Mate retention, semen displacement, and human sperm competition: a preliminary investigation of tactics to prevent and correct female infidelity

Goetz, Aaron T.; Shackelford, Todd K.; Weekes–Shackelford, Viviana A.; Euler, Harald Α.; Hoier, Sabine; Schmitt, David P.; LaMunyon, Craig W.

doi:10.1016/j.paid.2004.05.028

Cited by 112 publications

(121 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Interest in mate retention behavior has penetrated several research domains, including personality psychology (McKibbin et al 2014), sexual behavior (Goetz et al 2005), and ovulatory cycling (Gangestad et al 2002). The current research adds to this literature by highlighting the importance of mate retention with assistance from allies.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 87%

Development and Initial Validation of the Coalitional Mate Retention Inventory

Pham

Barbaro

Shackelford

2014

Evolutionary Psychological Science

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Mate retention behaviors are designed to reduce the likelihood of partner infidelity and relationship termination. Measures of mate retention historically have focused on individual mate retention-behaviors that individuals perform alone. The current research explores coalitional mate retention (CMR)-mate retention with assistance from allies. Using an act nomination procedure, we constructed the CMR Inventory (CMRI) to assess specific CMR behaviors. In study 1, participants (n=100) provided open-ended responses in which they nominated CMR behaviors. In study 2, participants (n=387) provided frequency reports on the 44 CMR behaviors identified in study 1. We conducted principal component analyses to guide construction of the CMRI, which assesses seven components of CMRI: manipulation (e.g., "got my partner drunk to see what my partner said"), praise (e.g., "said nice things about me when my partner and other people were around"), vigilance (e.g., "observed how my partner acted around people interested in my partner"), monopolizing time (e.g., "accompanied my partner to a party"), therapy (e.g., "told my partner how much I liked my partner"), gifts (e.g., "told me what gifts my partner wanted"), and violence (e.g., "hit someone who was flirting with my partner"). Discussion highlights the limitations of focusing exclusively on individual mate retention and the importance of considering alliances when researching mate retention.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 87%

Development and Initial Validation of the Coalitional Mate Retention Inventory

Pham

Barbaro

Shackelford

2014

Evolutionary Psychological Science

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“…Those questioning the application of sperm competition to humans (e.g., Birkhead, 2000;Dixson, 1998;Gomendio, Harcourt, & Roldán, 1998) contend that sperm competition in humans, although possible, may not be as intense as in other species with adaptations to sperm competition. Recent work on the psychological, behavioral, and anatomical evidence of human sperm competition (e.g., Gallup et al, 2003;Goetz et al, 2004;Pound, 2002;Shackelford et al, 2002), however, was not considered in these previous critiques of human sperm competition. When considering all of the evidence of adaptations to sperm competition in men and in women, including the current research, it is reasonable to conclude that sperm competition may have been a recurrent and selectively important feature of human evolutionary history.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sex Differences in Sexual Psychology Produce Sex-Similar Preferences for a Short-Term Mate

et al. 2004

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We explored aspects of men's and women's short-term sexual psychology as a function of a potential short-term partner's relationship status. A total of 209 men and 288 women reported how likely they would be to pursue a casual sexual relationship with an attractive member of the opposite sex who was (1) married, (2) not married but has casual sexual partners, or (3) not married and has no casual sexual partners. Guided by sperm competition theory, we predicted and found that men prefer short-term sex partners who are not already involved in relationships and hence present a relatively low risk of sperm competition. Because women sometimes use short-term sexual relationships to acquire long-term partners, we predicted and found that women prefer short-term sexual partners who are not already involved in relationships and hence present relatively greater promise as a potential long-term partner. Finally, across each of the three levels of the imagined partner's relationship status, men reported a greater likelihood than did women of pursuing a casual sexual relationship. Discussion addressed methodological limitations and directions for future work.

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“…On the other hand, this does not mean that short-term mating cannot have its evolutionary rationale and advantages, both for men and women. In particular, women may find short-term mating especially useful as a strategy for resource acquisition and for optimal screening of potential mates in a longer-term perspective [3], and this may induce in turn in long-term mating-oriented men the deployment of mate retention tactics and semen-displacement practices to hedge against the risk of successful insemination of the partner by male rivals, especially if the woman is judged sexually attractive [26]. In terms of mating-relevant cues, moreover, men differentiate between (women) body-focused short-term cues and face-focused long-term ones, whereas no such differentiation exists in women's mating orientations [27].…”

Section: Sexual Strategy Theory: Sex As Evolutionary Calculusmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tie-Up Cycles in Long-Term Mating. Part I: Theory

Basili

Sacco

2016

Challenges

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Abstract:In this paper, we propose a new approach to couple formation and dynamics that abridges findings from sexual strategies theory and attachment theory to develop a framework where the sexual and emotional aspects of mating are considered in their strategic interaction. Our approach presents several testable implications, some of which find interesting correspondences in the existing literature. Our main result is that, according to our approach, there are six typical dynamic interaction patterns that are more or less conducive to the formation of a stable couple, and that set out an interesting typology for the analysis of real (as well as fictional, as we will see in the second part of the paper) mating behaviors and dynamics.

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Mate retention, semen displacement, and human sperm competition: a preliminary investigation of tactics to prevent and correct female infidelity

Cited by 112 publications

References 32 publications

Development and Initial Validation of the Coalitional Mate Retention Inventory

Development and Initial Validation of the Coalitional Mate Retention Inventory

Sex Differences in Sexual Psychology Produce Sex-Similar Preferences for a Short-Term Mate

Tie-Up Cycles in Long-Term Mating. Part I: Theory

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