Altruism as a courtship display: Some effects of third‐party generosity on audience perceptions

Abstract

Public generosity may be a means to convincingly advertise one's good character. This hypothesis suggests that altruistic individuals will be desirable as romantic partners. Few studies have tested this prediction, and these showed mixed results. Some studies have found that altruism is not particularly attractive; other studies showed that altruism is attractive by contrasting descriptions of 'nice guys' with 'jerks'. The present study sought to resolve this debate by having participants read a series of experimentally manipulated vignettes of persons with corresponding photographs, such that altruistic vignettes were compared with control descriptions that differed only in the presence or absence of small hints of altruistic tendencies. Altruists were more desirable for long-term relationships than neutral individuals. Women also preferred altruists for single dates whereas men had no such preference. These results are discussed with regard to the idea that people (males in particular) signal their good character via generosity.

Sexual selection and the evolution of altruism: males are more altruistic and cooperative towards attractive females

“…This supports the sexual selection hypothesis in explaining altruism; people are altruistic and cooperative towards attractive people because it assists in mating success. Although participants were not playing an economic game, the above findings are partially consistent with previous research (Barclay, 2010;Farrelly et al, 2007). Participants were altruistic and cooperative towards attractive people.…”

“…It is a well-known fact that generosity leads to rewards (Oda, Niwa, Honma, & Hiraishi, 2011), with recent research suggesting that generosity can lead to rewards in the mating market (Barclay, 2013). As a result, contemporary explanations for the evolution of altruism derive from sexual selection which suggests that altruism may act as a mating signal (particularly for males, see Iredale, Van Vugt, & Dunbar, 2008), increasing one's reproductive fitness, mate value, thus increasing one's chances of being selected as a mate (Barclay, 2010).…”

“…For example, Farrelly, Lazarus, and Roberts (2007) found that people are more altruistic towards those they are attracted to when playing online economic games such as the mutualisation game and prisoners dilemma. In addition, the sexual selection hypothesis has also been tested by Barclay (2010) who found that altruists are perceived as more attractive than non-altruists, suggesting that sexual selection plays a role in explaining why we are altruistic towards non-kin and those we have had no prior communication with.…”

Charitable giving among females and males: an empirical test of the competitive altruism hypothesis

“…In line with this assumption, Eagly and Crowley (1986) found in a meta-analytic review of the psychological literature on helping behavior that males help a stranger more often than females, if they are in the presence of onlookers but not if they are alone. Furthermore, Barclay (2010) showed that males are perceived as more attractive by women (but not vice versa) if they are described as altruistic. There is also some evidence that males contributed more to a public good in the presence of a female person but not vice versa (Van Vugt and Iredale, in press).…”

Natural philanthropy: a new evolutionary framework explaining diverse experimental results and informing fundraising practice

“…Given the biologically unequal costs of reproduction, women in particular would be advantaged by successfully identifying a mate willing to be more than just transactionally reciprocal. Barclay (2010), found that including small hints of philanthropic tendencies in descriptions of potential dates increased women's ratings of the described men's desirability for friendship or long-term relationships. Correspondingly, men contributed more to charity when observed by a woman rather than a man (Iredale et al, 2008).…”