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Pipitone RN, Cruz L, Morales HN, Aladro D, Savitsky SR, Koroleva M, Valdez F, Campbell E, Miranda S. Sex Differences in Attitudes Toward Casual Sex: Using STI Contraction Likelihoods to Assess Evolved Mating Strategies. Front Psychol 2021; 12:706149. [PMID: 34539507 PMCID: PMC8446665 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.706149] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2021] [Accepted: 08/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Previous work shows that males are more likely to pursue casual sex if given the opportunity, compared to females, on average. One component of this strategy is risk-taking, and males have been shown to take more risks than females in a variety of contexts. Here, we investigate the extent to which sex differences exist considering casual sexual encounters involving sexually transmitted infections (STIs) using a hypothetical sexual scenario which attempts to circumvent several factors that may contribute to a female's hesitancy to engage in casual sex encounters. Two hundred and forty-six college students rated their willingness to engage in a satisfying casual sexual encounter with someone judged to be personable as a function of sex, varying STI contraction likelihoods, several STI types, and two levels of hypothetical partner attractiveness. We also assess how individual levels of sociosexuality (as measured by the SOI-R) impact findings. Our findings show that males report higher likelihoods of sexual engagement compared to females in general. This trend continued for lower likelihoods of STI contraction in all four STI types (Cold, Chlamydia, Herpes, HIV), with larger effects shown in the high attractiveness partner condition. For higher STI contraction likelihoods and more severe STI types, along with lower partner attractiveness levels, sex differences shrank. Factoring in participant SOI-R scores attenuated the effects somewhat, although it failed to alter findings substantially with predicted sex differences continuing to exist. These results offer further insight into evolved sex differences in human mating systems and provide an additional framework to test sexual risk-taking among males and females.
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Affiliation(s)
- R. Nathan Pipitone
- Department of Psychology, Florida Gulf Coast University, Fort Myers, FL, United States
| | - Lesley Cruz
- Department of Psychology, Florida Gulf Coast University, Fort Myers, FL, United States
| | - Helen N. Morales
- Department of Psychology, Florida Gulf Coast University, Fort Myers, FL, United States
| | - Daniela Aladro
- Department of Psychology, Florida Gulf Coast University, Fort Myers, FL, United States
| | - Serena R. Savitsky
- Department of Psychology, Florida Gulf Coast University, Fort Myers, FL, United States
| | - Maria Koroleva
- Department of Psychology, Florida Gulf Coast University, Fort Myers, FL, United States
| | - Francesca Valdez
- Department of Psychology, Florida Gulf Coast University, Fort Myers, FL, United States
- Department of Psychology, University of Stirling, Stirling, United Kingdom
| | - Erin Campbell
- Department of Psychology, Florida Gulf Coast University, Fort Myers, FL, United States
| | - Sam Miranda
- Department of Psychology, Florida Gulf Coast University, Fort Myers, FL, United States
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The More Fertile, the More Creative: Changes in Women's Creative Potential across the Ovulatory Cycle. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2021; 18:ijerph18105390. [PMID: 34070114 PMCID: PMC8158362 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18105390] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2021] [Revised: 05/08/2021] [Accepted: 05/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Creative thinking is a defining human feature. It provides novel solutions and as such undoubtedly has contributed to our survival. However, according to signaling theory, creativity could also have evolved through sexual selection as a potential fitness indicator. In our study, we tested one implication of this theory. Specifically, we hypothesized that if creativity can serve as a signal of women’s fitness, then we should observe an increase in creative thinking in the fertile phase of the ovulatory cycle compared to other non-fertile phases. In our study (N = 751), we tested creative potential throughout the ovulatory cycle. We found a positive correlation between the probability of conception and both creative originality and flexibility. Importantly, we also tested the mediating role of arousal in the relationship between the probability of conception and creative thinking. The results of our study are discussed in terms of signaling theory, through which women advertise their fitness with their creativity.
