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Attachment orientations of anxiety and avoidance are associated with many important romantic relationship outcomes. An evolutionary perspective has informed research on the associations between attachment orientations and mate retention behaviors, which individuals perform to retain their romantic partner and maintain their relationship. In the current article, we report two dyadic studies (n = 104, United States; n = 978, Germany, Switzerland, Austria) that evaluated: (1) whether bivariate associations between attachment orientations and mate retention domains are replicable; (2) whether an individual’s attachment orientation predicts their partner’s mate retention behaviors; and (3) whether, over time, mate retention behaviors predict attachment orientations within couples. Results of both studies replicated previous bivariate associations between attachment anxiety and cost-inflicting mate retention behaviors. Longitudinal dyadic data from Study 2 demonstrated that cost-inflicting mate retention behaviors, specifically, can be predictive of future attachment anxiety in romantic partners. These results contribute to the emerging body of research on the associations between attachment orientations and mate retention behaviors, and suggest an important (bidirectional) role of attachment anxiety in predicting negative partner-directed behaviors in romantic relationships.

Abstract. The Coalitional Mate Retention Inventory (CMRI; Pham, Barbaro, Mogilski, & Shackelford, 2015 ) assesses the frequency with which individuals solicit allies to assist with mate retention efforts. The current study subjected the CMRI to confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs). A model comparison approach was employed using data from a large community sample of participants currently in a heterosexual romantic relationship ( n = 1,003, 54% male). The seven-factor structure of the CMRI demonstrates good model fit and provides significantly better fit than an alternative single-factor structure. The results also demonstrate that the seven tactics of the CMRI are subsumed by two superordinate domains of Benefit-Provisioning and Cost-Inflicting coalitional mate retention. Correlational analyses with the superordinate domains of coalitional mate retention are presented and highlight their predictive utility. We recommend the continued use of the CMRI in psychological research.

Previous research indicates that men can accurately assess women’s mating orientation from facial photographs (DeLecce et al. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 43, 319–327, 2014). The current study investigated whether this ability is moderated by men’s own mating orientation. To that end, 89 men completed the Sociosexual Orientation Inventory (SOI)—an assessment of mating orientation—and rated the perceived faithfulness of 55 women (who also completed the SOI) depicted in facial photographs. Although men were indeed accurate in their faithfulness perceptions of the female targets, men’s mating orientation did not moderate the negative association between their faithfulness ratings and the self-reported mating orientation of the female targets. Limitations of the current study and directions for future research are addressed in the discussion.

Few studies have investigated the associations between romantic attachment dimensions and sexual coercion perpetration. The present study aimed to address methodological limitations in previous studies, and to more accurately identify the associations between romantic attachment and sexual coercion perpetration in romantic relationships. Data from 284 individuals (56% men) were secured via an online self-report survey. Participants completed assessments of romantic attachment to their current romantic partner, and reported the frequency with which they perpetrated 34 acts of sexual coercion against their romantic partner. Attachment anxiety was a positive predictor of sexual coercion perpetration for men and women. Additionally, for men only, the association between attachment anxiety and sexual coercion perpetration was stronger for individuals with greater attachment avoidance. The results of the study present a clearer picture of the associations between attachment and sexual coercion, and accord with modern theoretical perspectives positing that romantic attachment regulates reactions to acute and ongoing relationship threats.

Female sexual orientation has received less theoretical and empirical attention than male sexual orientation and few reviews are devoted to female sexual orientation. Moreover, research investigating female sexual orientation often underappreciates insights afforded by evolutionary theory. This review begins with an overview of the literature on female sexual identification, sexual perception, sexual fluidity, sexual expression, and the biology of female sexual orientation. Female same-sex sexual behaviors in the non-human apes are then described, providing a comparative context for the following discussion of hypotheses for the evolution of human female same-sex sexual attractions and behaviors. These hypotheses are organized as byproduct hypotheses or adaptation hypotheses and we include discussions of dysfunction, heterosis, sexual antagonism, epigenetics, weak selection, self-domestication, sexual frustration, mate attraction, alloparenting, polygyny, and other topics. We conclude by highlighting the challenges posed by evolutionary studies of human psychology.

We investigated whether women (n = 223) higher in the Dark Triad traits (narcissism, psychopathy, Machiavellianism) are subjected to greater cost-inflicting mate retention behaviors by their long-term romantic partners, and we considered women's desire for marriage as a moderator. We found that women higher in narcissism reported lower levels of verbal insults associated with “derogating value as a person” inflicted by their partners. Women higher in psychopathy reported higher levels of verbal insults associated with derogating physical attractiveness, derogating value as a partner, accusations of sexual infidelity, and general cost-inflicting mate retention behaviors inflicted by their partners. Women higher in psychopathy and who also reported a higher desire for marriage were subjected to more cost-inflicting mate retention behaviors than women higher in psychopathy that reported a lower desire for marriage. In this context, mate retention behaviors may reduce the likelihood of infidelity by decreasing the self-worth of women higher on the Dark Triad traits so that they conclude they are unable to compete successfully for other partners.

