Love me, because I rely on you: Dependency-oriented help-seeking as a strategy for human mating.

Existing research has suggested a predominantly negative view of dependency-oriented help. In contrast, the current research aims to test the positive function of dependency-oriented help in intimate relationships where interpersonal dependency is valued. We hypothesized that dependency-oriented help-seeking could function in communicating liking and romantic interests and, therefore, can be instrumental in attracting mates. Our hypothesis was confirmed across nine studies (N = 2,535). For help-seekers, a mate-seeking motivation could positively predict (Study 1) and lead to (Studies 2A-4) dependency-oriented help-seeking behavior tendencies (Studies 1-2B) and actual behavior (Studies 3 and 4). For help-providers, after activating a mating goal, imagining (Studies 5A and 5B) and actually receiving (Study 6) dependency-oriented (vs. autonomy-oriented) help-seeking requests from a potential mate increased help-providers' romantic interests in that mate. Study 7 further showed the function of dependency-oriented help from the perspective of romantic competitors. As such, people in romantic relationships were more likely to see a potential competitor as a mate poacher when this person asked for dependency-oriented help from their partner. Theoretical and practical implications have been discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).</p

Personal relative deprivation increases men's (but not women's) hostile sexism: the mediating role of sense of control

Hostile sexism is a blatant and explicit form of sexism consisting of antagonistic attitudes toward women. We hypothesized that men's personal relative deprivation, a subjectively perceived disadvantage, would predict their hostile sexism toward women. In addition, we expected that, if this effect occurs, a sense of control would act as a mediator. Five studies ( N = 1352) confirmed these hypotheses. Study 1 showed that personal relative deprivation predicted hostile sexism only for men, but not for women among Chinese college students. In addition, we observed the effect of personal relative deprivation only on hostile sexism, but not on benevolent sexism. Study 2, which employed participants from the United States, directly replicated the findings of Study 1. Studies 3 and 4 further showed that a sense of control acted as a mediator in this process. As such, increased hostile sexism attitude (Study 3) and hostile sexism behavior (Study 4) predicted by personal relative deprivation could result from a reduced sense of control. Study 5 further provided causal evidence that a temporarily induced state of personal relative deprivation resulted in a higher level of hostile sexism via a reduced sense of control. We discuss theoretical and practical implications for relative deprivation, gender inequality, and interventions.</p

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, I Deserve More Than All: perceived attractiveness and self-interested behavior

A substantial amount of research has demonstrated that good-looking individuals are perceived and treated in a favorable manner; however, relatively little research has examined how attractive people actually behave. There are two predominant theories on attractiveness: the self-fulfilling nature of “what is beautiful is good” from social psychology and the evolutionary perspective of attractiveness, make divergent predictions in this regard. The current research systematically investigated whether physical attractiveness can predict self-interested behavior and, if so, in which direction. Across five studies (N = 1303), self-perceived attractiveness, either chronically experienced (Studies 1–3) or temporarily heightened (Studies 4 and 5), predicted and increased self-interested behavioral intention and behavior. Increased psychological entitlement acted as a mediator in this process (Studies 1–5). Furthermore, the publicity of the act was a boundary condition for the effect of attractiveness on self-interested behavior (Study 5). We have discussed theoretical and practical implications.</p