bims-chumac Biomed News
on Context effects on human mate choice
Issue of 2023–02–19
eight papers selected by
Thomas Krichel, Open Library Society
  1. The Role of Sexual and Romantic Attraction in Human Mate Preferences.
  2. Good conduct makes your face attractive: The effect of personality perception on facial attractiveness judgments.
  3. Articulatory effects on perceptions of men's status and attractiveness.
  4. Dual Mating Strategies Observed in Male Clients of Female Sex Workers.
  5. Sexual Experiences and Attachment Styles in Online and Offline Dating Contexts.
  6. "They Were Talking to an Idea They Had About Me": A Qualitative Analysis of Transgender Individuals' Experiences Using Dating Apps.
  7. Responsiveness in the Face of Sexual Challenges: The Role of Sexual Growth and Destiny Beliefs.
  8. Decomposing trends in educational homogamy and heterogamy - The case of Ireland.
  1. J Sex Res. 2023 Feb 16. 1-14
    The Role of Sexual and Romantic Attraction in Human Mate Preferences.
    Meike Scheller, Alexandra A de Sousa, Lori A Brotto, Anthony C Little.
      Sex differences in mate preferences are ubiquitous, having been evidenced across generations and cultures. Their prevalence and persistence have compellingly placed them in the evolutionarily adaptive context of sexual selection. However, the psycho-biological mechanisms contributing to their generation and maintenance remain poorly understood. As such a mechanism, sexual attraction is assumed to guide interest, desire, and the affinity toward specific partner features. However, whether sexual attraction can indeed explain sex differences in partner preferences has not been explicitly tested. To better understand how sex and sexual attraction shape mate preferences in humans we assessed how partner preferences differed across the spectrum of sexual attraction in a sample of 479 individuals that identified as asexual, gray-sexual, demisexual or allosexual. We further tested whether romantic attraction predicted preference profiles better than sexual attraction. Our results show that sexual attraction accounts for highly replicable sex differences in mate preferences for high social status and financial prospects, conscientiousness, and intelligence; however, it does not account for the enhanced preference for physical attractiveness expressed by men, which persists even in individuals with low sexual attraction. Instead, sex differences in physical attractiveness preference are better explained by the degree of romantic attraction. Furthermore, effects of sexual attraction on sex differences in partner preferences were grounded in current rather than previous experiences of sexual attraction. Taken together, the results support the idea that contemporary sex differences in partner preferences are maintained by several psycho-biological mechanisms that evolved in conjunction, including not only sexual but also romantic attraction.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2023.2176811
  2. PLoS One. 2023 ;18(2): e0281758
    Good conduct makes your face attractive: The effect of personality perception on facial attractiveness judgments.
    Ryosuke Niimi, Mami Goto.
      Human facial attractiveness is related to physical features, such as clear complexion and symmetry. However, it is also known that facial attractiveness judgments are influenced by a wide range of non-physical factors. Here, we examined the effect of the personality information of a target person on facial attractiveness judgments. In Experiment 1, participants read a verbal description of a target person (high or low honesty), followed by the presentation of the target face and facial attractiveness rating. The honest personality increased the rated facial attractiveness, replicating a previous report. This "honesty premium" effect was independent of pre-rated facial attractiveness (Experiment 1), target gender, participant gender, and target clothing (Experiment 2). Experiment 3 found that creative personality did not affect facial attractiveness ratings, while an aggressive personality was suggested to decrease the rated facial attractiveness of male targets. We did not find evidence that participants' moods caused these effects. The results suggest that the "what is good is beautiful" stereotype is robust and that facial attractiveness is malleable and dependent on various physical and non-physical information.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0281758
  3. Sci Rep. 2023 Feb 14. 13(1): 2647
    Articulatory effects on perceptions of men's status and attractiveness.
    Sethu Karthikeyan, David A Puts, Toe Aung, Jennifer K Link, Kevin Rosenfield, Alexander Mackiel, Allisen Casey, Kaelyn Marks, Michele Cristo, Jenny Patel, Aliza Santos, Glenn Geher.
