“What's love got to do with it?” Self-awareness and human mating strategies

2000 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 622-623
Author(s):  
Ian Vine
Keyword(s):  
Inclusive Fitness ◽  
Mating Strategies ◽  
Self Awareness ◽  
Sexual Strategies ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Ecological Conditions ◽  
Convincing Case ◽  
Human Mating

Gangestad & Simpson make a convincing case for male and female psychological access to sexual strategies that dispose us towards both faithful long-term mating and promiscuity – according to socio- ecological conditions. However, their model fails to acknowledge how the human self-system's mediation of conduct can permit us to override voluntarily the pseudo-imperatives of optimizing inclusive fitness.

scholarly journals Is Support of Censoring Controversial Media Content for the Good of Others? Sexual Strategies and Support of Censoring Pro-Alcohol Advertising

2017 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 147470491774280 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jinguang Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Inclusive Fitness ◽  
The United States ◽  
Casual Sex ◽  
Media Influence ◽  
Moral Foundation ◽  
Alcohol Advertising ◽  
Sexual Strategies ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
Sexual Strategies Theory

At least in the United States, there are widespread concerns with advertising that encourages alcohol consumption, and previous research explains those concerns as aiming to protect others from the harm of excessive alcohol use.1 Drawing on sexual strategies theory, we hypothesized that support of censoring pro-alcohol advertising is ultimately self-benefiting regardless of its altruistic effect at a proximate level. Excessive drinking positively correlates with having casual sex, and casual sex threatens monogamy, one of the major means with which people adopting a long-term sexual strategy increase their inclusive fitness. Then, one way for long-term strategists to protect monogamy, and thus their reproductive interest is to support censoring pro-alcohol advertising, thereby preventing others from becoming excessive drinkers (and consequently having casual sex) under media influence. Supporting this hypothesis, three studies consistently showed that restricted sociosexuality positively correlated with support of censoring pro-alcohol advertising before and after various value-, ideological-, and moral-foundation variables were controlled for. Also as predicted, Study 3 revealed a significant indirect effect of sociosexuality on censorship support through perceived media influence on others but not through perceived media influence on self. These findings further supported a self-interest analysis of issue opinions, extended third-person-effect research on support of censoring pro-alcohol advertising, and suggested a novel approach to analyzing media censorship support.

Mating and marriage, husbands and lovers

2000 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 590-591 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Beckerman
Keyword(s):  
Mating Strategies ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Human Mating

Human mating strategies are contingent on individual prospects. Gangestad & Simpson provide a useful framework to explore these differing prospects, but do not take sufficient account of what is known ethnographically about mating decisions. Women often do not select their own long term mates. Men often have two or more long term mates, and can invest in the offspring of short term matings also.

scholarly journals Inferring Preferred Mating Strategies Through Body Fat and Sex-Typical Body Features

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mitch Brown ◽  
Kaitlyn Boykin ◽  
Donald F. Sacco
Keyword(s):  
Body Fat ◽  
Parental Investment ◽  
Mating Strategies ◽  
Good Genes ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Management Framework ◽  
Short And Long Term ◽  
Physical Features

Identifying reproductive opportunities and intrasexual rivals has necessitated the evolution of sensitivity to features diagnostic of mate value. In determining the presence of good genes through physical features, individuals may additionally infer targets’ short- and long-term mating motives. This study tested how individuals perceive men and women’s mating intentions through physical features conducive to reproductive goals. Participants evaluated preferred mating strategies of male and female targets varying in size of sex-typical features (i.e., muscles or breasts) and adiposity. Greater adiposity connoted long-term mating interest. Large muscles and breasts connoted short-term mating interests. We frame results from an affordance management framework with respect to inferences regarding parental investment and intrasexual competition.

scholarly journals Sex differences in human mate preferences vary across sex ratios

2021 ◽  
Vol 288 (1955) ◽  
pp. 20211115
Author(s):  
Kathryn V. Walter ◽  
Daniel Conroy-Beam ◽  
David M. Buss ◽  
Kelly Asao ◽  
Agnieszka Sorokowska ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sex Ratio ◽  
Mate Preferences ◽  
Mating Strategies ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Opposite Sex ◽  
Divorce Rates ◽  
Power Of Choice ◽  
Human Mating ◽  
The Relationship

