Preferred and actual relative height are related to sex, sexual orientation, and dominance: Evidence from Brazil and the Czech Republic

Individual Differences in How Desirable People Think They Are as a Mate

Mate value is an important concept in mate choice research although its operationalization and understanding are limited. Here, we reviewed and evaluated previously established conceptual and methodological approaches measuring mate value and presented original research using individual differences in how people view themselves as a face-valid proxy for mate value in long- and short-term contexts. In data from 41 nations (N = 3895, Mage = 24.71, 63% women, 47% single), we tested sex, age, and relationship status effects on self-perceived mate desirability, along with individual differences in the Dark Triad traits, life history strategies, peer-based comparison of desirability, and self-reported mating success. Both sexes indicated more short-term than long-term mate desirability; however, men reported more long-term mate desirability than women, whereas women reported more short-term mate desirability than men. Further, individuals who were in a committed relationship felt more desirable than those who were not. Concerning the cross-sectional stability of mate desirability across the lifespan, in men, short- and long-term desirability rose to the age of 40 and 50, respectively, and decreased afterward. In women, short-term desirability rose to the age of 38 and decreased afterward, whereas long-term desirability remained stable over time. Our results suggest that measuring long- and short-term self-perceived mate desirability reveals predictable correlates.

Assortative mate preferences for height across short-term and long-term relationship contexts in a cross-cultural sample

Height preferences reflecting positive assortative mating for height—wherein an individual’s own height positively predicts the preferred height of their mate—have been observed in several distinct human populations and are thought to increase reproductive fitness. However, the extent to which assortative preferences for height differ strategically for short-term versus long-term relationship partners, as they do for numerous other indices of mate quality, remains unclear. We explore this possibility in a large representative sample of over 500 men and women aged 15–77 from Canada, Cuba, Norway and the United States. Participants’ own heights were measured, and they indicated their height preferences for a long-term and short-term mate using graphic stimuli containing metric indices. Replicating the “male-taller norm,” participants on average preferred taller-than-average male mates, and shorter-than-average female mates. Positive assortative preferences for height were observed across sexes and samples, however the strength of these height preferences varied with relationship context for men, and not for women. Taller men preferred relatively shorter women for short-term relationships than for long-term relationships, indicating stronger assortative preferences for height in a long-term context. These results provide preliminary evidence that, in addition to mate preferences for other physical traits related to mate quality such as masculinity in the body, face, and voice, assortative preferences for height do vary as a function of expected relationship length, but this was surprisingly only observed in preferences for female height.

Jealousy Is Influenced by Sex of the Individual, Their Partner, and Their Rival

Jealousy is an affective state activated by a perceived threat to a valued relationship by a third party. On average, males report higher distress about their partner's sexual extra-pair involvement, while females show higher emotional jealousy. These sex differences are specific to heterosexuals and to contexts with potential reproductive costs. We tested the effect of sex and sexual orientation of the individual, and sex of the partner and potential rival on sexual versus emotional jealousy. Sexual orientation was operationalized as a willingness to form long-term relationships with men, women, or both. Heterosexual, homosexual, and bisexual males (N = 416) and females (N = 1328) from Brazil, Chile, and Portugal responded to the Sexual vs. Emotional Jealousy Scale and then ranked their distress to four hypothetical scenarios: sexual or emotional involvement of their partner with a male or a female rival. This is the first study to simultaneously test for an effect of self, partner, and rival sex on jealousy: bisexual individuals responded twice, about a hypothetical female and about a male partner. Individuals were most preoccupied with their partner's emotional relationship with a rival of the same sex as the respondent. Heterosexual males reported higher sexual jealousy than the other groups, but did not differ from bisexual men responding about female partners. Bisexual females were more upset by sexual extra-pair involvement of their female (versus male) partners with a male rival. Thus, jealousy was influenced by sex and sexual orientation of the individuals, sex of the partners, and also by sex of the rivals: same-sex rivals were perceived as most threatening. This suggests that besides being a strategy to maintain a primary relationship, jealousy is particularly sensitive to same-sex competitors, being an intra-sexual competition strategy.

What You See May Be What You Want: Mate Copying in a Natural Setting

Objectives

The phenomenon of mate copying (MC) suggests that an individual’s romantic desirability varies, to some degree, as a function of their romantic experiences. By manipulating relationship history, this research aimed to determine whether male desirability varied similarly for static stimuli (photographs) as it did for dynamic stimuli (short clips). Here we present 2 studies examining this idea.

Methods

In both studies heterosexual women aged 18–34 were recruited from social media and evaluated the desirability of men, before and after being given information about the level of relationship experience the men had previously had (either ‘none’, ‘some’, or ‘lots’).

Results

In Study 1 (N = 278), we employed static images of men and Study 2 (N = 66) was methodologically similar but employed dynamic stimuli. Study 1 indicated that a man’s desirability to heterosexual women increased when it was revealed that he had a moderate amount of relationship experience but decreased if he had none. Results from Study 2 suggested that desirability was not affected by an individual’s relationship experience.

Conclusions

MC was indicated when stimuli were static, but not when they were dynamic. These results suggest that MC may be a phenomenon that exists to a greater extent when stimuli are less informative.

