bims-chumac 2023-04-23 papers

bims-chumac

Biomed News

on Context effects on human mate choice

Issue of 2023–04–23
eight papers selected by
Thomas Krichel, Open Library Society

When less is not more: the effect of transparent masks on facial attractiveness judgment.
The Experiences Surrounding Romantic Relationships of Korean Bisexual Individuals.
Men's Facial Hair Preferences Reflect Facial Hair Impression Management Functions Across Contexts and Men Know It.
Understanding the Impact of Aging on Attractiveness Using a Machine Learning Model of Facial Age Progression.
Sexual Scripts and Sexual Consent: Gender Stereotypes, Music-Media Messages, and Sexual Consent Expectancies Among College Men and Women.
The Role of Consent and Motivations in Sext Dissemination.
The Art of Seduction: Male Endorsement of Coercive and Willful Sex Tactics.
RETHINKING INTOXICATED SEXUAL ENCOUNTERS.

Cogn Res Princ Implic. 2023 Apr 15. 8(1): 21

When less is not more: the effect of transparent masks on facial attractiveness judgment.

Yongseong Lee, Su Keun Jeong.

  During the COVID-19 pandemic, face masks have been widely used in daily life. Previous studies have suggested that faces wearing typical masks that occlude the lower half of the face are perceived as more attractive than face without masks. However, relatively little work has been done on how transparent masks that reveal the lower half of the face affect the judgment of facial attractiveness. To investigate the effect of transparent masks on the perceived attractiveness, in the current study, we asked participants to rate the attractiveness of faces without masks and with a typical opaque mask and a transparent mask. The results showed that faces wearing opaque masks were evaluated as more attractive than those wearing transparent masks or no masks. The benefit of opaque masks was more pronounced in faces that were initially evaluated as unattractive. Interestingly, wearing transparent masks decreased the perceived attractiveness of faces but only for the faces initially rated as attractive, possibly because of the visual distortion of the lower half of the face by transparent masks. In summary, we found that opaque and transparent masks have different effects on perceived attractiveness, depending on the attractiveness of faces. Given benefits of transparent masks in socio-emotional and cognitive processing, it would be important to further understand the effect of transparent masks on face information processing.

Keywords:  COVID-19; Face masks; Face occlusion; Facial attractiveness; Transparent masks

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1186/s41235-023-00477-y
Front Psychol. 2023 ;14 1083446

The Experiences Surrounding Romantic Relationships of Korean Bisexual Individuals.

Jeongeun Park, Seojin Chung.

   Introduction: In recent years, the level of social and academic interest in sexual minorities has been gradually increasing. However, studies on bisexual individuals and the data on experiences of bisexual individuals outside the United States are scarce.
Methods: To decrease the gap in the literature, this study examined the experiences of South Korean bisexual individuals in the context of romantic relationships via semi-structured, in-depth interviews. Participants were recruited through online-based platforms, and the interview with eight participants was analyzed.
Results: Five main themes were identified: discovering myself as bisexual, being exposed to discrimination and exclusion, being affected by the sex of a romantic partner, protecting myself when engaging in a romantic relationship, and benefits of a romantic relationship.
Discussion: The findings suggest that Korea's heteronormative system and culture were the major challenges perceived by the participants. In conclusion, this study illustrates how sociocultural norms, social acceptance, and recognition affect bisexual identity in a romantic relationship.

Keywords:  South Korea; bisexual; qualitative research; romantic relationships; sexual minorities

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1083446
Arch Sex Behav. 2023 Apr 17.

Men's Facial Hair Preferences Reflect Facial Hair Impression Management Functions Across Contexts and Men Know It.

Łukasz Jach, Marcin Moroń, Peter K Jonason.