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Landgraf S, von Treskow I, Osterheider M. "Sex in a Relationship" versus "Sex During a One-Night Stand": The Link Between Mental Representations of Consensual Sexuality, Mating Strategies, and Sexual Experience in Heterosexual Women and Men. ARCHIVES OF SEXUAL BEHAVIOR 2018; 47:725-736. [PMID: 29027042 DOI: 10.1007/s10508-017-1088-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2015] [Revised: 08/02/2016] [Accepted: 09/20/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Sexual scripts, that is, the mental representations of sexual behavior, are highly influenced by mating strategies and sexual experience. The relationship between these factors and sexual scripts is, however, poorly understood. Therefore, we assessed how long-term (e.g., "sex in a relationship") and short-term (e.g., "one-night stand") strategies, as well as experience with highly scripted sexual practices (BDSM: bondage-discipline, dominance-submission, sadism-masochism), influence verbalized sexual script composition and detailedness. To this end, 204 heterosexual men and women generated both a "sex in a relationship" and a "one-night stand" script. Regarding mating strategies, both men and women generated shorter "sex in a relationship" scripts than "one-night stand" scripts, due to a shorter approach (flirting) phase. In addition, in the "sex in a relationship" script, women generated longer foreplay phases than men. Regarding sexual experience, in the "sex in a relationship" script, individuals with high-BDSM experience generated longer foreplay phases than individuals with middle- or low-BDSM experience. This pattern was reversed in the "one-night stand" script. These results provide empirical support for interactions between mating strategies and individual experience with regard to the mental representations of sexual activity and gender behavior. Understanding this relationship may enable us to better predict sexual encounters and may help to prevent conflicting or abusive situations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steffen Landgraf
- Clinic for Forensic Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, District Hospital Regensburg, Medizinische Einrichtungen des Bezirks Oberpfalz, Universitätsstr. 84, 93053, Regensburg, Germany.
- Faculty of Law, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany.
| | - Isabella von Treskow
- Faculty for Linguistics, Literature, and Cultural Science, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Michael Osterheider
- Department of Forensic Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, District Hospital of Regensburg, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
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Gignac GE, Darbyshire J, Ooi M. Some people are attracted sexually to intelligence: A psychometric evaluation of sapiosexuality. INTELLIGENCE 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.intell.2017.11.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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Landgraf S, von Treskow I. The Seduction Script: Psychological and Cultural Norms of Interpersonal Approaches As Markers for Sexual Aggression and Abuse. Front Psychol 2017; 7:2070. [PMID: 28119656 PMCID: PMC5222874 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.02070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2015] [Accepted: 12/21/2016] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Hardly any subjects enjoy greater – public or private – interest than the art of flirtation and seduction. However, interpersonal approach behavior not only paves the way for sexual interaction and reproduction, but it simultaneously integrates non-sexual psychobiological and cultural standards regarding consensus and social norms. In the present paper, we use script theory, a concept that extends across psychological and cultural science, to assess behavioral options during interpersonal approaches. Specifically, we argue that approaches follow scripted event sequences that entail ambivalence as an essential communicative element. On the one hand, ambivalence may facilitate interpersonal approaches by maintaining and provoking situational uncertainty, so that the outcome of an action – even after several approaches and dates – remains ambiguous. On the other hand, ambivalence may increase the risk for sexual aggression or abuse, depending on the individual’s abilities, the circumstances, and the intentions of the interacting partners. Recognizing latent sequences of sexually aggressive behavior, in terms of their rigid structure and behavioral options, may thus enable individuals to use resources efficiently, avoid danger, and extricate themselves from assault situations. We conclude that interdisciplinary script knowledge about ambivalence as a core component of the seduction script may be helpful for counteracting subtly aggressive intentions and preventing sexual abuse. We discuss this with regard to the nature-nurture debate as well as phylogenetic and ontogenetic aspects of interpersonal approach behavior and its medial implementation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steffen Landgraf
- Clinic of Forensic Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, District Hospital Regensburg, Medizinische Einrichtungen des Bezirks Oberpfalz (Medbo)Regensburg, Germany; Faculty of Law, University of RegensburgRegensburg, Germany
| | - Isabella von Treskow
- Faculty for Linguistics, Literature, and Cultural Science, University of Regensburg Regensburg, Germany
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Granberg EM, Simons LG, Simons RL. The Role of Body Size in Mate Selection among African American Young Adults. SEX ROLES 2015; 73:340-354. [PMID: 26973377 PMCID: PMC4786182 DOI: 10.1007/s11199-015-0530-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
A profusion of studies have demonstrated that body size is a major factor in mate selection for both men and women. The particular role played by weight, however, has been subject to some debate, particularly with respect to the types of body sizes deemed most attractive, and scholars have questioned the degree to which body size preferences are constant across groups. In this paper, we drew from two perspectives on this issue, Sexual Strategies Theory and what we termed the cultural variability perspective, and used survey data to examine how body size was associated with both casual dating and serious romantic relationships. We used a United States sample of 386 African American adolescents and young adults between ages 16 and 21, living in the Midwest and Southeast, and who were enrolled in either high school or college. Results showed that overweight women were more likely to report casually dating than women in the thinnest weight category. Body size was not related to dating status among men. Among women, the results suggest stronger support for the cultural variability argument than for Sexual Strategies Theory. Potential explanations for these findings are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ellen M. Granberg
- Department of Sociology & Anthropology, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, USA
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Eagly AH, Wood W. The Nature-Nurture Debates: 25 Years of Challenges in Understanding the Psychology of Gender. PERSPECTIVES ON PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 2015; 8:340-57. [PMID: 26172976 DOI: 10.1177/1745691613484767] [Citation(s) in RCA: 119] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Nature-nurture debates continue to be highly contentious in the psychology of gender despite the common recognition that both types of causal explanations are important. In this article, we provide a historical analysis of the vicissitudes of nature and nurture explanations of sex differences and similarities during the quarter century since the founding of the Association for Psychological Science. We consider how the increasing use of meta-analysis helped to clarify sex difference findings if not the causal explanations for these effects. To illustrate these developments, this article describes socialization and preferences for mates as two important areas of gender research. We also highlight developing research trends that address the interactive processes by which nature and nurture work together in producing sex differences and similarities. Such theorizing holds the promise of better science as well as a more coherent account of the psychology of women and men that should prove to be more influential with the broader public.
