Female intrasexual competition decreases female facial attractiveness

Abstract

Evolutionary theory predicts that female intrasexual competition will occur when males of high genetic quality are considered to be a resource. It is probable that women compete in terms of attractiveness since this is one of the primary criteria used by men when selecting mates. Furthermore, because hormones influence the mate-selection process, they may also mediate competition. One competitive strategy that women use is derogation-any act intended to decrease a rival's perceived value. To investigate intrasexual competition through derogation, the influence of oestrogen on women's ratings of female facial attractiveness was examined. During periods of high oestrogen, competition, and hence derogation, increased, as evidenced by lower ratings of female facial attractiveness. By contrast, oestrogen levels did not signif icantly affect ratings of male faces. These f indings support the theory of female intrasexual competition with respect to attractiveness.

A longitudinal analysis of women’s salivary testosterone and intrasexual competitiveness

“…These results support previous speculation that testosterone plays a key role in regulating women's intrasexual competitiveness (Cobey et al, 2013), but calls into question the suggested role of estradiol in women's relationship jealousy (Cobey et al, 2011;Geary et al, 2001). While previous research on changes in women's intrasexual competitiveness has highlighted links with estimated fertility (Durante et al, 2008(Durante et al, , 2011Fisher, 2004;Haselton et al, 2007;Lucas & Koff, 2013;Vukovic et al, 2009), our study is the first to demonstrate correlated changes in intrasexual competitiveness and natural variation in women's testosterone levels.…”

“…Alternatively, it could be a low-cost functionless byproduct of processes that function primarily to increase intrasexual competitiveness in response to changes in testosterone that occur over longer timespans, such as over pubertal development. Since some (but not all) studies have reported small increases in testosterone around ovulation (Caruso et al, 2014;Dabbs, 1990;Dabbs & de La Rue, 1991), we do not discount the possibility that increased intrasexual competitiveness when testosterone is high may occur because of direct or indirect benefits Hahn 14 associated with increased intrasexual competitiveness around ovulation (see Fisher, 2004).…”

“…Similarly, premenopausal women are more likely to derogate other women's attractiveness than are postmenopausal women (Vukovic et al, 2009). Increases in intrasexual competitiveness around ovulation, such as those described above, are suggested to occur because successful competition for mating opportunities with high-quality mates is more likely to translate into fitness benefits at this time (Durante et al, 2008(Durante et al, , 2011Fisher, 2004;Haselton et al, 2007;Lucas & Koff, 2013;Vukovic et al, 2009). …”

“…While these results link women's fertility to the extent to which they engage in self-promotion, other work has examined the relationship between fertility and the extent to which women derogate other women's attractiveness. For example, young women are more likely to derogate other women's attractiveness during the high-fertility phase of their menstrual cycle than during other phases (Fisher, 2004). Similarly, premenopausal women are more likely to derogate other women's attractiveness than are postmenopausal women (Vukovic et al, 2009).…”

Women's hormone levels modulate the motivational salience of facial attractiveness and sexual dimorphism

“…Our results also suggest that women may be more sensitive to female attractiveness at this time. That attractive, feminine female faces have greater motivational salience to women when their estradiol-to-progesterone ratio is high is, perhaps, surprising, given that some previous research has suggested that women derogate the attractiveness of other women when conception risk is high (Fisher, 2004). That attractive, feminine female faces have greater motivational salience to women when their estradiol-toprogesterone ratio is high suggests that women do not necessarily increase avoidance of attractive competitors for mates when conception risk is high.…”