Previous research indicates that the romantic attachment dimensions of anxiety and avoidance are associated with performance frequency of Benefit-Provisioning and Cost-Inflicting domains of mate retention. The current research aimed to replicate previous findings in a non-Western sample (Iran, Study 1) and to extend this research by investigating the mediating role of perceived risk of partner infidelity (Study 2). Studies 1 and 2 tested the hypotheses that attachment anxiety is positively associated with mate retention and that attachment avoidance is negatively associated with mate retention. Study 2 tested the hypothesis perceived risk of partner infidelity mediate the association between attachment dimensions and mate retention domains. Results of Studies 1 and 2 replicated previous research and also revealed that perceived risk of partner infidelity mediated the association between attachment anxiety, specifically, and mate retention. The current research advances our understanding of romantic attachment from an evolutionary psychological perspective.

Childhood religious experiences with peers are important in the development of religiosity. However, peers' influence on these experiences has not been properly operationalized and measured. We addressed this limitation by developing the Childhood Religious Experiences with a Peer Inventory (CREPI). In Study 1 (n = 254), an act nomination procedure generated 106 items describing childhood religious experiences with a same-sex peer. These experiences were specific things that the peer said to, did to, or did with a participant during their childhood. In Study 2 (n = 458), participants indicated how frequently each item occurred in their childhood. Factor analysis yielded 27 items organized into three factors: Peer Proselytization, Shared Activities, and Peer Dialogue. The CREPI allows researchers to quantify peer influence on childhood religious experiences, enabling future investigation of whether and how these influences predict adult religiosity.

Childhood religious experiences with primary caregivers are instrumental in the development of religiosity. However, the ways that primary caregivers influence these experiences have not been properly operationalized and measured. We addressed this limitation by developing the Childhood Religious Experiences Inventory – Primary Caregiver (CREI-PC). An act nomination procedure (Study 1, n = 201) resulted in 120 items describing specific things a primary caregiver said to, did to, or did with, a participant during their childhood. In Study 2 (n = 497), participants indicated how frequently each item occurred in their childhood. Principal Component Analysis yielded 16 items loading on four components: Assurance; Disapproval and Punishment; Social Involvement, and Encouraged Skepticism. The CREI-PC allows researchers to quantify primary caregiver influence on childhood religious experiences, enabling future investigation of whether and how these influences predict adult religiosity.

Researchers have expended considerable effort to understand the causes and correlates of criminal victimization. More recently, scholars have focused on identifying individual-level traits that increase the odds of victimization. Generally absent from this line of research, however, is examining the extent to which previously unmeasured genetic and environmental influences contribute to the covariation between victimization and individual-level risk factors. The current study aims to replicate and extend prior research by examining the contribution of genetic and environmental influences on the association between intelligence and victimization by analyzing twin and sibling data from two nationally representative samples of American youth. Quantitative genetic analyses indicate that common additive genetic factors, as well as non-shared environmental factors, explained the phenotypic association between intelligence and victimization. Finally, our results revealed that after correcting for possible familial confounding, the effect of intelligence on victimization experiences remained statistically significant. The findings of the current study replicate and extend prior research on the phenotypic association between indicators of general intelligence and the experience of victimization.

Research in evolutionary psychology, and life history theory in particular, has yielded important insights into the developmental processes that underpin variation in growth, psychological functioning, and behavioral outcomes across individuals. Yet, there are methodological concerns that limit the ability to draw causal inferences about human development and psychological functioning within a life history framework. The current study used a simulation-based modeling approach to estimate the degree of genetic confounding in tests of a well-researched life history hypothesis: that father absence ( X ) is associated with earlier age at menarche ( Y ). The results demonstrate that the genetic correlation between X and Y can confound the phenotypic association between the two variables, even if the genetic correlation is small—suggesting that failure to control for the genetic correlation between X and Y could produce a spurious phenotypic correlation. We discuss the implications of these results for research on human life history, and highlight the utility of incorporating genetically sensitive tests into future life history research.

Values guide behaviors and cognitively represent needs. Expressed values may provide relevant cues that affect mate selection. In particular, individuals endorsing excitement values (e.g., emotion, pleasure, sexuality) are more likely to commit infidelity. Therefore, a person's desirability as a long-term partner may be negatively affected by that person's endorsement of excitement values. To test this hypothesis, we conducted a 2 (sex) × 2 (ascribed values) × 2 (facial attractiveness) factorial design experiment. Participants were 80 individuals, aged between 17 and 48 years (M = 24.1, SD = 5.61), mostly heterosexual (93.8%). Participants rated how desirable the person depicted in the factorial scenarios is as a long-term partner, on a 6-point Likert scale (undesirable–very desirable). Attractive men's desirability as a long-term partner decreased when associated with excitement values, providing some support for evolutionarily informed hypotheses. We discuss results in light of evolutionary hypotheses of mate selection, highlighting limitations and identifying directions for future research.

Previous research investigated only the intrapersonal effects of personality traits on mate retention behaviors. The current study is the first to implement a dyadic perspective to explore interpersonal effects of personality traits on mate retention. We investigated actor and partner effects of the five-factor personality traits on mate retention using actor–partner interdependence modeling with data secured from both members of 190 heterosexual romantic couples. In a round-robin design, each participant rated their own and their partner's personality traits, and their own mate retention behaviors. Our results demonstrated the largest actor and partner effects of neuroticism on mate retention, particularly on cost-inflicting behaviors, showing that individuals higher on neuroticism reported their more frequent use. Smaller and opposite effects of agreeableness and conscientiousness were found, with higher levels of these traits related to less frequent use of cost-inflicting behaviors. Several effects of these “Big Three” personality traits generalized across self- and partner-reports, indicating that they were not the artifacts of common method variance. The effects of openness were much weaker and none generalized across both data sources. Extraversion did not demonstrate any significant effects. Discussion comments on limitations of the current research and suggests directions for future research.

