The Function of Casual Sex Action and Inaction Regret: A Longitudinal Investigation

In several recent papers the sex difference in regret predicted by sexual strategies theory has been supported: men more than women report regret passing up short-term sexual opportunities (inaction regret), while women regret having had sexual encounters (action regret). However, the adaptive function of regret, to improve future behavioral choices, has not been tested. In this first longitudinal test of behavioral change following regret, we consider whether regret actually results in adaptive shifts of behavior: will men who regret passing up sex engage in more short-term sex following regret? Will women who regret short-term encounters either choose better quality partners, reduce number of one-night stands or shift their strategy to long-term relationships? Across two waves (NT1 = 399, 65.4% women and NT2 = 222, 66.2% women) students responded to questions about casual sex action regret and inaction regret, along with possible outcomes, intrapersonal traits, and concurrent contextual predictors. There was no clear evidence for the proposed functional shifts in sexual behavior. Casual sex regret was associated with respondent sex and stable individual differences, such as sociosexual attitudes, regret processing and metacognitions, but the effect of these predictors were not consistent across the two waves. Among the tested concurrent contextual predictors, sexual disgust was the most consistent across waves. Regret is considered a gauge of the value and quality of the short-term sexual encounter. However, tentatively we conclude that after this first test of function using longitudinal data, we find no evidence of a mating strategy shifting effect following sexual regret.

Demonstrate Values: Behavioral Displays of Moral Outrage as a Cue to Long-Term Mate Potential

Recent findings suggest that moral outrage serves an interpersonal function of signaling trustworthiness to others and such perceptions play a uniquely important role in identifying social opportunities. We conducted four studies investigating how behavioral displays of moral outrage are perceived in the specific context of mating. Results indicated participants (particularly women) found prospective mates espousing outrage more desirable for long-term mating (Study 1), and this perception of desirability was similarly inferred among same-sex raters (Study 2). We further replicated findings in Study 1, while additionally considering the basis of women’s attraction toward outraged behavior through candidate mediators (Studies 3 and 4). Although we found consistent evidence for the long-term desirability of outraged behavior, in addition, to trustworthiness, evidence remained mixed on the extent to which evaluations of a prospective mate’s outrage was the basis of effects. We frame results from complementary perspectives of trust signaling and sexual strategies theory.

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

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.

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

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.