A Disability Bioethics Reading of the FDA and EMA Evaluations on the Marketing Authorisation of Growth Hormone for Idiopathic Short Stature Children

The diagnosis of idiopathic short stature (ISS) refers to children who are considerably shorter than average without any identified medical reason. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorised marketing of recombinant human growth hormone (hGH) for ISS in 2003, while the European Medicines Agency (EMA) refused it in 2007. This paper examines the arguments for these decisions as detailed in selected FDA and EMA documents. It combines argumentative analysis with an approach to policy analysis called 'What's the problem represented to be'. It argues that the FDA presents its approval as an argument for equity of access to the treatment (given that hGH was already authorised for other indications), describing short stature as a potential disadvantage, and assuming that height normalisation is a clinically meaningful result. The EMA, instead, refuses marketing authorisation with an argument that there is an imbalance of risks and benefits, describing ISS as a healthy condition, and arguing that hGH should provide some psychosocial and/or quality of life benefits to children with ISS other than height gain. This paper then discusses how these arguments could be read through different models of disability, particularly through the medical model of disability and the relational, experiential, and cultural understandings of disability.

Human height preferences as a function of population size in the Cook Islands and Norway

OBJECTIVES

Height preferences and mating patterns related to body size vary across cultures yet it remains unclear why such between-population differences exist. Here, we test a hypothesis that nonrandom assortative mating is negative (mating with nonsimilar partners) in small isolated populations, and positive (mating with similar partners) in larger populations.

METHODS

We compared preferences for sexual dimorphism in stature (SDS, male height/female height) among men and women living in small isolated communities (as few as 60 inhabitants) vs larger urban areas (as many as 70 000 inhabitants). To increase generalizability, data were collected from heterogeneous populations in the South Pacific (Rarotonga vs Palmerston, Cook Islands) and Northern Europe (capital city of Tromsø vs villages in the Troms County of Norway).

RESULTS

Norwegians preferred a significantly larger difference in height between partners (median SDS ratio of 1.14) than did Cook Islanders (median SDS ratios of 1-1.04). Indeed, while 30% of Cook Island men and women preferred a partner of the exact same height, this preference was observed among less than 3% of Norwegian men and 7% of Norwegian women. Critically, distributions in SDS preferences did not differ by sex or population size. Thus, rural and urban dwellers within both countries showed similar positive assortative preferences for height, wherein own height explained up to 62% of the variability in preferred partner height.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results do not support negative assortative preferences in small-scale communities, and further indicate that the "male-taller norm," while weaker among Cook Islanders than Europeans, is observed to some extent in the South Pacific.

Preference for Male Facial Masculinity as a Function of Mental Rotation Ability in Gay and Bisexual Men, but Not in Heterosexual Men and Women in China

This study examined the association between mental rotation ability and facial masculinity preference in gay and bisexual men in China. The participants (436 gay/bisexual men, 132 heterosexual men, and 254 heterosexual women) completed an online Shepard and Metzler-type mental rotation task and a forced-choice preference task of 10 pairs of masculinized/feminized male faces. The results revealed that mental rotation ability was significantly associated with preference for masculinized faces in both gay and bisexual men. There were no significant correlations between mental rotation ability and facial masculinity preference in both heterosexual men and women. The findings imply homogamy in partner preference in gay and bisexual men in terms of masculinity.

Vocal Parameters of Speech and Singing Covary and Are Related to Vocal Attractiveness, Body Measures, and Sociosexuality: A Cross-Cultural Study

Perceived vocal attractiveness and measured sex-dimorphic vocal parameters are both associated with underlying individual qualities. Research tends to focus on speech but singing is another highly evolved communication system that has distinct and universal features with analogs in other species, and it is relevant in mating. Both speaking and singing voice provides relevant information about its producer. We tested whether speech and singing function as "backup signals" that indicate similar underlying qualities. Using a sample of 81 men and 86 women from Brazil and the Czech Republic, we investigated vocal attractiveness rated from speech and singing and its association with fundamental frequency (F0), apparent vocal tract length (VTL), body characteristics, and sociosexuality. F0, VTL, and rated attractiveness of singing and speaking voice strongly correlated within the same individual. Lower-pitched speech in men, higher-pitched speech and singing in women, individuals who like to sing more, and singing of individuals with a higher pitch modulation were perceived as more attractive. In men, physical size positively predicted speech and singing attractiveness. Male speech but not singing attractiveness was associated with higher sociosexuality. Lower-pitched male speech was related to higher sociosexuality, while lower-pitched male singing was linked to lower sociosexuality. Similarly, shorter speech VTL and longer singing VTL predicted higher sociosexuality in women. Different vocal displays function as "backup signals" cueing to attractiveness and body size, but their relation to sexual strategies in men and women differs. Both singing and speech may indicate evolutionarily relevant individual qualities shaped by sexual selection.

Homogamy in Masculinity-Femininity Is Positively Linked to Relationship Quality in Gay Male Couples from the Czech Republic

The main aims of this research were to test the similarity of masculinity-femininity in long-term male same-sex couples from the Czech Republic and to examine whether this similarity predicts higher relationship quality. In Study 1, participants (N = 30) and their partners completed the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS) and the Childhood Gender Nonconformity Scale (CGN). In Study 2, participants (N = 40) and their partners completed DAS and the Gender Diagnosticity Scale (GD). Results showed that the partners were no more alike than individuals paired at random in their CGN or GD, but greater similarity in CGN between partners increased Dyadic Cohesion (r = -.41 [-.71, -.02]) and Affectional Expression (r = -.38 [-.60, -.13]). Our results add to previous evidence showing that similarity in same-sex couples increased relationship quality. Although, on average, gay men were not coupled on the basis of homogamy in gender roles, their relationship quality is linked to the gender egalitarian model rather than to the gender stratified one. Thus, a widespread stereotype suggesting that same-sex partners are divided by different gender roles seems to be, at least in our sample from a Western society, rather incorrect.