A wide range of literature connects sex ratio and mating behaviours in non-human animals. However, research examining sex ratio and human mating is limited in scope. Prior work has examined the relationship between sex ratio and desire for short-term, uncommitted mating as well as outcomes such as marriage and divorce rates. Less empirical attention has been directed towards the relationship between sex ratio and mate preferences, despite the importance of mate preferences in the human mating literature. To address this gap, we examined sex ratio's relationship to the variation in preferences for attractiveness, resources, kindness, intelligence and health in a long-term mate across 45 countries ( n = 14 487). We predicted that mate preferences would vary according to relative power of choice on the mating market, with increased power derived from having relatively few competitors and numerous potential mates. We found that each sex tended to report more demanding preferences for attractiveness and resources where the opposite sex was abundant, compared to where the opposite sex was scarce. This pattern dovetails with those found for mating strategies in humans and mate preferences across species, highlighting the importance of sex ratio for understanding variation in human mate preferences.

Testing sexual strategies theory predictions for age and gender using popular song lyrics

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Spencer Fox ◽  
Tanner Reeb ◽  
Ella ingram
Keyword(s):  
Explanatory Power ◽  
Mating Strategies ◽  
Popular Song ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Sexual Strategies ◽  
Popular Songs ◽  
Short And Long Term ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Sexual Strategies Theory

Popular songs contain more references to evolutionarily-relevant reproductive themes than their unpopular counterparts. If these patterns result from preference adaptation, then popular song content should reflect human preferences. We compared two Sexual Strategies Theory (SST) predictions to popular song content: (1) that males will have higher interest in short-term mating compared with females, and (2) that individuals will increase long-term mating interest with age. We selected a random sample of popular genre songs from a single year and popular songs from artists whose careers spanned at least two decades (e.g. Aretha Franklin and Elton John), and tallied reproductive references in the lyrics using two complementary song frameworks to compare artist and genre reproductive strategies: classifying songs into short- and long-term mating strategies, and classifying lyrics into committal and non-committal references. Contrary to our expectation from SST, genders in both song samples used the same types and quantities of reproductive references, though male song choice significantly favored short-term interests. We found a significant age by gender interaction in song and content usage: male references and songs became more commitment-focused as the age of the artist increased, while reproductive references used by females remained focused on commitment regardless of age, though the relationship had little explanatory power. Surprisingly, we found that song popularity was predicted best by age, not song content, suggesting that artist demographics are an important predictor for song popularity. Our analysis revealed some consistency with SST, but we found that song lyrical classification frameworks need further improvement before being able to provide a temporally and culturally flexible framework for testing hypotheses regarding mating strategies and preferences.

scholarly journals Sexual selection and religion: Can the evolution of religion be explained in terms of mating strategies?

2020 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 123-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
James A Van Slyke ◽  
Konrad Szocik
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Mating Strategies ◽  
Basic Principles ◽  
Selection Theory ◽  
Basic Assumptions ◽  
Sexual Selection Theory ◽  
Evolution Of Religion ◽  
Human Mating

This article considers the application of sexual selection theory to the study of religion by discussing the basic concepts and theories in sexual selection and then outlines possibilities of its application to the study of the evolution of religion. The first section outlines basic principles in the sexual selection account, including the evolution of human mating strategies based on dimorphism, gender differences in human mating strategies, and the role of different cultural activities in mating dynamics. Such an overview may be useful for the readers who are less familiar with the basic assumptions of the sexual selection theory. The remaining sections demonstrate how religion may function as a signal for mating qualities associated with a long-term mating strategy and how different facets of religiosity may help to support long-term mating strategies. The key idea of the article is that there are good reasons to try to explain the evolution of at least some of the components of religion in terms of sexual selection.