Personality dimensions are associated with various romantic relationship outcomes. The current study examined associations among the Big Five personality dimensions and mate retention domains in a community sample in Iran. Participants ( n = 308) completed a survey that included measures of personality and mate retention behaviors. The results revealed that Conscientiousness and Openness to Experience were negatively associated with Cost-Inflicting mate retention behaviors (e.g., mate concealment, threatening infidelity), and that these associations remained significant when controlling for key demographic variables of sex, age, education, and relationship length. The results highlight the relationship between personality dimensions and mate retention in a non-Western culture. Limitations of the current study are noted and future directions are discussed.

As a socially monogamous species, humans generally have one committed romantic partner at a time, but sometimes engage in infidelity. Previous research has related infidelity to individual difference traits, including global assessments of “mate value” (relative value as a romantic partner on the “mating market”). We explored the extent to which one's intention to commit an infidelity is uniquely predicted by different components of mate value. The results confirm a negative relationship between one's overall mate value and one's intention to commit an infidelity, and also identify four distinct mate value components (agreeableness/commitment, surgency, emotional stability, and physical attractiveness) that uniquely predict infidelity intention. Two of these factors, surgency (for women) and agreeableness/commitment (for men), positively predict anticipated infidelity. Additionally, the results indicate that men's but not women's infidelity intention is better predicted by the combination of their own and their partner's mate value. Discussion includes interpretations of the results in terms of potential social or personal advancement.

Objectives Men and women accurately assess male physical strength from facial and body morphology cues. Women's assessments of male facial attractiveness, masculinity, and dominance correlate positively with male physical strength. A positive relationship also has been reported between physical strength and attractiveness of men's dance movements. Here, we investigate men's and women's attractiveness, dominance, and strength assessments from brief samples of male gait. Methods Handgrip strength (HGS) was measured in 70 heterosexual men and their gait was motion-captured. Men and women judged 20 precategorized strong (high HGS) and weak (low HGS) walkers on attractiveness, dominance, and strength, and provided a measure of their own HGS. Results Both men and women judged strong walkers higher on dominance and strength than weak walkers. Women but not men judged strong walkers more attractive than weak walkers. These effects were independent of observers' physical strength. Conclusions Male physical strength is conveyed not only through facial and body morphology, but also through body movements. We discuss our findings with reference to studies suggesting that physical strength provides information about male quality in contexts of inter- and intrasexual selection. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 28:913–917, 2016. © 2016Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

People deploy mate retention behaviors to thwart a long-term romantic partner's infidelity. Cost-Inflicting mate retention behaviors (e.g., inducing a partner's jealousy) are riskier than Benefit-Provisioning mate retention behaviors (e.g., showing love and care for a partner), because the former increase the odds of a partner's defection or retaliation. Individual differences in endorsement of Existence values—i.e., valuing Personal Stability, Health, and Survival—may be associated with the type of mate retention behaviors people perform. We hypothesized that individuals who endorse Existence values more (versus less), would perform less frequent Cost-Inflicting mate retention behaviors (controlling for performance of Benefit-Provisioning mate retention behaviors; Hypothesis 1), and more frequent Benefit-Provisioning mate retention behaviors (controlling for performance of Cost-Inflicting mate retention behaviors; Hypothesis 2). Participants (n = 164), each in a heterosexual, romantic relationship of at least three months duration, completed a survey that included the Mate Retention Inventory-Short Form and the Basic Values Survey. Endorsement of Existence values was negatively associated with performance of Cost-Inflicting mate retention behaviors (supporting Hypothesis 1), and positively associated with performance of Benefit-Provisioning mate retention behaviors (supporting Hypothesis 2). We situate these results within an evolutionary framework on mate retention, and discuss their theoretical and applied utility.

Across most of human history, infant and child mortality rates were very high, suggesting the death of a child was a challenge faced by many ancestral parents. Prolonged grief likely harmed grievers’ fitness, yet grief is ubiquitous and often protracted, thereby presenting a puzzle for evolutionary arguments. We integrate existing theories of grief with patterns of parental bereavement to examine how human psychology has been shaped to respond to the death of a child. We contend that variation in life history strategy may explain the relative difficulty with which individuals recover from losing a child. We propose that the same physiological mechanisms underlying detachment and grief during dissolved romantic relationships may also underlie the intensity of parental attachment and bereavement. This theoretical review thus integrates evolutionary theory with extant grief research to provide a functional analysis of the immense suffering associated with the loss of a child.