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Affiliation(s)
- Janet Shibley Hyde
- Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706;
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Beggan JK, Vencill JA, Garos S. Vulnerable but aloof versus naughty and nice: contrasting the presentation of male and female nude models in Viva and Playboy. JOURNAL OF SEX RESEARCH 2013; 51:265-279. [PMID: 23829482 DOI: 10.1080/00224499.2013.776659] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
The current research examined contested meanings of nudity by comparing images of nude men and women that appeared in Viva, a 1970s women's magazine founded with the intention of foregrounding male nudity, to corresponding issues of Playboy. A major difference was obtained between male models and Playboy Playmates regarding direction of gaze and nudity. Although gaze aversion is often interpreted as a sign of submission and direct gaze is seen as a dominance cue, men in Viva displayed a high level of gaze aversion and women in Playboy often gazed directly at the camera, especially when their pubic area was exposed. Additional content analysis examined the personality characteristics attributed to male models in Viva and Playmates in Playboy in their biographical sketches. In Viva, men were presented as possessing "bad boy" traits that may have been intended to compensate for the loss of power associated with male nudity. Playmates could be viewed as being naughty (by virtue of posing nude) and nice in the characterization of their personalities.
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Stewart-Williams S, Thomas AG. The Ape That Kicked the Hornet's Nest: Response to Commentaries on “The Ape That Thought It Was a Peacock”. PSYCHOLOGICAL INQUIRY 2013. [DOI: 10.1080/1047840x.2013.823831] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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Miller LC, Christensen JL, Pedersen WC, Putcha-Bhagavatula A, Appleby PR. Attachment Fertility Theory: Complex Systems of Mechanisms Simplify Sex, Mating, and Sexual Risks. PSYCHOLOGICAL INQUIRY 2013; 24:211-220. [PMID: 25541575 DOI: 10.1080/1047840x.2013.817322] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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Stewart-Williams S, Thomas AG. The Ape That Thought It Was a Peacock: Does Evolutionary Psychology Exaggerate Human Sex Differences? PSYCHOLOGICAL INQUIRY 2013. [DOI: 10.1080/1047840x.2013.804899] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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Addressing Conceptual Confusions About Evolutionary Theorizing: How and Why Evolutionary Psychology and Feminism Do Not Oppose Each Other. SEX ROLES 2012. [DOI: 10.1007/s11199-012-0226-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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Garcia JR, Reiber C, Massey SG, Merriwether AM. Sexual Hookup Culture: A Review. REVIEW OF GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY 2012; 16:161-176. [PMID: 23559846 PMCID: PMC3613286 DOI: 10.1037/a0027911] [Citation(s) in RCA: 217] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
"Hookups," or uncommitted sexual encounters, are becoming progressively more engrained in popular culture, reflecting both evolved sexual predilections and changing social and sexual scripts. Hook-up activities may include a wide range of sexual behaviors, such as kissing, oral sex, and penetrative intercourse. However, these encounters often transpire without any promise of, or desire for, a more traditional romantic relationship. A review of the literature suggests that these encounters are becoming increasingly normative among adolescents and young adults in North America, representing a marked shift in openness and acceptance of uncommitted sex. We reviewed the current literature on sexual hookups and considered the multiple forces influencing hookup culture, using examples from popular culture to place hooking up in context. We argue that contemporary hookup culture is best understood as the convergence of evolutionary and social forces during the developmental period of emerging adulthood. We suggest that researchers must consider both evolutionary mechanisms and social processes, and be considerate of the contemporary popular cultural climate in which hookups occur, in order to provide a comprehensive and synergistic biopsychosocial view of "casual sex" among emerging adults today.
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Affiliation(s)
- Justin R Garcia
- The Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction, Indiana University, Bloomington
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Liesen LT. Feminists Need to Look Beyond Evolutionary Psychology for Insights into Human Reproductive Strategies: A Commentary. SEX ROLES 2012. [DOI: 10.1007/s11199-012-0153-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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Smith CA, Konik J. Feminism and Evolutionary Psychology: Allies, Adversaries, or Both? An Introduction to a Special Issue. SEX ROLES 2011. [DOI: 10.1007/s11199-011-9985-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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