An Evolutionary Perspective on the Interaction of Age and Sex Differences in Short-Term Sexual Strategies

2002 ◽  
Vol 90 (3) ◽  
pp. 949-956 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eugene W. Mathes ◽  
Christina A. King ◽  
Jonathan K. Miller ◽  
Ruth M. Reed
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Sex Difference ◽  
Mating Strategies ◽  
Evolutionary Perspective ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Sexual Strategies ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Sexual Strategies Theory ◽  
Age And Sex

Buss and Schmitt's sexual strategies theory (1993) suggests that short-term mating represents a larger component of men's than women's mating strategies. Assuming this sex difference there is potential for conflict. Symons argued that, because men are more interested in copulation than women, this gives women greater power in establishing conditions (short- vs long-term) under which copulation takes place. The result is that the conflict in sexual strategies is resolved in favor of women's relatively greater interest in long-term sexual strategies. This research tested the hypothesis that across ages men would decrease in desire to employ short-term mating strategies in favor of long-term mating strategies. Specifically, in Study I, men and women in their teens, twenties, and thirties or older were given a measure of desire for a committed relationship. It was predicted that women, regardless of age, would score high on desire for a committed relationship. In contrast, teenage boys would score low on desire for a committed relationship while men in their thirties or older would score as high as the women. In Study II both sexes in their teens, twenties, and thirties or older were given measures of desire for promiscuous sex. It was predicted that the women, regardless of age, would score low on desire for promiscuous sex. In contrast, teenage boys would score high on desire for promiscuous sex while men in their thirties or older would score as low as the women. Support was found for both predictions.

Idealized human mating strategies versus social complexity

2000 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 619-620 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy Perper ◽  
Martha Cornog
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Behavior ◽  
Social Complexity ◽  
Human Sexuality ◽  
Mating Strategies ◽  
Social Constraints ◽  
Idealized Model ◽  
Short And Long Term ◽  
Human Mating

Gangestad & Simpson present an idealized model of human mate strategies based on rational economics and genetics that elides most social constraints on human sexuality. They do not deal with observable complexities of courtship nor with ambiguities in short- and long-term mating. The model successfully explicates a narrow set of premises, but cannot yet explain complex sexual behavior.

The evolution of human mating: Trade-offs and strategic pluralism

2000 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 573-587 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven W. Gangestad ◽  
Jeffry A. Simpson
Keyword(s):  
Mating Strategies ◽  
Child Rearing ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Short And Long Term ◽  
Strategic Pluralism ◽  
Human Mating ◽  
Time And Energy ◽  
Genetic Fitness

During human evolutionary history, there were “trade-offs” between expending time and energy on child-rearing and mating, so both men and women evolved conditional mating strategies guided by cues signaling the circumstances. Many short-term matings might be successful for some men; others might try to find and keep a single mate, investing their effort in rearing her offspring. Recent evidence suggests that men with features signaling genetic benefits to offspring should be preferred by women as short-term mates, but there are trade-offs between a mate's genetic fitness and his willingness to help in child-rearing. It is these circumstances and the cues that signal them that underlie the variation in short- and long-term mating strategies between and within the sexes.

Integrating Focusing and Differentiation: A Therapeutic Path for Couples in Intimate Relationships

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evi Zohar
Keyword(s):  
Couples Therapy ◽  
Therapeutic Potential ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
The Body ◽  
Self Awareness ◽  
Emotional Healing ◽  
Felt Sense ◽  
Inner World

Continuing the workshop I've given in the WPC Paris (2017), this article elaborates my discussion of the way I interlace Focusing with Differentiation Based Couples Therapy (Megged, 2017) under the systemic view, in order to facilitate processes of change and healing in working with intimate couples. This article presents the theory and rationale of integrating Differentiation (Bowen, 1978; Schnarch, 2009; Megged, 2017) and Focusing (Gendlin, 1981) approaches, and its therapeutic potential in couple's therapy. It is written from the point of view of a practicing professional in order to illustrate the experiential nature and dynamics of the suggested therapeutic path. Differentiation is a key to mutuality. It offers a solution to the central struggle of any long term intimate relationship: balancing two basic life forces - the drive for individuality and the drive for togetherness (Schnarch, 2009). Focusing is a body-oriented process of self-awareness and emotional healing, in which one learns to pay attention to the body and the ‘Felt Sense’, in order to unfold the implicit, keep it in motion at the precise pace it needs for carrying the next step forward (Gendlin, 1996). Combining Focusing and Differentiation perspectives can cultivate the kind of relationship where a conflict can be constructively and successfully held in the inner world of each partner, while taking into consideration the others' well-being. This creates the possibility for two people to build a mutual emotional field, open to changes, permeable and resilient.

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