Variation in Women’s Mate Preferences over the Development of a Monogamous Relationship Corresponds with Changes in Men’s Life History Strategy

Owens, Rebecca; Driscoll, Helen; Farrelly, Daniel

doi:10.1007/s40806-020-00246-w

Cited by 6 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…This surface level analysis of mating strategies based on ultimate explanations also extends into misconceptions that women's mating strategies are solely long term orientated (Schmitt, Shackelford, & Buss, 2001). There is a robust evidence base for plasticity in women's mating strategies as well, particularly in terms of how women's mating preferences differ depending on short-and long-term scenarios (Owens, Driscoll, & Farrelly, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 82%

It's not what it looks like! Early Attention is Captured by Attractive Faces

Owens¹,

Sl²,

Knight³

2021

Preprint

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The notion of extra pair mating interests is seen as controversial in Western societies where monogamy is the dominant mating system. Attending to attractive others is often seen as an indicator of, or antecedent to engaging in infidelity. However, we argue that attending to attractive others is an adaptive and automatic process because it informs and maintains plasticity in mating strategies. Previous research has examined later attentional processes in relation to potential mates, but not early attentional capture which is beyond conscious control. Participants indicated whether they were predominantly attracted to male or female faces, then completed two flicker tasks, each consisting of faces of the gender the participants indicated they were most attracted to; one consisted of a grid of attractive faces and the other consisted of unattractive faces. Time taken to detect changes to the attractive or unattractive faces was measured as an indication of attentional bias towards potential mates. Sociosexual desires and self reported romantic interests outside of the primary relationship predicted a quicker response time to attractive faces relative to unattractive faces. Relationship status, sex of the participant, sociosexual attitudes, sociosexual behaviours, and self reported sexual interests outside of the primary relationship did not predict response time on the flicker tasks. The results suggest early attentional processes are biased towards potential mates in a given environment which calibrates and maintains plasticity in mating strategies, however this does not necessarily indicate an inclination towards infidelity.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 82%

It's not what it looks like! Early Attention is Captured by Attractive Faces

Owens¹,

Sl²,

Knight³

2021

Preprint

Self Cite

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“…Kindness may indicate a willingness to cooperate, share resources, and invest in childrearing (Buss, 2023;Owens et al, 2020;Schmitt, 2017). Empathy in relationships plays a crucial role in increasing partner satisfaction, facilitating forgiveness and conflict resolution, and indicating marital adjustment and harmony (Oliveira et al, 2009).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Female Orgasm as a Mate-Choice Cue - Testing Hypothesis about Its Evolutionary Function