  Men with distinct facial hair are perceived as more aggressive, dominant, older, and more formidable, mostly by other men. However, despite considerable interest in the social perception of beardedness, only a few studies have explored men's preferences toward facial hair. We investigated men's preferences toward facial hair and whether their judgments of facial hair appropriateness in social situations depended on their actual beardedness and the type of social interaction (N = 509; age: M = 29.35, SD = 7.24). Men preferred having more facial hair, particularly when they have a heavy stubble or a full beard. Men preferred more facial hair for themselves compared to other men, suggesting that men's preferences for facial hair could be based on the frequency-dependent value of a display, namely more value assigned to rarer attributes. Men's judgments of the appropriateness of facial hair were sensitive to social situations for displaying facial hair as well. More facial hair was considered more appropriate for informal situations, especially with another man. Social norms associated with formal interaction could, therefore, limit the impression management functions of beards in intrasexual competition.

Keywords:  Facial hair; Impression management; Intrasexual competition; Social perception; Social situations

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-023-02595-6
Facial Plast Surg Aesthet Med. 2023 Apr 12.

Understanding the Impact of Aging on Attractiveness Using a Machine Learning Model of Facial Age Progression.

Keon M Parsa, Amir A Hakimi, Tonja Hollis, Sarah C Shearer, Eugenia Chu, Michael J Reilly.

Background: Advances in machine learning age progression technology offer the unique opportunity to better understand the public's perception on the aging face. Objective: To compare how observers perceive attractiveness and traditional gender traits in faces created with a machine learning model. Methods: Eight surveys were developed, each with 10 sets of photographs that were progressively aged with a machine learning model. Respondents rated attractiveness and masculinity or femininity of each photograph using a sliding scale (range: 0-100). Mean attractiveness scores were calculated and compared between men and women as well as between age groups. Results: A total of 315 respondents (51% men, 49% women) completed the survey. Accuracy of the facial age progression model was 85%. Females were considered significantly less attractive (-10.43, p < 0.01) and less feminine (-7.59, p < 0.01) per decade with the greatest drop over age 40 years. Male attractiveness and masculinity were relatively preserved until age 50 years where attractiveness scores were significantly lower (-5.45, p = 0.39). Conclusions: In this study, observers were found to perceive attractiveness at older ages differently between men and women.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1089/fpsam.2022.0273
J Interpers Violence. 2023 Apr 17. 8862605231165766

Sexual Scripts and Sexual Consent: Gender Stereotypes, Music-Media Messages, and Sexual Consent Expectancies Among College Men and Women.

Kathleen Boyce Rodgers, Stacey J T Hust, Jiayu Li, Soojung Kang, Ariana L Garcia.

  The pervasiveness of sexual assault among college women prompted examination of college students' sexual-consent expectancies using sexual scripting theory as a framework. We aimed to understand how personal beliefs, experiences with sexual violence, and dominant cultural gendered sexual scripts in music media inform sexual-consent expectancies among a sample of primarily White heterosexual college students at a northwestern university (n = 364). Participants viewed music videos with sexual and objectifying content and reported their perceptions of how women were portrayed. Linear mixed modeling with Maximum Likelihood with interactions by biological sex revealed associations between past sexual victimization and lower expectancies to adhere to a sexual partner's consent wishes. Men with a history of perpetrating sexual violence had lower expectancies to ask for consent, and women with more traditional sexual stereotypes had lower expectancies to seek consent or refuse unwanted sex. Having lower expectancies to adhere to a partner's consent wishes was associated with holding more traditional sexual stereotypes for both men and women. Participants who perceived women as powerlessness in viewed music videos had lower expectancies to ask for consent from a sexual partner, to refuse unwanted sexual advances, and to adhere to a decision regarding sexual consent. Through the lens of sexual scripting theory, results advance understanding of how the intersection of biological sex, experiences of sexual violence, gendered beliefs, and cultural scripts in music media inform young adults' sexual expectancies and potential for sexual risk. Implications for prevention include addressing gendered sexual scripts to reduce ambiguity around sexual consent among college students. Media-based interventions are discussed as a strategy toward this end.

Keywords:  cultural contexts; date rape; media and violence; sexual assault; sexuality

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1177/08862605231165766
J Interpers Violence. 2023 Apr 17. 8862605231163886

The Role of Consent and Motivations in Sext Dissemination.

