Phenotypic Mimicry Distinguishes Cues of Mating Competition From Paternal Investment in Men’s Conspicuous Consumption

2021 ◽  
pp. 014616722110072
Author(s):  
Daniel J. Kruger

Evolutionary psychologists propose that men’s conspicuous consumption facilitates mate attraction because it predicts resource investment in offspring. This article elaborates on the ultimate functions of men’s luxury displays based on Life History Theory. Three studies provide evidence for phenotypic mimicry, in which consumer product features mimicking male secondary sex characteristics indicate investment in mating competition, at the expense of paternal investment. Men owning shirts with larger luxury brand logos were rated higher on mating effort, lower on parental investment, higher on interest in brief sexual affairs, lower on interest in long-term committed romantic relationships, higher in attractiveness to women for brief sexual affairs, lower in attractiveness to women for long-term committed relationships, and higher in developmental environment unpredictability compared with men owning shirts displaying a smaller logo. Participants recognized the strategic use of luxury display properties across social contexts but did not consistently associate product properties with owners’ physiological characteristics.

2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 13-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine Hennighausen ◽  
Frank Schwab

By applying the handicap principle, researchers have investigated men’s conspicuous purchases of high-status products as part of sexual signaling systems. Studies have suggested that, as part of short-term mating strategies, men are particularly willing to engage in conspicuous consumption to attract mates. Yet, this research has neglected to examine how relationship status influences conspicuous consumption. In our web-based study involving 352 participants (229 women), men tending towards short-term mating reported greater purchase intentions for a high-status smartphone only when single or in uncommitted relationships, while no association surfaced between mating strategy and conspicuous consumption among men in committed relationships. Results also revealed that, independent of mating strategy and income, single men and men in uncommitted relationships were more willing to purchase a low-status smartphone. Relationship status did not affect women’s conspicuous consumption. With these findings, we argue that relationship status significantly moderates men’s conspicuous consumption, as well as discuss purchases of low-status products as possible signals of men’s interest in long-term mating.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 232470962092133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lindsey C. Shipley ◽  
David T. Steele ◽  
Charles M. Wilcox ◽  
Chad M. Burski

Acute pancreatitis is defined as an acute inflammation of the pancreas and is most commonly caused by gallstones and alcohol followed by elevated triglycerides and medications. Estrogen as a cause of secondary hypertriglyceridemic pancreatitis is a rare but known phenomenon in females on hormonal therapy; however, it is not well described in the transgender female population. In this article, we present a case of a 31-year-old transgender female who developed acute, severe pancreatitis after a few months of using estrogen as transition therapy. To our knowledge, this is the third case report of a transgender female presenting with acute pancreatitis secondary to estrogen. Long-term supraphysiologic doses of sex hormones are required to maintain secondary sex characteristics placing this population at a higher risk of developing acute pancreatitis. Further research is needed to determine risk and screening methods to prevent this side effect.


2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 69-76
Author(s):  
Somchit Jaruratanasirikul

Puberty is a normal physiological process of during which children develop secondary sex characteristics, experience growth acceleration, and achieve bone maturation and reproductive competence. The onset of puberty is initiated by the activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis. Precocious puberty is defined as the appearance of secondary sex characteristic at an age younger than 8 years in girls and 9 years in boys, or the beginning of menstruation before 9 years in girls. The most common etiology of central precocious puberty (CPP) is idiopathic (>90.0% in girls and 25.0-60.0% in boys), in which at present the etiologies of idiopathic CPP in some patients can be identified to be from a mutation of KISS1 or MKRN3 genes. The standard treatment for CPP is a gonadotropin-releasing hormone analog (GnRHa). The aims of treatment are to halt and regress the pubertal status of the patient to the prepubertal state that is appropriate for their age, prevent early onset of menses and attenuate the loss of height potential consequence upon advanced skeletal maturation. A study of long-term follow-ups of former CPP women at the age of mid-20s to 50 years found that most of the participants had regular menstrual cycles. The marital status and the pregnancy rate were the same as in controlled group and were not different between the GnRHa-treated and untreated CPP women.


2020 ◽  
Vol 46 (11) ◽  
pp. 743-752 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren Notini ◽  
Brian D Earp ◽  
Lynn Gillam ◽  
Rosalind J McDougall ◽  
Julian Savulescu ◽  
...  

