Slash fiction and human mating psychology

AbstractHumans express a wide array of ideal mate preferences. Around the world, people desire romantic partners who are intelligent, healthy, kind, physically attractive, wealthy, and more. In order for these ideal preferences to guide the choice of actual romantic partners, human mating psychology must possess a means to integrate information across these many preference dimensions into summaries of the overall mate value of their potential mates. Here we explore the computational design of this mate preference integration process using a large sample of n = 14,487 people from 45 countries around the world. We combine this large cross-cultural sample with agent-based models to compare eight hypothesized models of human mating markets. Across cultures, people higher in mate value appear to experience greater power of choice on the mating market in that they set higher ideal standards, better fulfill their preferences in choice, and pair with higher mate value partners. Furthermore, we find that this cross-culturally universal pattern of mate choice is most consistent with a Euclidean model of mate preference integration.

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Effects of gender and sexual orientation on evolutionarily relevant aspects of human mating psychology.

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology ◽

10.1037/0022-3514.66.6.1081 ◽

1994 ◽

Vol 66 (6) ◽

pp. 1081-1093 ◽

Cited By ~ 202

Author(s):

J. Michael Bailey ◽

Steven Gaulin ◽

Yvonne Agyei ◽

Brian A. Gladue

Keyword(s):

Sexual Orientation ◽

Mating Psychology ◽

Human Mating

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Ovulation, sex hormones, and women’s mating psychology

10.31234/osf.io/xkurf ◽

2018 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Benedict C Jones ◽

Amanda Hahn ◽

Lisa Marie DeBruine

Keyword(s):

Hormonal Regulation ◽

Alternative Model ◽

Empirical Studies ◽

Sexual Relationships ◽

High Fertility ◽

Null Results ◽

Methodological Problems ◽

Women’S Preferences ◽

Mating Psychology ◽

Human Mating

The Dual Mating Strategy hypothesis proposes that women’s preferences for uncommitted sexual relationships with men displaying putative fitness cues increase during the high-fertility phase of the menstrual cycle. Results consistent with this hypothesis are widely cited as evidence that sexual selection has shaped human mating psychology. However, the methods used in most of these studies have recently been extensively criticized. Here we discuss (1) new empirical studies that address these methodological problems and largely report null results and (2) an alternative model of hormonal regulation of women’s mating psychology that can better accommodate these new data.

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Euclidean Mate Value and Power of Choice on the Mating Market

Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin ◽

10.1177/0146167217739262 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 44 (2) ◽

pp. 252-264 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Daniel Conroy-Beam

Keyword(s):

Mate Choice ◽

Computational Design ◽

Mate Preferences ◽

Euclidean Algorithm ◽

Future Research ◽

Mate Value ◽

Ideal Standards ◽

Power Of Choice ◽

Mating Psychology ◽

Human Mating

Three studies tested the hypothesis that human mate choice psychology uses a Euclidean algorithm to integrate mate preferences into estimates of mate value. In Study 1, a series of agent-based models identify a pattern of results relatively unique to mating markets where individuals high in Euclidean mate value experience greater power of choice: strong preference fulfillment overall and correlations between mate value and (a) preference fulfillment, (b) ideal standards, and (c) partner mate value. Studies 2 and 3 demonstrated that this pattern of results that emerges in human romantic relationships, is specific to mate value as a long-term partner, and is not accounted for by participant biases. These results suggest that human mate choice psychology uses a Euclidean algorithm to integrate mate preferences in mate choice, providing insight into the computational design of human mating psychology and validating this algorithm as a useful tool for future research.

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Mate Preferences and Their Behavioral Manifestations

Annual Review of Psychology ◽

10.1146/annurev-psych-010418-103408 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 70 (1) ◽

pp. 77-110 ◽

Cited By ~ 55

Author(s):

David M. Buss ◽

David P. Schmitt

Keyword(s):

Life History Strategy ◽

Mate Preferences ◽

Cultural Norms ◽

Causal Process ◽

Sexual Strategies ◽

Sexual Regret ◽

Context Specific ◽

Mating Psychology ◽

Human Mating ◽

The Impact

Evolved mate preferences comprise a central causal process in Darwin's theory of sexual selection. Their powerful influences have been documented in all sexually reproducing species, including in sexual strategies in humans. This article reviews the science of human mate preferences and their myriad behavioral manifestations. We discuss sex differences and sex similarities in human sexual psychology, which vary according to short-term and long-term mating contexts. We review context-specific shifts in mating strategy depending on individual, social, and ecological qualities such as mate value, life history strategy, sex ratio, gender economic inequality, and cultural norms. We review the empirical evidence for the impact of mate preferences on actual mating decisions. Mate preferences also dramatically influence tactics of mate attraction, tactics of mate retention, patterns of deception, causes of sexual regret, attraction to cues to sexual exploitability, attraction to cues to fertility, attraction to cues to resources and protection, derogation of competitors, causes of breakups, and patterns of remarriage. We conclude by articulating unresolved issues and offer a future agenda for the science of human mating, including how humans invent novel cultural technologies to better implement ancient sexual strategies and how cultural evolution may be dramatically influencing our evolved mating psychology.

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