Evolutionary Psychology PDF - Chapter 6

176 ChALLENGES OF SEx AND MATiNG Several studies have found that women who have afairs are signifcantly less happy with their current partner, emotionally and sexually, than women who do not (Glass & Wright, 1985; Kinsey et al., 1953). This provides circumstantial support for the mate switching hy...

176 ChALLENGES OF SEx AND MATiNG Several studies have found that women who have afairs are signifcantly less happy with their current partner, emotionally and sexually, than women who do not (Glass & Wright, 1985; Kinsey et al., 1953). This provides circumstantial support for the mate switching hypothesis. Glass and Wright (1992) examined 17 potential “justifcations” for extramarital afairs, ranging from “for fun” to “in order to advance my career.” Women rated love (e.g., falling in love with the other person) and emotional intimacy (e.g., having someone who understands your problems and feelings) as the most compelling justifcations for an afair. Furthermore, 77 percent of the women viewed love as a compelling justifcation, compared with only 43 percent of the men. These fndings provide circumstantial support for the short-term for longterm goals and mate switching hypotheses. One study (Greiling & Buss, 2000) examined the benefts women perceive as likely to come from afairs, how benefcial these things would be if they were received, and the contexts in which women perceive that they would be likely to have an afair. The researchers also examined women who actively pursue short-term matings and asked them what benefts come from those matings. The following section summarizes the results of these studies, but several important limitations must be considered. Women’s beliefs about the benefts of short-term mating do not necessarily make those perceived benefts part of the selection pressure that led to the evolution of women’s short-term mating psychology. The actual adaptive benefts that led to the evolution of women’s short-term mating psychology may lie outside women’s awareness. Furthermore, the benefts women actually receive in modern contexts may not mirror the adaptive benefts ancestral women received from short-term mating. With these limitations in mind, let’s turn to the results. Hypotheses Supported: Mate Switching, Mate Expulsion, and Resources Women reported that engaging in an extra-pair mating made it easier for a woman to break up with her current partner (sixth most likely beneft to receive) and more likely that a woman would fnd a partner who she felt was more desirable than her current partner (fourth most likely beneft to receive). Interestingly, the beneft judged to be most likely to be received—sexual gratifcation—was not central to any of the hypotheses under investigation. Another study examined the contexts that might prompt a woman to have an afair. Greiling and Buss (2000) found that the contexts most likely to promote an extra-pair mating were discovering that a partner was having an afair, having a partner who was unwilling to engage in sexual relations, and having a partner who was abusive to her—all contexts that might promote a breakup. Following closely on the heels of these contexts were feeling that she could fnd someone with whom she would be more compatible than her current partner, meeting someone who is willing to spend a lot of time with her, and meeting someone who is more successful and has better fnancial prospects than her current partner. These fndings across studies support the mate switching hypothesis of short-term mating (see Buss et al., 2017, for additional evidence for the mate switching hypothesis). Two of the resource hypotheses received support from two or more studies. Women were judged to be highly likely to receive resources in exchange for sex, such as free dinners, money, jewelry, or clothing (10th most likely beneft to receive out of the list of 28). These benefts, though, were judged to be only moderately benefcial when compared with other potential benefts a woman could accrue through short-term mating. The contexts that were judged to promote an extra-pair encounter, however, included having a current partner who could not hold down a job and meeting someone with better fnancial prospects than her current partner. These contexts suggest that access to resources, or lack thereof, may be important in a woman’s decision to have an extra-pair sexual liaison and imply a long-term interest in having a mate with resources rather than an exchange of sex for immediate access to resources. 