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Ko A, Pick CM, Kwon JY, Barlev M, Krems JA, Varnum MEW, Neel R, Peysha M, Boonyasiriwat W, Brandstätter E, Crispim AC, Cruz JE, David D, David OA, de Felipe RP, Fetvadjiev VH, Fischer R, Galdi S, Galindo O, Golovina G, Gomez-Jacinto L, Graf S, Grossmann I, Gul P, Hamamura T, Han S, Hitokoto H, Hřebíčková M, Johnson JL, Karl JA, Malanchuk O, Murata A, Na J, O J, Rizwan M, Roth E, Salgado SAS, Samoylenko E, Savchenko T, Sevincer AT, Stanciu A, Suh EM, Talhelm T, Uskul AK, Uz I, Zambrano D, Kenrick DT. Family Matters: Rethinking the Psychology of Human Social Motivation. Perspect Psychol Sci 2019; 15:173-201. [DOI: 10.1177/1745691619872986] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
What motives do people prioritize in their social lives? Historically, social psychologists, especially those adopting an evolutionary perspective, have devoted a great deal of research attention to sexual attraction and romantic-partner choice (mate seeking). Research on long-term familial bonds (mate retention and kin care) has been less thoroughly connected to relevant comparative and evolutionary work on other species, and in the case of kin care, these bonds have been less well researched. Examining varied sources of data from 27 societies around the world, we found that people generally view familial motives as primary in importance and mate-seeking motives as relatively low in importance. Compared with other groups, college students, single people, and men place relatively higher emphasis on mate seeking, but even those samples rated kin-care motives as more important. Furthermore, motives linked to long-term familial bonds are positively associated with psychological well-being, but mate-seeking motives are associated with anxiety and depression. We address theoretical and empirical reasons why there has been extensive research on mate seeking and why people prioritize goals related to long-term familial bonds over mating goals. Reallocating relatively greater research effort toward long-term familial relationships would likely yield many interesting new findings relevant to everyday people’s highest social priorities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ahra Ko
- Department of Psychology, Arizona State University
| | - Cari M. Pick
- Department of Psychology, Arizona State University
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Daniel David
- Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Babeş-Bolyai University
| | - Oana A. David
- Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Babeş-Bolyai University
| | | | | | - Ronald Fischer
- School of Psychology, Victoria University of Wellington
- Behavioral Neuroscience Lab, Instituto D’Or de Pesquisa e Ensino, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Silvia Galdi
- Department of Psychology, University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli
| | | | | | - Luis Gomez-Jacinto
- Department of Social Psychology, Social Anthropology, Social Work and Social Services, University of Malaga
| | - Sylvie Graf
- Institute of Psychology, Czech Academy of Sciences
| | | | - Pelin Gul
- Department of Psychology, Iowa State University
| | | | - Shihui Han
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Peking University
| | | | | | | | - Johannes A. Karl
- Behavioral Neuroscience Lab, Instituto D’Or de Pesquisa e Ensino, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | | | - Asuka Murata
- Center for Experimental Research in Social Sciences, Hokkaido University
| | | | - Jiaqing O
- Department of Psychology, Aberystwyth University
| | | | - Eric Roth
- Behavioral Sciences Research Institute, Universidad Católica Boliviana
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Irem Uz
- Department of Psychology, TOBB University of Economics and Technology
| | - Danilo Zambrano
- Department of Psychology, Fundación Universitaria Konrad Lorenz
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