bims-chumac Biomed News
on Context effects on human mate choice
Issue of 2021–08–22
six papers selected by
Thomas Krichel, Open Library Society
  1. An exploratory, cross-cultural study on perception of putative cyclical changes in facial fertility cues.
  2. Perceptual Accuracy for Sexual Rejection in Romantic Relationships.
  3. Singlehood and Attunement of Self-Esteem to Friendships.
  4. Online Dating Is Shifting Educational Inequalities in Marriage Formation in Germany.
  5. Sugar Dating, Perceptions of Power, and Condom Use: Comparing the Sexual Health Risk Behaviours of Sugar Dating to Non-Sugar Dating Women.
  6. Exploring Reflections, Motivations, and Experiential Outcomes of First Same-Sex/Gender Sexual Experiences among Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Other Sexual Minority Individuals.
  1. Sci Rep. 2021 Aug 19. 11(1): 16911
    An exploratory, cross-cultural study on perception of putative cyclical changes in facial fertility cues.
    Urszula M Marcinkowska, Benedict C Jones, Huaijan Cai, Jorge Contreras-Garduno, Ike E Onyishi, Charles T Orjiakor, Keshav Prasai, Farid Pazhoohi, Hirokazu Taniguchi, Anthony J Lee.
      Although many researchers have argued that facial traits evolved as honest cues to women's current fertility (possibly via changes in facial femininity), evidence that women's facial attractiveness is significantly, positively related to probability of conception throughout menstrual cycle is mixed. These mixed results could reflect differences among studies in the methods used to assess facial attractiveness (i.e., forced choice versus rating-scale methods), differences in how fertility was assessed, differences in perceiver characteristics (e.g., their own attractiveness), and facial preferences possibly being moderated by the characteristics of the living environment. Consequently, the current study investigated the putative effect of cyclical changes in fertility on women's facial attractiveness and femininity (1) using forced choice and rating-scale method, (2) conducting both ovulation tests and repeated daily measures of estradiol assessing the conception probability, (3) based on a culturally diverse sample of perceivers, while (4) controlling for inter-individual variation. Although we found some limited evidence that women's faces became more attractive when conception probability increased, these effects differed depending on the methods used to assess both attractiveness and fertility. Moreover, where statistically significant effects were observed, the effect sizes were extremely small. Similarly, there was little robust evidence that perceivers' characteristics reliably predicted preferences for fertility cues. Collectively, these results suggest that mixed results in previous studies examining cyclical fluctuation in women's facial attractiveness are unlikely to reflect inter-cultural differences and are more likely to reflect differences in the methods used to assess facial attractiveness and fertility.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-96454-w
  2. Arch Sex Behav. 2021 Aug 19.
    Perceptual Accuracy for Sexual Rejection in Romantic Relationships.
    Kiersten Dobson, James Kim, Emily A Impett.
      In the current research, we investigated perceptual accuracy in romantic partners' detection of sexual rejection. In two daily diary studies of predominantly cisgender heterosexual couples, we examined patterns of accuracy and bias concerning both the degree of sexual disinterest (Study 1; N = 98 couples) and occurrence of sexual rejection (Study 2; N = 115 couples), as well as how these perceptions were associated with satisfaction. Using a multi-method approach to capture both continuous and categorical operationalizations of sexual rejection (Study 1: truth and bias; Study 2: quasi-signal detection), we found that people were both accurate and biased in their perceptions of partner rejection. Across studies, results showed that people demonstrated general tracking accuracy in detecting a partner's sexual rejection, but they also overestimated the degree and occurrence of this rejection. Additionally, this overestimation bias was associated with lower daily relationship and sexual satisfaction. Overall, our findings highlight the importance of dyadic perceptions of sexual rejection in shaping daily relationship and sexual functioning.
    Keywords:  Accuracy and bias; Person perception; Romantic relationships; Sexual rejection
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-021-02126-1
  3. Soc Psychol Personal Sci. 2021 Sep;12(7): 1326-1334
    Singlehood and Attunement of Self-Esteem to Friendships.
    Alexandra N Fisher, Danu Anthony Stinson, Joanne V Wood, John G Holmes, Jessica J Cameron.
      Romantic relationships activate a process of psychological attunement whereby self-esteem becomes responsive to the romantic bond, thereby potentially benefitting relationship quality and bolstering self-esteem. Yet some people are romantically single, raising the question: Do single people also exhibit psychological attunement? In a 2-year longitudinal study of young adults (N = 279), we test whether singles psychologically attune to their friendships. Multilevel modeling revealed that within-person fluctuations in friendship quality predicted within-person fluctuations in self-esteem, and this association was stronger for singles than for partnered people. A cross-sectional mediation analysis also revealed that singles invested more in their friendships than partnered people, and greater friendship investment predicted greater friendship quality and self-esteem later on. Finally, singles maintain their friendship quality over time while partnered people experience declines. Taken together, these results suggest that singles are psychologically attuned to their friendships, and such attunement may benefit their belongingness and self-esteem.
