Hooking up: Gender Differences, Evolution, and Pluralistic Ignorance

Abstract

"Hooking-up" -engaging in no-strings-attached sexual behaviors with uncommitted partners -has become a norm on college campuses, and raises the potential for disease, unintended pregnancy, and physical and psychological trauma. The primacy of sex in the evolutionary process suggests that predictions derived from evolutionary theory may be a useful first step toward understanding these contemporary behaviors. This study assessed the hook-up behaviors and attitudes of 507 college students. As predicted by behavioral-evolutionary theory: men were more comfortable than women with all types of sexual behaviors; women correctly attributed higher comfort levels to men, but overestimated men's actual comfort levels; and men correctly attributed lower comfort levels to women, but still overestimated women's actual comfort levels. Both genders attributed higher comfort levels to same-gendered others, reinforcing a pluralistic ignorance effect that might contribute to the high frequency of hook-up behaviors in spite of the low comfort levels reported and suggesting that hooking up may be a modern form of intrasexual competition between females for potential mates.

Casual Sex: Integrating Social, Behavioral, and Sexual Health Research

“…Levels of comfort with various sexual behaviors in an uncommitted encounter, and differences in potential risk associated with different specific sexual behaviors, can also impact feelings of pleasure and satisfaction. Several scholars have also noted that college students tend to over-perceive the comfort level of their hook-up partners while engaging in a variety of sexual behaviors (what psychologists call pluralistic ignorance); men, in particular, tend to overestimate a woman's comfort with sexual intercourse (Reiber and Garcia 2010;Lambert et al 2003).…”

Sociosexual Attitudes, Sociosexual Behaviors, and Alcohol Use

“…These types of sexual experiences outside of committed relationships are often referred to as "hookups" (Garcia et al, 2012). In one study, 81% of undergraduate participants reported engaging in hookups, with 34% engaging in sexual intercourse (Reiber & Garcia, 2010). Although casual sex and other varieties of hookups may be viewed as culturally normative in emerging adulthood, they come with a host of negative consequences including sexual assaults, unintended pregnancies, and sexually transmitted infections (Chesson et al, 2003;Corbin & Fromme, 2002;Garcia et al, 2012;Perkins, 2002;Vasilenko et al, 2012).…”

Consequences of Casual Sex Relationships and Experiences on Adolescents’ Psychological Well-Being: A Prospective Study

“…A prevalence of up to 80% was reported in one study asking about specific sexual behaviors (Reiber & Garcia, 2010 . For sexually active 12-to 18-year-olds, the lifetime prevalence varies from 28% in the United States (Fortunato, Young, Boyd, & Fons, 2010) to 38% in Canada (Frappier et al, 2008).…”

“…A prevalence of up to 80% was reported in one study asking about specific sexual behaviors (Reiber & Garcia, 2010). Similarly, among representative samples of sexually active adolescents, 37% to 77% (37% for Manning, Longmore, & Giordano, 2005; 61% for Manning, Giordano, & Longmore, 2006; 77% for Grello et al, 2003) of 12-to 17-year-olds and 85% of 17-to 21-year-olds have had a CSRE within the past year.…”