Beyond Global Sociosexual Orientations Penke, Lars; Asendorpf, Jens B
Journal of personality and social psychology,
11/2008, Letnik:
95, Številka:
5
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Sociosexuality is usually assessed as the overall orientation toward uncommitted sex, although this global approach may mask unique contributions of different components. In a large online study (
N
...= 2,708) and a detailed behavioral assessment of 283 young adults (both singles and couples) with a 1-year follow-up, the authors established 3 theoretically meaningful components of sociosexuality: past behavioral experiences, the attitude toward uncommitted sex, and sociosexual desire (all measured by a revised version of the Sociosexual Orientation Inventory). Discriminant validity was shown with regard to (a) their factorial structure, (b) sex differences, (c) many established correlates of sociosexuality, and (d) the prediction of observed flirting behavior when meeting an attractive opposite-sex stranger, even down to the level of objectively coded behaviors, as well as (e) the self-reported number of sexual partners and (f) changes in romantic relationship status over the following year. Within couples, the 3 components also showed distinct degrees of assortative mating and distinct effects on the romantic partner. Implications for the evolutionary psychology of mating tactics are discussed.
The existence of ovulatory-cycle shifts in women’s mate preferences has been a point of controversy. There is evidence that naturally cycling women in their fertile phase, compared with their luteal ...phase, evaluate specific behavioral cues in men as more attractive for sexual relationships. However, recent research has cast doubt on these findings. We addressed this debate in a large, preregistered, within-participants study using salivary-hormone measures and luteinizing-hormone tests. One hundred fifty-seven female participants rated the sexual and long-term attractiveness of 70 men in dyadic intersexual interactions in natural videos. Multilevel comparisons across two ovulatory cycles indicated that women’s mate preferences for men’s behaviors did not shift across the cycle for either competitive or courtship behavior. Within-women hormone levels and relationship status did not affect these results. Hormonal mechanisms and implications for estrus theories are discussed.
Previous research reported ovulatory changes in women's appearance, mate preferences, extra- and in-pair sexual desire, and behavior, but has been criticized for small sample sizes, inappropriate ...designs, and undisclosed flexibility in analyses. In the present study, we sought to address these criticisms by preregistering our hypotheses and analysis plan and by collecting a large diary sample. We gathered more than 26,000 usable online self-reports in a diary format from 1054 women, of which 429 were naturally cycling. We inferred the fertile period from menstrual onset reports. We used hormonal contraceptive users as a quasi-control group, as they experience menstruation, but not ovulation. We probed our results for robustness to different approaches (including different fertility estimates, different exclusion criteria, adjusting for potential confounds, moderation by methodological factors). We found robust evidence supporting previously reported ovulatory increases in extra-pair desire and behavior, in-pair desire, and self-perceived desirability, as well as no unexpected associations. Yet, we did not find predicted effects on partner mate retention behavior, clothing choices, or narcissism. Contrary to some of the earlier literature, partners' sexual attractiveness did not moderate the cycle shifts. Taken together, the replicability of the existing literature on ovulatory changes was mixed. We conclude with simulation-based recommendations for reading the past literature and for designing future large-scale preregistered within-subject studies to understand ovulatory cycle changes and the effects of hormonal contraception. Interindividual differences in the size of ovulatory changes emerge as an important area for further study.
This multitrait multimethod twin study examined the structure and sources of individual differences in creativity. According to different theoretical and metrological perspectives, as well as ...suggestions based on previous research, we expected 2 aspects of individual differences, which can be described as perceived creativity and creative test performance. We hypothesized that perceived creativity, reflecting typical creative thinking and behavior, should be linked to specific personality traits, whereas test creativity, reflecting maximum task-related creative performance, should show specific associations with cognitive abilities. Moreover, we tested whether genetic variance in intelligence and personality traits account for the genetic component of creativity. Multiple-rater and multimethod data (self- and peer reports, observer ratings, and test scores) from 2 German twin studies-the Bielefeld Longitudinal Study of Adult Twins and the German Observational Study of Adult Twins-were analyzed. Confirmatory factor analyses yielded the expected 2 correlated aspects of creativity. Perceived creativity showed links to openness to experience and extraversion, whereas tested figural creativity was associated with intelligence and also with openness. Multivariate behavioral genetic analyses indicated that the heritability of tested figural creativity could be accounted for by the genetic component of intelligence and openness, whereas a substantial genetic component in perceived creativity could not be explained. A primary source of individual differences in creativity was due to environmental influences, even after controlling for random error and method variance. The findings are discussed in terms of the multifaceted nature and construct validity of creativity as an individual characteristic.
Ideal partner preferences for traits in a partner are said to be stable cognitive constructs. However, longitudinal studies investigating the same participants’ ideals repeatedly have so far been ...limited to relatively short retest intervals of a maximum of 3 years. Here, we investigate the stability and change of ideals across 13 years and participants’ insight into how ideals have changed. A total of 204 participants (M = 46.2 years, SD = 7.4, 104 women) reported their ideals at two time points. We found a mean rank-order stability of r = .42 and an overall profile stability of r = .73 (distinctive r = .53). Some ideals changed over time, for example, increased for status-resources in relation to age and parenthood. We found some but varying insight into how ideals had changed (mean r = .20). Results support the idea of ideals being stable cognitive constructs but suggest some variability related to the demands of different life stages.