Peers and primary caregivers influence the development of religious beliefs during childhood and adolescence. However, previous research has not assessed whether childhood religious experiences with peers and primary caregivers are differently related to individual differences in adult religiosity. We investigated whether the frequency of childhood religious experiences with peers and primary caregivers are related to adult religious beliefs and religious service attendance. An online sample of adults (n = 525) completed a survey that included a measure of religious beliefs and two recently developed measures that assess the ways in which peers and primary caregivers influenced religious experiences during childhood and adolescence. Results suggest that the frequency of childhood religious experiences with peers and primary caregivers are differently related to individual differences in adult religiosity: 1) Participation in religious activities with a peer, and primary caregiver's disapproval of religious deviation, are positively associated with adult religious attendance, 2) participation in religious activities with a peer, and primary caregiver's religious assurance, are positively associated with adult religious belief, and 3) primary caregiver's encouragement of religious skepticism is negatively associated with adult religious belief. Discussion highlights limitations of the current study and important directions for future research.

We developed and validated the Reasons for Disagreement in Romantic Relationships Scale (RDRRS). We conducted act nomination (Study 1), investigated the items’ component structure in a sample of newlywed couples (Study 2), and compared responses in the newlywed year to responses three years later (Study 3). First, we identified 82 reasons for disagreement. Second, 214 participants (107 couples) reported how frequently they disagreed about each issue in the past six months. The RDRRS contains 30 items organized into Inadequate Attention/Affection, Jealousy/Infidelity, Chores/Responsibilities, Sex, Control/Dominance, and Future Plans/Money. Finally, we re-assessed 138 participants three years later. The associations between disagreement and relationship satisfaction decreased over time. We recommend the RDRRS for assessing reasons for disagreement in romantic relationships.

Objectives Strategic Pluralism Theory contends that human mating strategies are calibrated toward short-term (ST) or long-term (LT) mating according to the expression of condition-dependent traits and characteristics of the social and physical environment. Traits reflecting the effects of testosterone have been considered condition-dependent traits that provide information about the calibration of male mating strategy. We investigated the relationship of muscle mass and facial masculinity with attitudes and behaviors reflecting ST and LT mating tactics. Methods We measured skeletal muscle mass (SMM) through bioelectrical impedance and facial width-to-height ratio (fWHR) in a sample of Chilean men (n = 206; mean age = 22.52 ± 4.65 SD), and collected information about sociosexual attitudes and past sexual behavior. Results Our results showed an interaction effect of SMM and fWHR on unrestricted (but not restricted) sociosexual attitudes and past sexual behavior. Individuals with a consistent expression of both traits (ie, high SMM and fWHR or low SMM and fWHR) reported higher levels of unrestricted sociosexual attitudes and a greater number of lifetime and previous-year sexual partners. Conclusions These findings suggest that the intensity and consistency of expression of body and facial masculinity is important in signaling male mating tactics and sociosexual attitudes.

This study secured evidence of the validity and reliability of the Mate Retention Inventory-Short Form (MRI-SF) in the Brazilian context. Participants were 212 individuals in a long-term, heterosexual, romantic relationship residing in Fortaleza, aged between 18 and 59 years (M = 26.3, SD = 7.5), mainly female (58.5%) and attending college (60.8%). The average duration of the romantic relationship was 59.3 months (SD = 63.8 months). Participants answered demographic questions and completed a Brazilian Portuguese translation of the MRI-SF, which presents 38 items that assess how often participants performed each mate retention act described. The results indicated a two-factor structure that explained 33.3% of the total variance. The results also indicated that men and women differentially use several mate retention tactics. These results are discussed in light of evolutionary hypotheses of mate selection, and we highlight limitations of the current research and identify important directions for future research.

A given man's phenotype embodies cues of his ancestral ability to effectively defend himself and his kin from harm, to survive adverse conditions, and to acquire status and mating opportunities. In this review, we explore the hypothesis that a man's phenotype also embodies cues to fertility or the probability that an ejaculate will fertilize ova. Female mate choice depends on the ability to discern the quality of a male reproductive partner through his phenotype, and male fertility may be among the traits that females have evolved to detect. A female who selects as mates males that deliver higher quality ejaculates will, on average, be more fecund than her competitors. Data on several non-human species demonstrate correlations between ejaculate quality and secondary sexual characteristics that inform female mate choice, suggesting that females may select mates in part on the basis of fertility. While the non-human literature on this topic has advanced, the human literature remains limited in scope and there is no clear consensus on appropriate methodologies or theoretical positions. We provide a comprehensive review and meta-analysis of this literature, and conclude by proposing solutions to the many issues that impede progress in the field. In the process, we hope to encourage interest and insight from investigators in other areas of human mating and reproductive biology. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 28:318-329, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

We investigated the influence of mating context and sociosexual orientation (interest in sex without emotional involvement) on men's perceptions of women's dance movements. One hundred men aged 18 to 33 ( M = 23.5, SD = 3.5) years viewed brief videos of five “high attractive” and five “low attractive” female dancers (aged 18 to 22 years; M = 19.8, SD = 1.2) from a sample of 84 motion-captured dancers, and judged them on promiscuity and movement harmony. Additionally, half the participants judged the dancers on attractiveness as a long-term mate and the other half on attractiveness as a short-term mate. Men were more attracted to high attractive dancers than to low attractive dancers and judged them higher on attractiveness when choosing as a potential short-term mate. In addition, high attractive dancers were rated higher than low attractive dancers on promiscuity and movement harmony. Specifically, promiscuity judgments predicted men's short-term attractiveness ratings, whereas movement harmony judgments predicted long-term attractiveness ratings. Men's sociosexual orientation did not influence perceptions of female dance movements. Results are discussed with reference to trade-offs in time and energy expenditure on child rearing in men's mate preferences, corroborating the hypothesis that women's body movements inform on these qualities.