      Research on heterosexual mating has demonstrated that acoustic parameters (e.g., pitch) of men's voices influence their attractiveness to women and appearance of status and formidability to other men. However, little is known about how men's tendency to clearly articulate their speech influences these important social perceptions. In the current study, we used a repeated-measures design to investigate how men's articulatory clarity or conformity influenced women's (N = 45) evaluations of men's attractiveness for both short- and long-term relationships, and men's (N = 46) evaluations of physical formidability and prestige. Results largely supported our hypotheses: men who enunciated phonemes more distinctly were more attractive to women for long-term relationships than short-term relationships and were perceived by other men to have higher prestige than physical dominance. These findings suggest that aspects of articulatory behavior that influence perceptions of prestige and long-term mating attractiveness may indicate an early social history characterized by high socioeconomic status, likely owing to crystallization of articulatory patterns during the critical period of language development. These articulatory patterns may also be honest signals of condition or disposition owing to the nature of complex, multicomponent traits, which deserve further empirical attention.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-29173-z
  4. Hum Nat. 2023 Feb 17.
    Dual Mating Strategies Observed in Male Clients of Female Sex Workers.
    Jade Butterworth, Samuel Pearson, William von Hippel.
      Humans have a complex and dynamic mating system, and there is evidence that our modern sexual preferences stem from evolutionary pressures. In the current paper we explore male use of a dual mating strategy: simultaneously pursuing both a long-term relationship (pair-bonding) as well as short-term, extra-pair copulations (variety-seeking). The primary constraint on such sexual pursuits is partner preferences, which can limit male behavior and hence cloud inferences about male preferences. The aim of this study was to investigate heterosexual male mating preferences when largely unconstrained by female partner preferences. In service of this goal, female full-service sex workers (N = 6) were surveyed on the traits and behaviors of their male clients (N = 516) and iterative cluster analysis was used to identify male mating typologies. Two clusters emerged: clients seeking a pair-bonding experience and clients seeking a variety experience. Results also suggested that romantically committed men were more likely to seek a variety experience than a relationship experience. We conclude that men desire both pair-bonding and sexual variety, and that their preference for one might be predicted by fulfilment of the other. These findings have implications for relationships, providing insight into motivations for male infidelity.
    Keywords:  Dual mating strategy; Male sexual preferences; Pair-bonding; Sex work; Variety seeking
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1007/s12110-023-09439-1
  5. Int J Sex Health. 2022 ;34(4): 665-678
    Sexual Experiences and Attachment Styles in Online and Offline Dating Contexts.
    John K Coffey, D Kyle Bond, Jessica A Stern, Natalie Van Why.
      Nearly 50% of adults under age 29 report using some form of online dating to find sexual partners or romantic relationships. Limited evidence suggests online and offline dating behaviors and experiences can vary. We aimed to expand understanding these differences by examining how attachment styles are associated with online and offline search for partners and emotional responses to sexual experiences. In a sample of single adults (N = 247; M age= 27.34), we examine how attachment styles relate to individual differences in how people search for partners and respond to sexual experiences with partners met online and offline. Individuals high in attachment anxiety reported higher use of online dating apps and more negative experiences (e.g., lower satisfaction, more guilt) following their most recent sexual encounters with partners met online and offline, and reported feeling more used after engaging in sexual activity specifically with partners met offline. Individuals high in avoidance also reported more negative experiences following their most recent sexual encounters, but only with partners met offline. This study moves our understanding by highlighting nuances in how attachment insecurity is associated with differences in online dating app use and emotions following sexual experiences when meeting partners online and offline.
    Keywords:  attachment; emotion; online dating; romantic relationships; satisfaction; sexual behaviors
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1080/19317611.2022.2110349
  6. J Sex Res. 2023 Feb 17. 1-14
    "They Were Talking to an Idea They Had About Me": A Qualitative Analysis of Transgender Individuals' Experiences Using Dating Apps.
    Daniel A Griffiths, Heather L Armstrong.