Pedigree-based analyses of intelligence have reported that genetic differences account for 50-80% of the phenotypic variation. For personality traits these effects are smaller, with 34-48% of the ...variance being explained by genetic differences. However, molecular genetic studies using unrelated individuals typically report a heritability estimate of around 30% for intelligence and between 0 and 15% for personality variables. Pedigree-based estimates and molecular genetic estimates may differ because current genotyping platforms are poor at tagging causal variants, variants with low minor allele frequency, copy number variants, and structural variants. Using ~20,000 individuals in the Generation Scotland family cohort genotyped for ~700,000 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), we exploit the high levels of linkage disequilibrium (LD) found in members of the same family to quantify the total effect of genetic variants that are not tagged in GWAS of unrelated individuals. In our models, genetic variants in low LD with genotyped SNPs explain over half of the genetic variance in intelligence, education, and neuroticism. By capturing these additional genetic effects our models closely approximate the heritability estimates from twin studies for intelligence and education, but not for neuroticism and extraversion. We then replicated our finding using imputed molecular genetic data from unrelated individuals to show that ~50% of differences in intelligence, and ~40% of the differences in education, can be explained by genetic effects when a larger number of rare SNPs are included. From an evolutionary genetic perspective, a substantial contribution of rare genetic variants to individual differences in intelligence, and education is consistent with mutation-selection balance.
Animal social bonds are defined as stable, equitable and strong affiliative and cooperative relationships similar to human friendships. Just as with human friendships, social bonds are thought to ...function as alliances that generate adaptive benefits via support in critical situations. In humans, similarity in many sociodemographic, behavioural and intrapersonal characteristics leads to trust and is predictive of friendships. Specifically, personality homophily (that is, the tendency of individuals to form social bonds with others who have a similar personality) may increase predictability and facilitate trust and reciprocity between partners with compatible behavioural tendencies. While evidence for social bonding in animals is accumulating, far less is known about its predictors. Here, personality homophily effects on the formation and maintenance of social bonds are shown in 24 wild male Assamese macaques at Phu Khieo Wildlife Sanctuary, Thailand. Dyadic bond strength increased with increased similarity in the trait Gregariousness (i.e. frequent and diverse neighbours within 5m and pronounced social tolerance, as shown by high rates of friendly approaches to and by others). To differentiate whether homophily indeed predicted bond formation or whether bonded males’ personalities became more similar over time, we tested the stability of the Gregariousness traits in a subset of immigrating males that had to form new bonds. Gregariousness in these males remained stable, suggesting that males do not adapt their personality to their partner. Our results support the idea of a shared evolutionary origin of homophily as a partner choice strategy in human and nonhuman animals. The main selective advantage of personality similarity in animal social bonds may result from a more reliable cooperation between individuals with similar cooperative behavioural tendencies.
•Personality similarity associated with formation and maintenance of male social bonds.•Dyadic bond strength increased with increased similarity in Gregariousness dimension.•Gregariousness remained stable in migrating males that had to form new bonds.•Males did not adapt their personality to their partners.
Based on undergraduates' self-reports of mate preferences for various traits and self-perceptions of their own levels on those traits, Buston and Emlen Buston PM, Emlen ST (2003) Proc Natl Acad Sci ...USA 100:8805-8810 concluded that modern human mate choices do not reflect predictions of tradeoffs from evolutionary theory but instead follow a "likes-attract" pattern, where people choose mates who match their self-perceptions. However, reported preferences need not correspond to actual mate choices, which are more relevant from an evolutionary perspective. In a study of 46 adults participating in a speed-dating event, we were largely able to replicate Buston and Emlen's self-report results in a pre-event questionnaire, but we found that the stated preferences did not predict actual choices made during the speed-dates. Instead, men chose women based on their physical attractiveness, whereas women, who were generally much more discriminating than men, chose men whose overall desirability as a mate matched the women's self-perceived physical attractiveness. Unlike the cognitive processes that Buston and Emlen inferred from self-reports, this pattern of results from actual mate choices is very much in line with the evolutionary predictions of parental investment theory.
The evolutionary genetics of personality Penke, Lars; Denissen, Jaap J. A.; Miller, Geoffrey F.
European journal of personality,
08/2007, Letnik:
21, Številka:
5
Journal Article
Sexual selection appears to have shaped the acoustic signals of diverse species, including humans. Deep, resonant vocalizations in particular may function in attracting mates and/or intimidating ...same-sex competitors. Evidence for these adaptive functions in human males derives predominantly from perception studies in which vocal acoustic parameters were manipulated using specialist software. This approach affords tight experimental control but provides little ecological validity, especially when the target acoustic parameters vary naturally with other parameters. Furthermore, such experimental studies provide no information about what acoustic variables indicate about the speaker-that is, why attention to vocal cues may be favored in intrasexual and intersexual contexts. Using voice recordings with high ecological validity from 160 male speakers and biomarkers of condition, including baseline cortisol and testosterone levels, body morphology and strength, we tested a series of pre-registered hypotheses relating to both perceptions and underlying condition of the speaker. We found negative curvilinear and negative linear relationships between male fundamental frequency (f
) and female perceptions of attractiveness and male perceptions of dominance. In addition, cortisol and testosterone negatively interacted in predicting f
, and strength and measures of body size negatively predicted formant frequencies (P
). Meta-analyses of the present results and those from two previous samples confirmed that f
negatively predicted testosterone only among men with lower cortisol levels. This research offers empirical evidence of possible evolutionary functions for attention to men's vocal characteristics in contexts of sexual selection.
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