Women perform oral sex on their male partner (i.e., fellatio) as part of a Benefit-Provisioning mate retention strategy, and women’s personality predicts their interest in, and time spent, performing fellatio. We explored whether women’s mate retention behavior mediates the relationship between their personality traits and their performance of fellatio in a long-term romantic relationship. Women (n = 401) reported their personality traits, the frequency with which they performed mate retention behaviors during the past month, and their interest in and the time they spent performing fellatio on their partner during their most recent sexual encounter. The results indicate that women higher in Conscientiousness spend more time performing fellatio on their partner, and this relationship is mediated by their Benefit-Provisioning mate retention. Women higher in Agreeableness report greater interest in performing fellatio on their partner, and less Cost-Inflicting mate retention, but mate retention behaviors do not mediate the relationship between their Agreeableness and their interest in performing fellatio. The current research is the first to investigate the relationship between women’s personality traits and oral sex behaviors, and contributes to research documenting that mate retention strategies are associated with sexual behavior.

Humans deploy various strategies to solve adaptive problems associated with a long-term partner’s infidelity. We investigated the relationships among three such strategies: individual mate retention, coalitional mate retention (i.e., mate retention with assistance from allies), and in-pair copulation frequency. Participants (n = 387; 176 women) in a committed, heterosexual relationship reported how often they (1) perform individual mate retention, (2) request coalitional mate retention, and (3) had sexual intercourse with their partner. The results indicate that women’s individual mate retention and men’s coalitional mate retention are positively associated with in-pair copulation frequency. The discussion notes limitations of this research and highlights the diversity of strategies humans deploy to address the adaptive problems of partner infidelity.

Friendship solved adaptive problems over human evolutionary history, including cooperative hunting and alloparenting. Pham, Barbaro, and Shackelford (in press) investigated another potential function of friendship: the provision of coalitional mate retention, whereby individuals ask an ally to assist with thwarting their romantic partner’s infidelity. In the current research, 387 participants (176 women) reported how often they requested or received coalitional mate retention from a male friend and from a female friend and reported on the quality of each friendship. The results indicate that the deployment of coalitional mate retention is positively associated with the quality of friendships with women (female–female friendships, male–female friendships, female–male friendships), but negatively associated with the quality of male–male friendships.

Women’s copulatory orgasm may function to retain sperm from men with “good genes”, one indicator of which is attractiveness, and one benefit of which is pathogen resistance. Women who perceive their partner to be more (vs. less) attractive are more likely to report orgasm at last copulation. Another benefit of male attractiveness to women is that he may sire offspring that will gain the heritable share of this advantage (i.e., “sexy sons”). Research has not addressed the “Sexy Sons” Hypothesis (e.g., as indicated by women’s perception of other women’s assessments of their partner’s attractiveness) in regards to female copulatory orgasm. We secured self-reports from 439 women in a committed, heterosexual relationship and investigated the relationships between women’s orgasm at last copulation and (1) women’s assessments of their partner’s attractiveness and (2) women’s perceptions of other women’s assessments of their partner’s attractiveness. The results indicate that women mated to more (vs. less) attractive men are more likely to report orgasm at last copulation, and this relationship is mediated by women’s perceptions of other women’s assessments of their partner’s attractiveness. We discuss the mediated relationship, note limitations of the research, and suggest future research directions.

Men who report performing more mate retention behaviors, in general, and more benefit-provisioning mate retention behaviors, in particular, also report greater interest in, and spend more time, performing oral sex on their female partner. We extended these findings to a female sample to investigate whether women’s oral sex behaviors are related to their mate retention behaviors. We secured self-report data from 410 women residing in the United States or in Germany in a committed, sexual, heterosexual relationship. The results indicate that women who report performing more benefit-provisioning mate retention behaviors also report greater interest in, and spend more time, performing oral sex on their partner. Further, there are no sex differences in the magnitudes or directions of these relationships. The results suggest that both men and women are more interested in, and spend more time, performing oral sex on their partner as part of a benefit-provisioning strategy to increase their partner’s relationship satisfaction. We address limitations of this research, and discuss explanations for the results.

The Dark Triad is a cluster of aversive traits that includes Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and narcissism. Individuals who score higher on these traits also report more sexual partners, suggesting that the Dark Triad may provide advantages to attracting short-term partners. We investigated the associations between the Dark Triad traits and self-promotion mate attraction tactics in a short-term mating context. We hypothesized that, in this mating context, psychopathy would predict the performance frequency of self-promotion behaviors in men (Hypothesis 1), narcissism would predict these behaviors in both men (Hypothesis 2) and women (Hypothesis 3), and that the relationship between narcissism and the performance frequency of self-promotion behaviors would be stronger in women than in men (Hypothesis 4). Participants were 225 Brazilian undergraduate students, aged between 18 and 45 years (M = 21.8; SD = 4.80; 58.2% women). Supporting Hypothesis 1, psychopathy positively predicted the performance frequency of self-promotion behaviors in men. Narcissism was positively associated with the performance frequency of self-promotion behaviors in both men (supporting Hypothesis 2) and women (supporting Hypothesis 3), but with similar strength (inconsistent with Hypothesis 4). We situate these results concerning mate attraction within an evolutionary framework and discuss their theoretical and applied utility.

