 17,530 men and 23,978 women aged 18–54 years living in 13 U.S. states plus the District of Columbia. Adverse childhood environment is assessed through 11 retrospective measures of childhood environment, including having grown up with someone who was depressed or mentally ill, who was an alcoholic, who used or abused drugs, or who served time in prison; whether one’s parents divorced in childhood; and two scales measuring childhood exposure to violence and to sexual trauma. The results indicate that adverse childhood environment is associated with increased likelihood of engaging in sexual risk behaviors or taking an HIV test, and increased likelihood of being in an unmarried couple or divorced/separated, for both men and women. The predictions are supported by the data, lending further support to the hypothesis that childhood environments influence adult reproductive strategy.