    Keywords:  belonging; friendship; interpersonal processes; interpersonal relationships; longitudinal methodology; relationships; self-concept; self-esteem; single people; social support
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550620988460
  4. Demography. 2021 Aug 18. pii: 9420350. [Epub ahead of print]
    Online Dating Is Shifting Educational Inequalities in Marriage Formation in Germany.
    Gina Potarca.
      Digital technologies govern a large part of our social lives, including the pursuit of a romantic partner. Despite recent inquiries into the social consequences of meeting online, what remains unclear is how the link between education and union formation varies in online versus offline meeting contexts, particularly on the backdrop of growing educational gaps in marriage. Using 2008-2019 pairfam data from Germany (N = 3,561), this study ran a series of Fine-Gray competing risks models to assess how online dating shapes the transition to marriage for partnered adults with nontertiary and tertiary education. Results reveal that irrespective of education, men in online-formed couples had greater chances of marrying than men in couples established offline. Highly educated women who met their partner in nondigital ways were less prone to marry than lower-educated women; for women in couples initiated online, however, the pattern was reversed. The internet dating marriage advantage of well-educated women was partly related to better matching on marriage attitudes and gender ideology. Facing a scarcity of eligible partners offline, high-educated women draw on more abundant online options to select more egalitarian-minded men. This study overall suggests that internet dating fosters an uneven distribution of opportunities for marriage, highlighting the role of digital partner markets in the social demography of union formation.
    Keywords:  Education; Gender; Internet dating; Marriage; Technology
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1215/00703370-9420350
  5. J Sex Res. 2021 Aug 19. 1-11
    Sugar Dating, Perceptions of Power, and Condom Use: Comparing the Sexual Health Risk Behaviours of Sugar Dating to Non-Sugar Dating Women.
    Kimberley M Kirkeby, Justin J Lehmiller, Michael J Marks.
      Sugar dating is a form of dating typically characterized by wealthier, older men providing financial support to younger, less financially secure women in exchange for companionship and sexual intimacy. The goals of the current study were to (1) quantitatively assess the sexual practices of sugar dating women in their arrangements with sugar daddies, including time spent on sexual activity, average number of current partners, and relative perceptions of relationship power, (2) examine how perceptions of power within arrangements relate to condom use with sugar daddies, and (3) compare samples of sugar dating and non-sugar dating women on both condom use consistency by partner type and rates of STI testing and diagnoses. Overall, condom use for all women was highest with casual sexual partners and lowest with romantic partners, with sugar dating women's condom use with sugar daddies in between. Consistent with social exchange theory, perception of power within sugar dating arrangements predicted condom use with sugar daddies, such that women who felt they held more power reported more consistent condom use. Further, sugar dating women were twice as likely to have been diagnosed with an STI but were more than six times as likely to have been tested for STIs.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2021.1962782
  6. J Sex Res. 2021 Aug 18. 1-13
    Exploring Reflections, Motivations, and Experiential Outcomes of First Same-Sex/Gender Sexual Experiences among Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Other Sexual Minority Individuals.
    I J Gillespie, H L Armstrong, R Ingham.
      First sex is an important event in an individual's sexual development. Previous literature has, however, primarily investigated first heterosexual sex, overlooking important contextual factors specific to same-sex/gender sexual experiences. Seventeen in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with lesbian, gay, bisexual, and other sexual minority (LGB+) individuals, ages 18-23 years. Four themes emerged from thematic analysis of reported thoughts, affect, and behavior. First, participants reported difficulty defining sex between same-sex/gender partners, especially women who reported that this undermined their personal relationships and identity. Second, participants met partners through several means; however, it was almost exclusively men who reported meeting their first partners online. Third, motivations for first same sex/gender sex included affirmation of personal sexual identity, sexual exploration, social expectation, and spontaneity. Fourth, participants felt underprepared for their first same-sex/gender sex, noting that their earlier sex and relationship education had not included information on same-sex/gender sex or LGB+ identities. Consequently, participants reported relying on experienced partners and seeking information on the internet, including pornography and social media. Greater cultural representation and more comprehensive sex education that recognizes sexual diversity is needed to better prepare LGB+ young people for early sexual encounters.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2021.1960944
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