A prospective romantic partner’s desirability as a long-term partner may be affected by the values that he or she endorses. However, few studies have examined the effects of “values” on a person’s desirability as a long-term partner. We hypothesized that individuals who endorse social values (vs. personal values) will be perceived as more desirable long-term partners (Hypothesis 1) and that the endorsement of social values will be especially desirable in a male (vs. female) long-term partner (Hypothesis 2). The current study employed a 2 (sex of prospective partner: male vs. female) × 2 (values of prospective partner: personal vs. social) × 2 (physical attractiveness of prospective partner: unattractive vs. highly attractive) mixed-model design. Participants were 339 undergraduates (174 men, 165 women), with ages varying between 18 and 33 years ( M = 19.9, SD = 3.6), and mostly in a romantic relationship (53.7%). Participants reported interest in a long-term relationship with prospective partners depicted in four scenarios (within subjects), each varying along the dimensions of values (personal vs. social) and physical attractiveness (unattractive vs. highly attractive). Individuals endorsing personal values (vs. social values) and men (vs. women) endorsing personal values were rated as less desirable as long-term partners. The current research adds to the partner preferences literature by demonstrating that an individual’s ascribed values influence others’ perceptions of desirability as a long-term partner and that these effects are consistently sex differentiated, as predicted by an evolutionary perspective on romantic partner preferences.

Researchers have expended considerable effort to understand the causes and correlates of criminal victimization. More recently, scholars have focused on identifying individual-level traits that increase the odds of victimization. Generally absent from this line of research, however, is examining the extent to which previously unmeasured genetic and environmental influences contribute to the covariation between victimization and individual-level risk factors. The current study aims to replicate and extend prior research by examining the contribution of genetic and environmental influences on the association between intelligence and victimization by analyzing twin and sibling data from two nationally representative samples of American youth. Quantitative genetic analyses indicate that common additive genetic factors, as well as non-shared environmental factors, explained the phenotypic association between intelligence and victimization. Finally, our results revealed that after correcting for possible familial confounding, the effect of intelligence on victimization experiences remained statistically significant. The findings of the current study replicate and extend prior research on the phenotypic association between indicators of general intelligence and the experience of victimization. Keywords: intelligence; victimization; criminology; behavioral genetics

Recent research on women’s ratings of men’s dance movements indicates that women derive similar cues of male “quality” (e.g., physical strength) from movement as from faces and bodies. Whether this extends to personality assessment is yet unclear. We recorded dance movements of 80 men using 3D optical motion-capture technology and secured self-reports of men’s personality standings. Dance movements were applied to a uniform, shape-standardized virtual humanoid character (avatar) and presented to women as 15-s videos for attractiveness and personality ratings. Women’s ratings of dance attractiveness correlated negatively with men’s self-reports and women’s ratings of men’s neuroticism and were positively correlated with men’s self-reported extraversion and women’s ratings of men’s conscientiousness. Men’s self-reported personality scores did not correlate with women’s ratings of men’s personality standings. Findings are discussed with reference to previous research and the social significance of dance movement cues and impression formation.

Men perform oral sex on their romantic partner as part of a broader benefit-provisioning mate retention strategy and men higher in Agreeableness are especially likely to provision their partner with benefits. The current research explored whether men's benefit-provisioning mate retention behavior mediated the relationship between their Agreeableness and their oral sex behaviors in their long-term romantic relationship. Men (n = 346) in a committed, sexual, heterosexual relationship completed the Mate Retention Inventory-a 104-item instrument that assesses the frequency with which they performed various mate retention behaviors during the past month, a 40-item personality inventory, and reported on a questionnaire their interest in and the time they spent performing oral sex on their romantic partner during their most recent sexual encounter with her. The results indicated that men higher in Agreeableness reported greater interest in and spent more time performing oral sex on their partner, and that their benefit-provisioning mate retention behaviors partially mediated these relationships. The current research is the first to investigate the relationship between personality dimensions and oral sex behaviors and adds to a growing body of research documenting that mate retention strategies influence sexual behavior.

Physical strength correlates with facial and body morphology, body movement, and sexual behavior, especially in men. Thus, physical strength may signal male quality in the context of intersexual and intrasexual selection. We investigated relationships of handgrip strength (a measure of upper body muscularity) and personality (as assessed via the “Big Five” factors) in a sample of British men (n = 75) and women (n = 86), aged 18 to 42 years. Handgrip strength correlated negatively with neuroticism and positively with extraversion in men, and negatively with agreeableness in women. The relationship of handgrip strength and neuroticism in men remained after controlling for the influence of age and body mass index. We conclude that handgrip strength provides information about male neuroticism. We discuss our findings with reference to recent reports on male quality correlates of strength.

Women engage in intra-sexual competition to attract or to retain a mate. Given men’s preferences for certain female physical characteristics, women may be attuned to potential rivals who display such traits. We examined how variation in facial femininity, breast size, and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) affects perceived competition and attractiveness judgments in a sample of German female undergraduates. Thirty-five women ranked five images of each stimulus type according to perceived competition and rated these images for attractiveness and femininity. Women with more feminine faces, larger breasts, and lower WHRs received higher attractiveness and femininity ratings and were ranked highest on perceived competition. The results indicate the occurrence of human female intra-sexual competition with respect to physical traits desired by potential mates.