Silva¹,

Mafra²,

Moraes³

et al. 2023

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The female orgasm has been the subject of intense debate within evolutionary psychology due to the lack of consensus in the literature regarding its adaptive function. Some of the hypotheses for its possible function consider it as a tool for mate-choice associated with reproductive strategies. Evolutionary theories suggest that women who adopt short-term strategies, may have more orgasms with partners who possess advantageous genetic characteristics for reproduction (sire-choice), while women who adopt long-term strategies would have more orgasms with partners who demonstrate greater emotional bond and parental care (pair-bond). Studies show that homosexual women have a higher frequency of orgasm compared to heterosexual women. If the mate-choice theory is correct, the partners of homosexual women may have advantageous characteristics associated with orgasm. The present thesis investigated the relationship between female orgasm and partner selection, seeking to understand whether the orgasm can be considered an adaptive tool for mate-choice. Based on evolutionary and adaptationist theories, the aim was to explore whether female orgasm can assist in sire-choice and pair-bond strategies. We proposed hypotheses that women with a focus on sire-choice would have more orgasms with partners perceived as healthier, physically attractive, masculine, and dominant, while those with an emphasis on pair-bond would tend to have more orgasms with partners who possess greater financial resources, kindness, empathy, femininity, and intelligence. The present study used three main instruments to collect data. The Marital Empathy Questionnaire (MEQ), which was employed to assess perceived empathy within the participants' relationships. The Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI), and the measurement variable for the orgasm was the score in the orgasm domain. The participants answered the block of characteristics of the sexual partner, which assessed seven traits: Kindness, Intelligence, Health, Physical Attractiveness, Financial Perspective, Femininity-Masculinity, and Dominance. Participants attributed scores from -3 to +3 for each trait, indicating the degree to which they perceived their partners as possessing these characteristics. The research involved the participation of 2785 women, of which 1346 completed all the questionnaires. The final analysis was conducted with 939 sexually active women in committed relationships. The average age of the participants was 28.3 years, and the majority were in a relationship with a male partner (90%). In terms of race/ethnicity, most participants identified as White (68.5%) or Mixed (22.8%). The majority of the sample (70.7%) had at least a university degree, and geographically, the largest proportion of participants was from the Southeast region of Brazil (54.6%). The data analysis used structural equation models (SEM), where the score in the orgasm domain of the FSFI predicted the characteristics of the sexual partner and the duration of the relationship. The same models were applied to participants in both homosexual and heterosexual relationships. Each model tested specific aspects of invariance among women in homosexual and heterosexual relationships. The results showed that women in both types of relationships did not differ statistically in terms of the mean and standard deviation of the orgasm domain and the strength of its relationship with partner characteristics. The analyses indicated that higher orgasm scores were associated with perceptions of greater kindness, intelligence, health, physical attractiveness, and empathy in partners. However, the effect sizes were low, suggesting that although the associations were statistically significant, the practical significance of these findings is limited. Studies on mate-choice and female orgasm have presented similar results, indicating that evidence for the adaptive function of female orgasm is fragile or non-existent. This situation has not undergone significant changes since 2005. Given the complexity of the female orgasm and its underlying structures, we consider two hypotheses regarding the function of female orgasm: (1) as a provider of additional information about the partner and a reinforcer for the maintenance of the relationship, and (2) as a possible ancestral function to allow reflexive or partner-induced ovulation. Reflexive ovulation would enable the assessment of partner quality, so that the ovule would not be released indiscriminately. Therefore, the fact that we find weak effects of orgasm on partner characteristics would be a remnant of the ancestral function that was lost with the emergence of spontaneous ovulation.

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“…There is a robust evidence base for plasticity in women's mating strategies as well, particularly in terms of how women's mating preferences differ depending on short-and long-term scenarios (Owens, et al, 2020). Speci cally, women are likely to be more attracted to physical and behavioural indicators of mating effort in short term contexts, but this is seen as less preferable in long term mating contexts, where more cooperative behaviours are preferred such as behavioural indicators of parenting effort.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“It’s Not What it Looks Like!” Early Attention is Captured by Attractive Faces

Owens

Rafferty

Knight

2022

Preprint

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Objective: Despite the notion of extra pair mating interests being controversial in Western societies, it may be that attending to attractive others is an adaptive and automatic process which informs and maintains plasticity in mating strategies. Previous research has examined this though later attentional processes in relation to potential mates. The current study examines this potential adaptive process further by using early attentional capture, which is beyond conscious control, to examine attentional bias towards attractive faces.Methods: In addition to providing self-report measures relevant to extra-pair interests, participants completed two flicker tasks, each comprising a grid of faces of the gender participants indicated they were most attracted to. Half of the faces were rated as attractive and half as unattractive. In one task, an attractive face was substituted for another attractive face, and in the other an unattractive face was substituted for another unattractive face. Change detection latency differences for attractive vs unattractive faces was measured as an indication of attentional bias towards potential mates.Results: Sociosexual desires predicted a quicker response time to attractive faces relative to unattractive faces. Relationship status, sex of the participant, sociosexual attitudes, sociosexual behaviours, and self-reported sexual and romantic interests outside of the primary relationship did not predict response time on the flicker tasks.Conclusions: The results suggest early attentional processes are adaptively biased towards potential mates in a given environment, calibrating and maintaining plasticity in mating strategies. However, this does not necessarily indicate an inclination towards infidelity.

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Variation in Women’s Mate Preferences over the Development of a Monogamous Relationship Corresponds with Changes in Men’s Life History Strategy

Cited by 6 publications

References 41 publications

It's not what it looks like! Early Attention is Captured by Attractive Faces

It's not what it looks like! Early Attention is Captured by Attractive Faces

Female Orgasm as a Mate-Choice Cue - Testing Hypothesis about Its Evolutionary Function

“It’s Not What it Looks Like!” Early Attention is Captured by Attractive Faces

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