6 ShORT-TERM SExuAL STRATEGiES Hypothesis That Is Promising: Short-Term for Long-Term Goals Another hypothesis that has received empirical support is that women use shortterm mating as a means to evaluate a man as a long-term mate. Women find the attribute of the man already “being in an existing relationship” moderately undesirable in a short-term mate (Buss & Schmitt, 1993). If a man is already in an existing committed relationship, it lowers the odds that a short-term sexual encounter with him will lead to a long-term relationship with him. Men seeking short-term mates, in contrast, are not bothered by the fact that the woman is already in a relationship. Women also find promiscuity to be undesirable in a short-term mate, presumably because promiscuity signals that the man is pursuing a short-term rather than a long-term mating strategy (Buss & Schmitt, 1993). A study examined nine possible reasons for having casual sex. After “I was physically attracted to the person,” the second most important reason women cited was: “I actually wanted a long-term relationship with this person and thought the casual sex might lead to something more long-lasting” (Li & Kenrick, 2006). And as noted earlier, many women who engage in hook-ups or FWB relationships hope that these short-term sexual encounters might turn into long-term romantic relationships— findings that support the short-term for long-term goals hypothesis. Although more research is clearly needed, all these findings support the hypothesis that some women use short-term mating as a means for assessing and evaluating a long-term mating prospect or perhaps leveraging casual sex into a more committed relationship (Buss, 2016b). Short-term mating for long-term goals may include things other than a long-term committed mate, according to evolutionary psychologist Athena Aktipis (personal communication, May 3, 2018). She notes that women may form “special friendships” for social or political alliances, resources or protection, some level of parental investment, and cultivating “ftness interdependence” that generates more future benefts in a variety of domains. Another Promising Hypothesis: Good Genes The economics of the mating market suggest that women, in principle, can secure genes from a short-term afair partner that are superior to those of her regular partner. A highly desirable man is ofen willing to have a brief encounter with a less desirable woman, as long as she does not burden him with entangling commitments. The good genes hypothesis has been put to the test (Gangestad & Thornhill, 1997). The researchers measured genetic quality through the indicator of physical symmetry, as measured by calipers. Recall from Chapter 4 that symmetrical features are hypothesized to be heritable markers of health and ftness, signaling the presence of genes that facilitate resistance to diseases and other environmental insults. Symmetrical men, compared to their more lopsided peers, tended to be more likely to have sexual relations with women who were already in relationships. That is, women appear to be choosing symmetrical men as afair partners, providing one piece of evidence that women might be going for good genes in short-term mating (presumably not consciously). Furthermore, in short-term mating, women place a great premium on physical attractiveness and “desirability to other women” (Buss & Schmitt, 1993; Gangestad & Thornhill, 1997; Li & Kenrick, 2006; Scheib, 2001). For casual sex, women prefer men who are daring, confdent, strong, humorous, and successful with attractive women (Kruger, Fisher, & Jobling, 2003). In short-term mating, more than in long-term mating, women also prefer men who have a masculine facial architecture (Waynforth, Delwadia, & Camm, 2005) and who are muscular (Sacco, Young, Brown, Bernstein, & Hugenberg, 2012). Given that masculine features are likely honest 177 178 ChALLENGES OF SEx AND MATiNG Figure 6.4 Women Prefer Men With Darker and Thicker Limbal Rings in Short-Term Mating signals of good genes (see Chapter 4), their preference suggests that women are seeking short-term mates for the genetic benefts they provide. Women also prefer in short-term mating men with thicker and darker limbal rings—the dark ring about the iris of the eye—a hypothesized health cue (Brown & Sacco, 2018) (see Figure 6.4). The strongest support for the good genes hypothesis of women’s short-term mating comes from a raft of studies on how women’s preferences shift around ovulation, the peak time of a woman’s fertility (Gangestad & Thornhill, 2008; Gangestad, Thornhill, & Garver-Apgar, 2005; Garver-Apgar, Gangestad, & Thornhill, 2008; Gildersleeve et al., 2014). It is only during this fertile window that any genetic benefts can be reaped from short-term mating. Research has documented several shifts in women’s preferences at ovulation compared to