In this article, we analyse the novel case of Phoenix, a non-binary adult requesting ongoing puberty suppression (OPS) to permanently prevent the development of secondary sex characteristics, as a way of affirming their gender identity. We argue that (1) the aim of OPS is consistent with the proper goals of medicine to promote well-being, and therefore could ethically be offered to non-binary adults in principle; (2) there are additional equity-based reasons to offer OPS to non-binary adults as a group; and (3) the ethical defensibility of facilitating individual requests for OPS from non-binary adults also depends on other relevant considerations, including the balance of potential benefits over harms for that specific patient, and whether the patient’s request is substantially autonomous. Although the broadly principlist ethical approach we take can be used to analyse other cases of non-binary adults requesting OPS apart from the case we evaluate, we highlight that the outcome will necessarily depend on the individual’s context and values. However, such clinical provision of OPS should ideally be within the context of a properly designed research study with long-term follow-up and open publication of results.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fang Liu ◽  
Wenyuan Shi ◽  
Lin Huang ◽  
Guizhong Wang ◽  
Zhihuang Zhu ◽  
...  

Crustacean female sex hormone (CFSH) plays a pivotal role in the development of secondary sex characteristics in dioecious crustaceans. However, until now the knowledge concerning its functions in hermaphroditic species is scanty. Herein, we explored the function of CFSH (Lvit-CFSH1a) in the peppermint shrimp Lysmata vittata, a species characterized by a rare reproductive system of protandric simultaneous hermaphroditism (PSH). Lvit-CFSH1a cDNA was 1,220-bp in length with a 720-bp ORF encoded a polypeptide of 239-aa. RT-PCR showed that Lvit-CFSH1a was exclusively expressed in the eyestalk ganglion. For female physiology, it was found that Lvit-CFSH1a was indispensable for the development of female gonopores, but it might not involve vitellogenesis of the species. For male physiology, Lvit-CFSH1a suppressed Lvit-IAG2 expression in short-term silencing experiment and recombinant protein injection experiment, but did not affect male sexual differentiation in long-term silencing experiment. In addition, silencing the Lvit-CFSH1a gene impeded individual growth in L. vittata.


2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 147470492110323
Author(s):  
Ray Garza ◽  
Farid Pazhoohi ◽  
Jennifer Byrd-Craven

Ecological conditions provide information about available resources for one’s environment. In humans, this has been shown to influence reproductive behavior, as individuals may engage in trade-offs between partner quality and investment. For instance, many women may trade-off preferences for men with physical features indicative of social dominance and health over physical features indicative of commitment and investment. The current study explored women’s preferences for formidable men under safe vs. harsh ecological conditions. Across three studies, U.S. university women ( N = 1,098) were randomly assigned to a perceived harsh or safe ecological condition. They were asked to rate the attractiveness of men’s body types (i.e., muscular vs. less muscular). Findings revealed that in general, women rated stronger men as more attractive than weaker men irrespective of the ecological condition. Evidence for preference as a function of ecology appeared only when a two-alternative forced-choice task was used (Study 3), but not in rating tasks (Studies 1 and 2). Study 3 showed that women had a relatively stronger preference for stronger men for short-term relationships in a resource scarce ecological condition. This research provides some evidence that perceived ecological conditions can drive women’s preferences for men with enhanced secondary sex characteristics as a function of mating context. These findings are consistent with previous research indicating the importance of physical characteristics in men’s attractiveness, and it adds to the existing literature on ecological factors and mating preferences.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 574-575
Author(s):  
Alison Chasteen ◽  
Sali Tagliamonte

Abstract In line with this year’s 75th anniversary theme, we will show why aging matters for communication and language. Specifically, in this symposium we will show how aging affects communication and language across a variety of social contexts, social roles, and cognitive abilities. Pabst & Tagliamonte discuss the effects of aging on language use by examining an individual’s daily diary entries over 30 years, including the onset and progression of dementia. Saunders considers language and communication in the context of social interaction among persons with dementia living in a long-term care setting. Savundranayagam et al. test the efficacy of a communication intervention for personal support workers who work with persons with dementia. Chasteen & Tagliamonte consider how ageism is communicated to middle-aged and older adults in everyday life. Taken together, these presentations will provide a multidimensional lens to understanding language and communication in later life.


2018 ◽  
Vol 36 (10) ◽  
pp. 2963-2982 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cari D. Goetz ◽  
Nestor M. Maria

Mate value discrepancies (MVDs) predict multiple outcomes in romantic relationships, including relationship satisfaction, jealousy, and forgiveness. We tested the hypotheses that MVDs would predict anger and shame in response to both medium and strong transgressions within romantic relationships. Participants in long-term committed relationships read scenarios describing relational transgressions and rated how much anger and shame they would feel if they were either the victim or the perpetrator of the transgressions in their current relationship. We found partial support for our hypotheses. Victims of medium-level transgressions were angrier the more alternative potential mates there were that were closer to their ideal mate preferences than their current partner. Perpetrators of strong transgressions felt more shame the higher in mate value their partner was compared to them. Results suggest that different MVDs may predict different outcomes in relationships and highlight the importance of using functional theories of emotions to predict individual differences in emotional responses.


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