A multivariate approach to human mate preferences

Human mate choice is complicated, with various individual differences and contextual factors influencing preferences for numerous traits. However, focused studies on human mate choice often do not capture this multivariate complexity. Here, we consider multiple factors simultaneously to demonstrate the advantages of a multivariate approach to human mate preferences. Participants (N = 689) rated the attractiveness of opposite-sex online dating profiles that were independently manipulated on facial attractiveness, perceived facial masculinity/femininity, and intelligence. Participants were also randomly instructed to either consider short- or long-term relationships. Using fitness surfaces analyses, we assess the linear and nonlinear effects and interactions of the profiles' facial attractiveness, perceived facial masculinity/femininity, and perceived intelligence on participants' attractiveness ratings. Using hierarchical linear modeling, we were also able to consider the independent contribution of participants' individual differences on their revealed preferences for the manipulated traits. These individual differences included participants' age, socioeconomic status, education, disgust (moral, sexual, and pathogen), sociosexual orientation, personality variables, masculinity, and mate value. Together, our results illuminate various previously undetectable phenomena, including nonlinear preference functions and interactions with individual differences. More broadly, the study illustrates the value of considering both individual variation and population-level measures when addressing questions of sexual selection, and demonstrates the utility of multivariate approaches to complement focused studies

Social dominance orientation predicts heterosexual men’s adverse reactions to romantic rejection

We examined the role of social dominance orientation (SDO) as a predictor of men’s reactions to romantic rejection and attitudes toward female sexuality. In Study 1 (n = 158), we found that men who scored higher in SDO were more likely to blame women for romantic rejection, and report having responded to women’s past rejection with persistence and manipulation (e.g., convincing her to “give him another chance”), as well as with aggression and threats of violence. In Study 2 (n = 398), we replicated these findings, and further found that men higher in SDO were more likely to endorse rape myths (e.g., believing that sometimes a woman’s barriers need to be “broken down” in order to attain sex), and to want to lower the legal age of sexual consent in women. Two mediators explained this relationship, hostile sexism and the belief that insubordinate women need to be disciplined. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed

An evolutionary perspective on mate rejection

We argue that mate rejection and ex-partner relationships are important, multifaceted topics that have been underresearched in social and evolutionary psychology. Mate rejection and relationship dissolution are ubiquitous and form integral parts of the human experience. Both also carry with them potential risks and benefits to our fitness and survival. Hence, we expect that mate rejection would have given rise to evolved behavioral and psychological adaptations. Herein, we outline some of the many unanswered questions in evolutionary psychology on these topics, at each step presenting novel hypotheses about how men and women should behave when rejecting a mate or potential mate or in response to rejection. We intend these hypotheses and suggestions for future research to be used as a basis for enriching our understanding of human mating from an evolutionary perspective

Parent-offspring conflict in mate preferences

Prevailing evolutionary approaches to human mating have largely ignored the fact that mating decisions are heavily influenced by parents and other kin. This is significant because parents and children often have conflicting mate preferences. We provide a brief review of how parents have influenced their children's mating behavior across cultures and throughout history. Then, by drawing on evolutionary reasoning, we offer a hypothesis for why parents and offspring may have conflicting interests with respect to mate preferences. Specifically, parents may have a relatively stronger preference for children's mates with characteristics suggesting high parental investment and cooperation with the ingroup, whereas children may have a relatively stronger preference for mates with characteristics signaling heritable fitness. We review past research consistent with this hypothesis, and we report new results from an empirical study consisting of 768 participants from a variety of cultures that provided clear support for the hypothesis

Male and female nipples as a test case for the assumption that functional features vary less than nonfunctional byproducts

Objectives: Evolutionary researchers have sometimes taken findings of low variation in the size or shape of a biological feature to indicate that it is functional and under strong evolutionary selection, and have assumed that high variation implies weak or absent selection and therefore lack of function. Methods: To test this assumption we compared the size variation (using a mean-adjusted measure of absolute variability) of the functional human female nipple (defined as the nipple-areola complex) with that of the non-functional human male nipple. Results: We found that female nipples were significantly more variable than male nipples, even after controlling for body mass index, testing-room temperature, bust size in women, and chest size in men. Conclusions: Morphological variation in a feature should not be used by itself to infer whether or not the feature is functional or under selection

Human facial attributes, but not perceived intelligence, are used as cues of health and resource provision potential

Avoiding disease and acquiring resources have been recurrent challenges throughout human evolution. These abilities are particularly relevant to mate preferences, as pathogens and resources can both be transferred between mates and to mutual offspring. Based on 689 participants' attractiveness ratings of manipulated online dating profiles, we tested whether pathogen and resource concerns predicted revealed mate preferences for facial attractiveness, facial sexual dimorphism, and perceived intelligence and also whether these different trait preferences were intercorrelated. Supporting our predictions, pathogen concerns positively predicted men and women's preferences for facial attractiveness and men's preference for facial femininity, whereas women's resource concerns negatively predicted their preference for facial masculinity. Unexpectedly, neither pathogen nor resource concerns predicted preference for greater perceived intelligence. Further, preference for perceived intelligence was negatively correlated with preference for facial attractiveness, which was positively correlated with preference for facial sexual dimorphism. These findings suggest that facial attributes are used in mate assessment as cues of health and likelihood of resource provisioning, whereas intelligence may primarily be used as a cue of other, distinct qualities

Sex differences in parental preferences over a child’s mate choice: A daughter’s perspective

Although parental influence over mate choice is important to human mating decisions, it is often overlooked within evolutionary psychology. Based on evolutionary theory, we predict that, while both parents likely influence a child’s mate choice, daughters will perceive having a low quality partner (i.e., traits indicating poor parental investment, a lack of creativity, and physical unattractiveness) would be more unacceptable to their mother when compared with the father. However, daughters will perceive having a partner with traits indicating low social status as more unacceptable to their father when compared with the mother. The results supported the hypotheses

The role of overconfidence in romantic desirability and competition

Four studies and a computer simulation tested the hypothesis that people who are overconfident in their self-assessments may be more successful in attracting mates. In Study 1, overconfident people were perceived as more confident in their dating profiles, and this perceived confidence predicted increased romantic desirability. Study 2 revealed that overconfident people also tend to be perceived as arrogant, which counteracts the positive effects of perceived confidence. However, Study 3 revealed that overconfidence might confer an advantage in intrasexual competition, as people were less likely to compete with overconfident individuals by virtue of their perceived confidence and arrogance. Study 4 showed that overconfident raters were also more likely to choose to compete for romantic partners. In Study 5, agent-based modeling incorporating the coefficients from these studies suggested that overconfidence facilitates mate acquisition in the presence of intrasexual competition