scholarly journals Attracting Interest: Dynamic Displays of Proceptivity Increase the Attractiveness of Men and Women

2008 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 147470490800600 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew P. Clark

Proceptive signals may influence judgments of opposite-sex attractiveness because these signals indicate high mate quality and/or non-threatening behavior but they may also signal high probable rate of return for mating effort. If so, individuals observing these signals may be sensitive to where the signals are directed to; signals directed toward other individuals may not predict what signals would be directed toward the observer. To explore these possibilities I made use of video stimuli composed of mock interviews with actors. Each actor did one proceptive and one unreceptive interview. Each interview was presented as being directed toward participants or toward an opposite sex interviewer. Proceptivity enhanced the attractiveness of opposite-sex actors and an interaction between proceptive state and signal direction was found, with this pattern varying substantially between actors. The possibility that this variation is mediated by the physical attractiveness and sex of the actors will be discussed.

2006 ◽  
Vol 34 (5) ◽  
pp. 593-602 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arthur H. Perlini ◽  
Tanya L. Boychuk

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of social information about a prospective mate on evaluations of attractiveness, social desirability, and desired relationship. Men and women rated opposite-sex targets with (or without) peer information on the target's relative level of resourcefulness and sexual promiscuity; that is, high resourcefulness/high promiscuity, low resourcefulness/low promiscuity, or no peer information. The findings indicated no effect of these variables on physical attractiveness; however, on ascriptions of social desirability, men and women differed as a function of the social information condition. Likelihood of engaging in sex, dating and marriage with the target varied as a function of sex. Deeper levels of engagement (i.e., dating, marriage) were affected by the type of social information available to judges. Results are discussed in terms of sexual strategy theories of mate preference.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Farrelly ◽  
Laura King

Although previous research has found that altruism is an important trait in human mate choice, much of this has concentrated on female preferences only. Subsequently, the current study explored how both men and women desire altruistic partners who varied in physical attractiveness for both short and long term romantic relationships. A sample of 136 women and 53 men viewed profiles of members of the opposite sex of either high or low physical attractiveness, alongside scenarios that described them as either being altruistic or not. Participants then rated each targets’ desirability as both a short and long term partner. As hypothesised, altruism was rated more desirable, particularly for long term relationships, by both men and women. However there were inconsistent findings when physical attractiveness was accounted for, which did not support the hypotheses nor directly replicate previous findings. Overall it was concluded that although the study provided strong support for the desirability of altruism being due to mutual mate choice, the additional effects of examining other mate choice traits such as attractiveness shows much is still to be known. Study materials and data available at DOI 10.17605/OSF.IO/STXPF


Author(s):  
Emily Stone

This review explores whether and how imbalances in the number of men and women—the sex ratio—affects mating competition. I evaluate the available evidence against two hypotheses: a mating supply and demand hypothesis, which predicts mate competition to increase when mates are scarce, and predictions from a ‘faithful as your options’ hypothesis, which suggests mate competition should increase with a surplus of mates because the returns to mating effort are greatest. Men’s mating effort consistently increased with a surplus of mates, supporting the ‘faithful as your options’ hypothesis, but results for women’s mating effort were mixed. Some measures supported the mating supply and demand hypothesis, some supported the ‘faithful as your options’ hypothesis, and some found no relationship with the sex ratio. Socioeconomic development may explain variation in sex ratio effects for women if men are better able to constrain women’s mating effort in traditional societies, or other variables, like variation in mate quality, may better explain women’s mate competition.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carl Pierre Jago ◽  
Karen R. Dobkins

To appeal to the opposite gender, previous research indicates that men emphasize their wealth, status, and ambition, whereas women emphasize their physical attractiveness. Such behavior seems surprising given previous surveys in which men and women reported these traits to be less important than others such as trustworthiness, intelligence, and warmth. We addressed one potential reason for any disconnect, which is that men’s and women’s beliefs about what the opposite gender prefers are misguided—according to the opposite genders’ self-reports. Using a new method, we asked participants to both self-report the traits they prefer in a romantic partner and to indicate what they imagine the opposite gender prefers. The results reveal striking discrepancies between what people report wanting in a potential partner and what the opposite gender imagines they want. Additionally, women appear to be better at imagining men’s preferences, and we discuss several reasons why this might be the case.