      Dating app use is common and has become particularly relevant for transgender and non-binary people seeking platonic, romantic, and sexual connections with others. In this qualitative study, 15 transgender and non-binary individuals (M = 22.67 years, SD = 3.09 years) were interviewed to explore their experiences using dating apps. Thematic analysis was used to generate themes and subthemes. Six themes were identified: 1) connection to queer community; 2) expression of gender identity on dating apps; 3) fetishization on dating apps; 4) impacts of dating apps on sexual experiences; 5) safety on dating apps; and 6) recommendations for dating app developers. Results show that dating apps are an important tool used by trans/non-binary individuals to connect with others in the queer community and find platonic, romantic, and sexual partners. However, there are concerns about their use such as fears for safety and experiences of fetishization. More research, education, and implementations of app development, including the involvement of trans and non-binary people, are needed to address these concerns.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2023.2176422
  7. J Sex Res. 2023 Feb 14. 1-18
    Responsiveness in the Face of Sexual Challenges: The Role of Sexual Growth and Destiny Beliefs.
    Akshita Uppot, Stephanie Raposo, Natalie O Rosen, Serena Corsini-Munt, Rhonda Balzarini, Amy Muise.
      Implicit--or lay--sexual beliefs have been associated with how people respond to sexual challenges in romantic relationships. People who endorse sexual destiny beliefs view a satisfying sex life as the result of finding the right partner and report poorer sexual, relationship, and personal well-being when there are sexual challenges. In comparison, people who endorse sexual growth beliefs view satisfying sexual relationships as requiring hard work and effort to maintain and tend to report high sexual, relationship, and personal well-being even when facing sexual challenges. High sexual responsiveness - being motivated to meet a partner's sexual needs - is associated with maintaining high sexual satisfaction, even when couples face sexual challenges in a relationship. In the current research, we tested whether sexual growth and destiny beliefs are associated with general and sexual responsiveness and whether the associations are moderated by the presence of sexual challenges. Across three (clinical and non-clinical) samples (N = 820) facing different types of sexual challenges (Study 1 (Mage = 31.64, SD = 8.53), clinically low sexual desire; Studies 2 (Mage = 32.63, SD = 10.19) and 3 (Mage = 32.40, SD = 9.31), unmet sexual ideals; Study 3, changes in sex since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic), we found that sexual growth beliefs were associated with higher sexual responsiveness and perceived partner sexual and general responsiveness, even when couples were coping with sexual challenges, whereas sexual destiny beliefs were not associated with responsiveness, and at times were associated with lower sexual responsiveness and perceived partner sexual and general responsiveness. This research provides initial evidence about how implicit sexual beliefs are associated with sexual and general responsiveness when couples are coping with sexual challenges in a romantic relationship.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2023.2175194
  8. Soc Sci Res. 2023 Feb;pii: S0049-089X(23)00001-7. [Epub ahead of print]110 102846
    Decomposing trends in educational homogamy and heterogamy - The case of Ireland.
    Julia Leesch, Jan Skopek.
      Employing Irish Census microdata, we analyze trends in educational homogamy and heterogamy between 1991 and 2016 and examine how they can be explained by concurrent trends in three theoretically relevant socio-demographic components - (a) educational attainment, (b) the educational gradient in marriage, and (c) educational assortative mating (i.e., non-random matching). Our study proposes a novel counterfactual decomposition method to estimate the contribution of each component to changing sorting outcomes in marriages. Findings indicate rising educational homogamy, an increase in non-traditional unions in which women partner 'down' in education, and a decline in traditional unions. Decomposition results suggest that these trends are predominantly attributable to changes in women's and men's educational attainment. Furthermore, changes in the educational gradient in marrying contributed to rising homogamy and the decline in traditional unions, a fact largely overlooked in previous research. Although assortative mating has also undergone changes, they barely contribute to trends in sorting outcomes.
    Keywords:  Assortative mating; Census data; Decomposition; Educational expansion; Educational gradient in marriage
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2023.102846
This page is being maintained by Thomas Krichel. It was last updated on 2026‒10‒02 at 3:23.