other times of their cycle: (1) an increased attraction to men with symmetrical features (Gildersleeve et al., 2014); (2) an increased preference for facial masculinity, body masculinity, and vocal masculinity (Flowe, Swords, & Rockey, 2012; Gildersleeve et al., 2014); (3) an increased preference for men who are tall (Pawlowski & Jasienska, 2005); (4) an increased preference for men who display creative intelligence (Haselton & Miller, 2006); (5) an increased preference for men who are physically attractive and muscular; and (6) an increased preference for men who display social presence and direct intrasexual competitiveness, dominant personality traits, and warrior-like aggressiveness—qualities that indicate social dominance (Giebel, Weierstall, Schauer, & Elbert, 2013; Gildersleeve et al., 2014; Lukaszewski & Roney, 2009). Some recent large-scale studies, however, have failed to replicate the fnding that women experience a preference shift for masculine bodies around ovulation, fnding instead that women rate all men’s bodies as more attractive at ovulation (e.g., Jünger, Kordsmeyer, Gerlach, & Penke, 2018). Theoretically, women with existing mates could only receive genetic benefts if the genetic quality of their regular partner was low relative to the genetic quality of the extra-pair partner (Pillsworth, Haselton, & Buss, 2004). Indeed, women who rate their partners low on sexual attractiveness experience greater sexual desire for extra-pair partners but only at ovulation (Pillsworth & Haselton, 2006). And women seem to choose as afair partners men who have symmetrical features, a hypothesized indicator of good genes (Gangestad et al., 2005). These 6 ShORT-TERM SExuAL STRATEGiES fndings support the hypothesis that women are going for genes that will contribute to their ofspring being sexually successful. These studies point to the viability of the good genes hypothesis as one potential explanation for why women have short-term extra-pair matings. Nonetheless, the recent failures to replicate the preference shift for masculine features at ovulation call into question the good-genes hypothesis, and suggests caution about strong conclusions, awaiting more defnitive tests. Taking Stock of the Evolved Functions of Women’s Short-Term Mating Several hypotheses about the evolved functions of women’s short-term mating have received some empirical support: (1) switching mates, (2) using short-term mating for long-term mating goals, (3) acquiring resources, and (4) obtaining good genes or sexy son genes. There is no requirement that women’s short-term mating has one and only one function. It could have several. Women already mated to men who are low in mate value, for example, could use short-term mating to switch to a man of higher mate value. Other women might use short-term mating to assess and evaluate a man as a long-term prospect or have sex with him for the goal of turning it into a more committed relationship. Women who live in circumstances of resource scarcity or women who are unable to attract a long-term mate might use short-term mating to acquire vital resources. And women already mated to men of low genetic quality could use short-term mating, particularly around the time of ovulation, to secure better genes. Even these hypothesized functions might underestimate the complexity of women’s short-term sexual psychology. Female sexuality, from a male perspective, is an extraordinarily valuable reproductive resource. From a female perspective, this resource is extremely fungible, meaning that it can be exchanged or converted into other resources (Meston & Buss, 2009). We can expect future research to explore the complexity of female short-term sexual psychology by clarifying which women pursue short-term mating in which contexts to secure which adaptive benefts. Context Efects on Short-Term Mating Individual Diferences in Short-Term Mating One window for viewing short-term mating is to contrast the subjective perceptions of costs and benefts of women who actively pursue short-term mating with those who do not. Greiling and Buss (2000) asked a sample of women to complete the Sociosexuality Orientation Inventory (SOI) (Gangestad & Simpson, 1990; see Jackson & Kirkpatrick, 2007, and Penke & Asendorpf, 2008, for more refned measurement of SOI), which assesses individual diferences in whether people pursue shortterm mating strategies. Women’s scores on the SOI were then correlated with their perceptions of the benefts they would likely receive from short-term mating and with their perceptions of the magnitude of benefts received from short-term mating. Women who pursue short-term mating have substantially diferent perceptions of the benefts compared to women who tend not to pursue short-term mating. Women who tend to pursue short-term mating view three classes of benefts as more benefcial. One pertains to sexual resources. Women pursuing short-term mating view as highly benefcial having a sexual partner who is willing to experiment sexually (r = +51), experiencing orgasms with the sexual partner (r = +.47), and experiencing great sexual pleasure because the partner was physically attractive (r = +.39). 