2006 ◽  
Vol 99 (2) ◽  
pp. 502-511
Author(s):  
Eugene W. Mathes ◽  
Abby Bielser ◽  
Ticcarra Cassell ◽  
Sarah Summers ◽  
Aggie Witowski

To investigate correlates of valuing physical attractiveness in a mate, it was hypothesized that valuing physical attractiveness in a mate would correlate with sex and valuing promiscuous sex, status, personal physical attractiveness, beauty, and order. Men and women college students completed measures of the extent to which they valued physical attractiveness in a mate and other variables. Valuing physical attractiveness in a mate was correlated with sex (men valued physical attractiveness in a mate more than did women) and valuing promiscuous sex and status, and, for women, valuing personal physical attractiveness. The results were explained in terms of evolutionary theory.


2004 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 115-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monica T. Whitty

AbstractWhile flirting is a relatively underresearched area within psychology, even less is known about how people cyber-flirt. This paper explores how often individuals flirt offline compared to online. Moreover, it attempts to examine how men and women flirt within these different spaces. Five thousand, six hundred and ninety-seven individuals, of which 3554 (62%) were women and 2143 (38%) were men, completed a survey about their flirting behaviour both in face-to-face interactions and in chatrooms. The first hypothesis, which stated that the body would be used to flirt with as frequently online as offline, was partly supported. However, it was found that individuals downplayed the importance of physical attractiveness online. Women flirted by displaying nonverbal signals (offline) or substitutes for nonverbal cues (online), to a greater extent than men. In chatrooms men were more likely than women to initiate contact. It is concluded that cyber-flirting is more than simply a meeting of minds and that future research needs to consider the role of the body in online interactions.


2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 147470491881213 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evita March ◽  
George Van Doorn ◽  
Rachel Grieve

The booty-call relationship is defined by both sexual characteristics and emotional involvement. In the current study, men’s and women’s preferences for a booty-call mate were explored. Men and women were predicted to exhibit different mate preferences depending on whether they considered a booty-call relationship a short- or long-term relationship. Participants ( N = 559, 74% women) completed an anonymous online questionnaire, designing their ideal booty-call mate using the mate dollars paradigm. Both sexes considered the physical attractiveness and kindness of a booty-call mate a necessity, expressing both short- and long-term mate preferences. The current study highlights the need to explore mate preferences outside the dichotomy of short- and long-term relationships, providing evidence of a compromise relationship.


Retos ◽  
2017 ◽  
pp. 114-116
Author(s):  
Elia Verónica Benavides Pando ◽  
José René Blanco Ornelas ◽  
Jesús Enrique Peinado Pérez ◽  
Julio César Guedea Delgado ◽  
Martha Ornelas Contreras

Abstract. The present study analyses the psychometric properties proposed by Blanco, Blanco, Viciana, and Zueck (2015) for the Physical Self-Concept Scale (CAF). The total sample consisted of 1,500 Mexican university students, with a mean age of 20.69 years (± SD = 2.33). Confirmatory factorial analyses showed that a two-factor structure is viable and adequate for both studied groups (men and women). The structure of two factors (motor competence and physical attractiveness), according to statistical and substantive criteria, has shown adequate indicators of reliability and validity adjustment. In addition, the factorial structure, factor loads and intercepts are considered invariant in the two groups studied. However, differences between the two groups for the factor means were found. Further research should replicate these findings in larger samples.Resumen. El presente estudio analiza las propiedades psicométricas propuestos por Blanco, Blanco, Viciana y Zueck (2015) para la escala de autoconcepto físico (CAF). La muestra total fue de 1500 universitarios mexicanos, con una edad media de 20.69 años (± DE=2.33). Los análisis factoriales confirmatorios mostraron que una estructura de dos factores es viable y adecuada para ambos grupos (hombres y mujeres). La estructura de dos factores (competencia motora y atractivo físico), atendiendo a criterios estadísticos y sustantivos, ha mostrado adecuados indicadores de ajuste de fiabilidad y validez. Además, la estructura factorial, las cargas factoriales y los interceptos se consideran invariantes en las dos poblaciones estudiadas; sin embargo, existen diferencias entre las poblaciones para las medias de los factores. Futuras investigaciones deberían replicar estos hallazgos en muestras más amplias.


Author(s):  
Steven Arnocky ◽  
Tracy Vaillancourt

Darwin (1871) observed in his theory of evolution by means of sexual selection that “it is the males who fight together and sedulously display their charms before the female” (p. 272). Researchers examining intrasexual competition have since focused disproportionately on male competition for mates, with female competition receiving far less attention. In this chapter, we review evidence that women do indeed compete with one another to secure and maintain reproductive benefits. We begin with an overview of the evolutionary theory of competition among women, with a focus on biparental care and individual differences in men’s mate value. We discuss why competition among women is characteristically different from that of men and highlight evidence supporting women’s use of epigamic display of physical attractiveness characteristics and indirect aggression toward same-sex peers and opposite-sex romantic partners as sexually competitive tactics. Finally, individual differences in competition among women are discussed.


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