Elizabeth M Clancy, David Hallford, Evita March, Dominika Howard, John W Toumbourou, Bianca Klettke.

  Sext dissemination (i.e., the online sharing of sexually explicit images) has the potential to result in legal, social, and psychological harms. Recent research has shown that this behavior can be consensual or non-consensual in nature; yet little is known about how motivations or attitudes may differ between these forms, or with gender. This study is based on a cross-sectional online survey investigating consensual and non-consensual sext dissemination and associated demographic, behavioral, attitudinal, and psychological factors. Participants were 2,126 cisgendered adults aged 18 to 30 years (M = 22.97, SD = 3.21, 55% women, 45% men), resident in Western, English-speaking nations, particularly Australia. Around 10% of respondents reported disseminating texts, and of these, only 19.8% indicated they had permission for this, with no differences across gender. When sexts were disseminated "to gossip," this was significantly more likely to be non-consensual. There were no significant differences between consensual and non-consensual dissemination in subjective attitudes or norms toward dissemination, nor levels of psychological distress. Women were more likely to non-consensually disseminate sexts that had been received as unwanted or unwelcome. Consensual dissemination was weakly associated with being sexually active and having given consent to having one's own images disseminated. We discuss implications for future research regarding consent, and relationship and sexuality education.

Keywords:  internet and abuse; mental health and violence; offenders; sexual assault

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1177/08862605231163886
J Interpers Violence. 2023 Apr 22. 8862605231168825

The Art of Seduction: Male Endorsement of Coercive and Willful Sex Tactics.

Elizabeth Jacqueline Starrett, Kathryn Sperry, Renee V Galliher.

  The body of sexual assault research historically focuses on survivors, specifically female survivors. Examining the beliefs of men who endorse sexually violent or coercive behavior fills an important gap in the literature. The current study surveyed 420 male participants on their endorsement of coercive dating tactics as provided in a best-selling men's dating book, as well as endorsement of dating tactics generated from a sexual willingness framework. Overall, approximately 25% of male participants reported using or endorsing coercive sexual tactics. Several demographic factors and experiences related to higher endorsement of the coercive tactics, including past or present involvement in a fraternity, knowing a sexual assault perpetrator, affiliating with a religion, and frequent pornography viewing. The same individual factors related to endorsing the coercive tactics were associated with endorsing the willful tactics as well. Implications for greater representation in research for sexual minorities are discussed, as well as future direction for effective consent education.

Keywords:  GLBT; cultural contexts; date rape; media and violence; offenders; sexual assault

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1177/08862605231168825
Drugs (Abingdon Engl). 2023 ;30(1): 31-41

RETHINKING INTOXICATED SEXUAL ENCOUNTERS.

Alexandra Bogren, Geoffrey Hunt, Margit Anne Petersen.

Social research on alcohol and sexual encounters has tended to be siloed into several different research endeavors, each addressing separate aspects of wanted and unwanted sexual encounters. While sociologists have focused on the patterns of social interaction, status competition, and emotional hierarchies of sexual encounters, they have left the role of alcohol intoxication largely unexamined. Conversely, the two dominant approaches to sexual encounters within alcohol research, the theories of alcohol myopia and alcohol expectancy, while focusing on alcohol have tended to take little account of the socio-relational dynamics and gendered meanings involved in those encounters. Our aim in this theoretical paper is to begin to bring together some of the concepts from these different research strands in examining how the social processes of intoxication potentially impact heteronormative sexual scripts and hence notions of femininity and masculinity among cisgender, heterosexual women and men. Our discussion is focused on the concepts of ritual and scripts; power, status, and hierarchies; and socio-spatial contexts, which are central to an understanding of the gendered and embodied social practices that take place within intoxicated sexual events; the emotional nature of the socio-spatial contexts within which they occur; and the socio-structural conditions that frame these events.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09687637.2022.2055446