The Effect of Competition on Men’s Self-Reported Sexual Interest

Abstract

Men have been sexually selected (both via malemale competition and female choice) to compete with other men for survival and reproduction. Evidence in humans suggests that men are especially competitive with other men over resources and, if successful, are valued as attractive mating prospects by women. We predicted that experimentally manipulating competitive outcomes would differentially affect men's sexual interest, with a victory resulting in men expressing greater interest in mating opportunities and a loss resulting in decreased interest in mating opportunities. One hundred thirteen men were asked to participate in a speed-based competition. Participants were randomly assigned to experience a win, a loss, or no competitive feedback (control condition). Participants' sexual interest was gauged by their responses to photographs of women of differing attractiveness, wherein they were asked to rate their sexual interest in the photographed women and to give attributions of sexual interest to the same women. Results showed that single (unmated) men exhibited the predicted effects of competition on sexual interest. Specifically, whereas both single men and mated men were more sexually interested in high-attractiveness women than in low-attractiveness women, only single men exhibited a higher sexual interest after a win, followed by the control and losing conditions, respectively.

Human mating strategies: from past causes to present consequences

“…A different manipulation of self‐perceived mate value, through visual exposure to a number of attractive same‐sex individuals, decreases women's self‐rated attractiveness and also their preferences for masculine male faces, whereas exposure to unattractive same‐sex individuals elicits the opposite effects . In social competition between men, a ‘win’ elicits stronger preferences for feminine female faces and greater sexual interest in women compared with a ‘loss.’ These kinds of changes may be relatively temporary, but others may have longer effects when linked to more durable social circumstances. For example, different life stages might lend themselves to exploitation of different strategies, such as the adoption of a short‐term mating outlook to assess one's own current mate value, as well as the current mating market, at times when this is uncertain.…”

“Super Bowl Babies”: Do Counties with Super Bowl Winning Teams Experience Increases in Births Nine Months Later?

“…A study conducted by Montesinos et al (2013) found that births increased in Spain nine months after Barcelona won a semi-final match in the European Champions League tournament. Little other research on sport-related fertility exists, yet sporting events, competition, winning experiences, and even vicarious winning experiences have been associated with team identification (Cialdini et al 1976), testosterone increases (Bernhardt et al 1998), and heightened interest in sexual stimuli (Gorelik and Bjorklund 2015). For these reasons, large-scale sporting events have the potential to function as exogenous shocks to fertility.…”

Domains of female choice in human evolution.

“…That the winner effect is primarily active in men's competitive contexts is suggested by the findings of a meta-analysis showing weak winner effects in women (Geniole, Bird, Ruddick, & Carré, 2017). Although testosterone's hypothesized role in motivating men to not quit competing when they are ahead seems to be the primary driver of the winner effect, research on the effect of winning on men's sexual interest suggests that testosterone may likewise be upregulating men's sex drive in anticipation of greater reproductive opportunities (Gorelik & Bjorklund, 2015;Markey & Markey, 2011;Markey & Markey, 2010). Additional research is needed to clarify whether winners do experience an increase in reproductive opportunities and, if so, whether the increase results from the effect of winning on intimidating rivals or increased attractiveness to potential mates.…”