179 ChALLENGES OF SEx AND MATiNG 180 Women who pursue short-term mating also see more benefts to improving their skills of attraction and seduction (r = +.50), supporting the mate skill acquisition hypothesis. They also view the resources from short-term mating as more benefcial, including obtaining expensive designer clothing (r = +.45), jewelry (r = +.37), and the use of a partner’s car (r = +.35). Women who tend to pursue short-term mating also have diferent perceptions of the contexts likely to promote short-term mating. Having a regular partner who gets fred from his job (r = +.29), who sufers a decrease in salary (r = +.25), or who becomes terminally ill (r = +.23) increase the odds of short-term mating by such women. These results support the mate switching hypothesis—women who indicate that they have pursued short-term matings are more likely to cite problems with a partner as a rationale for an afair. Furthermore, meeting someone who is better looking than one’s regular partner is perceived by such women as more likely to lead to an extra-pair mating (r = +.25). Another study of individual diferences using the SOI focused on shifts in “desire for commitment” from a partner (Townsend & Wasserman, 1998). Desire for commitment was measured by using items such as “I would like to know whether he/she was available for a more involved relationship (for example, not involved with anyone else at the time)” (1998, p. 183). Women who pursue short-term mating strategies, compared with their more long-term oriented peers, were considerably more willing to have sex without requiring signs of commitment from the man. Furthermore, they placed a signifcantly greater emphasis on the man’s popularity and physical attractiveness—lending circumstantial support to the sexy son hypothesis of women’s short-term mating. One key cost is viewed by short-term mating women as less likely to be incurred— reputational damage. Women who pursue a short-term mating strategy view reputational damage among friends, potential partners, and high-status peer groups as signifcantly less likely to occur than do women not actively oriented toward short-term mating (r = −.47). Perhaps short-term maters select contexts in which these costs are less likely to be incurred, such as a large city or when the current partner is out of town. Taken together, these fndings support several of the hypothesized benefts of extra-pair mating, especially acquiring resources, switching mates, and securing good genes. Can a Short-Term Sexual Strategy Be Perceived by Others? One study videotaped 24 women who difered in sexual strategy, while interacting with a male confederate (Stillman & Maner, 2009). The videotapes were then shown to a group of raters, who were asked to predict the sexual strategy of each of the women (as assessed through the women’s SOI scores). Judges turned out to be reasonably accurate in estimating women’s sexual strategy, with a correlation of +.55 between the judge’s ratings and women’s SOI scores. Then the researchers explored which specifc cues judges used to gauge the women’s SOI. Interestingly, they found some “valid” cues to SOI—eyebrow fashes and number of glances at the male confederate. The “invalid” cues, such as smiling, laughing, closeness to the confederate, and provocativeness of dress, were believed by judges to signal a short-term mating strategy in women but in fact were not linked to women’s self-reported sexual strategy. Sexually unrestricted women, however, do tend to show more dramatic shifs in the provocativeness of dress at ovulation compared to more sexually restricted women (Durante, Li, & Haselton, 2008). These studies suggest that women pursuing a short-term mating strategy might not dress more provocatively in general but do dress more provocatively when they are ovulating. Another study found that women and men who have tattoos are perceived to have had a larger number of sex partners, although whether tattoos actually signal sexual strategy has not yet been determined (Wohlrab, Fink, Kappeler, & Brewer, 2009). People perceived men who smoke and drink alcohol a lot to be inclined to short-term mating, and this perception turns out to have some accuracy (Vincke, 2016).