Mate retention is the recurrent adaptive problem of retaining a mate in a relationship. Humans may have evolved mechanisms which motivate behavior in response to this problem. We examined the relationship between men’s mate retention and men’s and their partner’s personality in studies of 467 men and 565 women in committed relationships. Participants reported on their own or their partner’s mate retention and both their own and their partner’s personality. Results indicate a negative relationship between men’s Emotional Stability and men’s mate retention and a positive relationship between men’s Agreeableness and men’s benefit-provisioning mate retention. Discussion addresses limitations and directions for future research addressing the links between personality and mate retention.

Nonhuman males attend to the number of potential sexual rivals in the local environment to assess sperm competition risk. Males of these species sometimes perform more frequent in-pair copulations to increase the likelihood of success in sperm competition. Here, we extend this research to humans, Homo sapiens. We secured self-report data from 393 men in a committed, sexual, heterosexual relationship. The results indicate that men whose in-pair partner has more male coworkers and friends (i.e., potential sexual rivals) also perform more frequent in-pair copulations, but only among men who perceive their partner to be particularly attractive relative to assessments of partners by other men in the sample. This research is the first to empirically investigate the number of potential male rivals in the local environment as a cue to sperm competition risk in humans. Discussion addresses limitations of the current research and highlights directions for future research.

Personality features are associated with several relationship outcomes. We examined whether specific personality features differed in their associations with ''mate retention'' strategies. We examined the unique associations that personality features had with mate retention strategies reported by 179 community members in romantic relationships for at least 6 months. Personality features were associated with each of the mate retention strategies such that positive personality features (e.g., high levels of honesty-humility) were associated with less reliance on mate retention strategies that involved manipulating, deceiving, or exploiting romantic partners. Discussion focuses on the implications of these results for understanding the connection between personality features and behaviors intended to preserve and maintain romantic relationships.

Recent research indicates that men may have evolved mechanisms dedicated to detecting and responding to the risk of partner infidelity. Because activation of these “anti-cuckoldry” mechanisms depends on partner infidelity, or the perception of partner infidelity, existing evidence for such mechanisms relies on correlational data. The current study tests several predictions regarding men’s anti-cuckoldry mechanisms in an experimental design. As predicted, the results demonstrated: (1a) experimental activation of men’s anti-cuckoldry mechanisms by presenting them with a vignette depicting a female partner’s sexual infidelity; (1b) no activation of men’s anti-cuckoldry mechanisms by presenting them with a vignette depicting a sexual encounter without female infidelity; (2) experimental activation of men’s anti-cuckoldry mechanisms was influenced by their perceived risk of partner infidelity; and (3) women were not influenced by the partner infidelity manipulation.

Men perform “mate retention” behaviors to reduce the likelihood of their partner’s infidelity. One mate retention strategy men use is to increase their partner’s relationship satisfaction by provisioning her with benefits. We recruited 351 men to investigate whether men perform oral sex on their partner as part of a broader benefit-provisioning mate retention strategy. In support of the predictions, men who reported performing more mate retention behaviors, in general, and more benefit-provisioning mate retention behaviors, in particular, also reported greater interest in and spent more time performing oral sex on their partner. We present limitations of the research and discuss the benefits of an evolutionary perspective for investigating oral sex as a mate retention behavior.

An evolutionary history of human female infidelity and consequent sperm competition may have caused the evolution of male counter-adaptations. The infidelity-detection hypothesis for oral sex proposes that men perform oral sex to gather information about their partner’s recent sexual history. We tested this hypothesis with data secured from 231 men in committed, sexual, heterosexual relationships. We found support for two derivative predictions: men at a greater recurrent risk of sperm competition expressed greater interest in, and spent more time performing, oral sex on their partner, even after controlling statistically for relationship length, relationship satisfaction, and sexual intercourse duration. The discussion addresses limitations of this research and highlights directions for future research, including distinguishing empirically the infidelity-detection hypothesis from alternative hypotheses for oral sex.

The current study investigated the psychometric properties of the Persian translation of the Mate Retention Inventory–Short Form (MRI-SF) in Iran. We also investigated sex differences in the use of mate retention tactics and investigated the relationships between mate retention behaviors and a number of related cultural constructs. Participants ( N = 308) ranged in age from 18 to 57 years. All participants were in a committed romantic relationship, with mean relationship length of 63.5 months ( SD = 73.8). Participants completed the Persian translation of the MRI-SF and measures of religiosity, relationship satisfaction, self-esteem, and socioeconomic status. Cultural measures specific to Iran were also included, such as Mahr (for married individuals), self-perceived Qeiratiness (for men), and self-perceived jealousy (for women). Mahr is a mandatory amount of money or possessions paid or promised to be paid by the groom to the bride at the time of the marriage contract. Qeirati is a male-specific adjective in Persian meaning protective against unwanted attention toward a man’s romantic partner. Female jealousy is usually regarded the counterpart of male Qeiratiness in Iranian culture. The 19 mate retention tactics formed a two-component structure, consistent with previous research. Results demonstrate adequate internal consistency of 2-item assessments of mate retention tactics. Observed sex differences accorded with previous mate retention research and are discussed in reference to evolutionary perspectives on human mating. Several significant associations emerged between mate retention tactics and Iranian culture-specific variables and are discussed from a cross-cultural perspective.

Traditional attachment theory posits that attachment in infancy and early childhood is the result of intergenerational transmission of attachment from parents to offspring. Verhage et al. (2016) present meta-analytic evidence addressing the intergenerational transmission of attachment between caregivers and young children. In this commentary, we argue that their appraisal of the behavioral genetics literature is incomplete. The suggested research focus on shared environmental effects may dissuade the pursuit of profitable avenues of research and may hinder progress in attachment theory. Specifically, further research on the "transmission gap" will continue to limit our understanding of attachment etiology. We discuss recent theoretical developments from an evolutionary psychological perspective that can provide a valuable framework to account for the existing behavioral genetic data. (PsycINFO Database Record

Human life history is unique among primates, most notably the extraordinary length of infant dependency and the formation of long-term pair-bonds. Men and women are motivated to remain pair-bonded to maintain the distribution of male-provisioned resources to a woman and her offspring, or to protect offspring from infanticide. Men and women can employ several strategies to retain their mate and prevent their partner from defecting from the relationship, including individual mate retention (behaviors performed alone) and coalitional mate retention (behaviors performed by a close ally). The current research investigates whether men and women with children perform more frequent mate retention behaviors than men and women without children. Participants (n = 1003) currently in a heterosexual romantic relationship completed a survey, reporting whether they had genetic children with their current romantic partner and how frequently they performed various mate retention behaviors. The results indicate that men (n = 262) and women (n = 234) who share genetic children with their current partner performed more frequent individual mate retention behaviors and requested more frequent coalitional mate retention behaviors than men (n = 280) and women (n = 227) who do not share genetic children with their current partner. The results are interpreted as they relate to hypotheses concerning the evolution of pair-bonding in humans, and mate retention behaviors more generally. Limitations of the current research are discussed, and profitable avenues for future research in this domain are suggested.

Many studies have examined factors that influence discriminative parental solicitude. Sex, birth order, and age of the mother are a few factors demonstrated to influence levels of parental investment (especially as measured by offspring self-report). One indicator of a high level of parental investment is being a parental favorite. Using self-reports from a sample of several hundred young adults, we secured support for two hypotheses related to the influence of birth order and sex on parental favoritism. Fathers are not perceived as having a favorite child more often than are mothers, but are more likely to favor female children than are mothers. Mothers are perceived to be more likely to favor female children in blended sibships. Both mothers and fathers are perceived as favoring genetically-related children. The results also suggest that the birth order of the parental favorite varies with the birth order of the participant. Firstborns and lastborns report a pattern of favoritism that suggests parents favor firstborn and lastborn children. The discussion addresses limitations of the methodology and presents directions for future research.

This study tests the hypothesis presented by Penke, Denissen, and Miller (2007a) that condition-dependent traits, including intelligence, attractiveness, and health, are universally and uniformly preferred as characteristics in a mate relative to traits that are less indicative of condition, including personality traits. We analyzed between-culture mean standard deviations of preference ratings and rankings provided by nearly 10,000 people in 37 cultures for 18 characteristics in a potential mate. Contrary to the hypothesis, preferences for traits indicating agreeableness and conscientiousness were not more variable than preferences for intelligence, and preferences for traits indicating low neuroticism were more uniform than preferences for intelligence. Discussion addresses implications of these results for hypotheses about the evolutionary genetics of intelligence and personality.

From an evolutionary perspective, sexual arousal may function, in part, to motivate the pursuit of attractive mating opportunities. We designed a study to test three aspects of this hypothesis. Several hundred heterosexual men and women completed a short survey about sexual arousal in response to a casual sex mating opportunity. We replicated previous research documenting that men report greater sexual arousal than women in response to a short-term mating opportunity. We argue that it is unlikely that a “downplaying of alternatives” psychology evolved, whereby mated individuals rate opposite-sex targets as less attractive than do unmated individuals, but instead that men and women have a relationship-seeking psychology, motivating them to pursue attractive mating opportunities. The results supported this relationship-seeking psychology rather than a downplaying alternatives psychology. Discussion addresses directions for future research on the motivational properties of sexual arousal.

Sperm competition occurs when the sperm of multiple males concurrently occupy a female’s reproductive tract and compete for fertilization. Sperm competition may have been a recurrent adaptive problem over human evolutionary history ( Shackelford & Pound, 2006 ). Women’s orgasm may facilitate selective uptake and retention of a particular man’s sperm ( Thornhill & Gangestad, 2008 ). Men who are more satisfied with and invested in their relationship may experience greater costs in the event of sperm competition and potential cuckoldry. Therefore, these men may be especially interested in ensuring their partner’s copulatory orgasm. We hypothesized that men’s relationship satisfaction and investment would predict interest in their partner’s copulatory orgasm, and that sperm competition risk would moderate the association between relationship satisfaction and interest in partner’s copulatory orgasm. Using structural equation modeling on self-report data secured from 229 men in a committed heterosexual relationship, we tested and found support for these hypotheses.