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In popular narratives, the first date with a potential mate often centers on their gaze as embodiment of interest and attraction. However, evidence is still lacking on the role of eye-contact as a potent signal in human social interaction in the context of dating. In addition, behavioral mechanisms of mate selection are not well understood. In the present study, we therefore examined mutual eye-contact and its influence on mate choice by applying dual mobile eye-tracking during naturalistic speed-dates. A total of 30 male and 30 female subjects attended four speed-dates each (N = 240). Subjects were more likely to choose those dating partners with whom they shared more eye-contact with. In addition, perceived attractiveness played an important role for mate choice. Interestingly, receiving but not giving eye-contact also predicted individual mate choice. Eye-contact thus acts as an important signal of romantic attraction when encountering a dating partner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Young men with few prospects of attracting a mate have historically threatened the internal peace and stability of societies. In some contemporary societies, such involuntary celibate—or incel —men promote much online misogyny and perpetrate real-world violence. We tested the prediction that online incel activity arises via local real-world mating-market forces that affect relationship formation. From a database of 4 billion Twitter posts (2012–2018), we geolocated 321 million tweets to 582 commuting zones in the continental United States, of which 3,649 tweets used words peculiar to incels and 3,745 were about incels. We show that such tweets arise disproportionately within places where mating competition among men is likely to be high because of male-biased sex ratios, few single women, high income inequality, and small gender gaps in income. Our results suggest a role for social media in monitoring and mitigating factors that lead young men toward antisocial behavior in real-world societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Self-control is a crucial factor in maintaining an established romantic relationship, but its role in relationship formation is understudied. The current study tested whether trait self-control is related to a more selective approach toward romantic partners. Over 4 years, we organized 11 speed-date events at which a total of 342 single, heterosexual participants met potential partners. Our results indicated that there was no main effect of self-control on selectivity. However, there was an interaction between self-control and sociosexual orientation (SOI) in predicting selectivity. Specifically, self-control was positively related to selectivity for people with a restricted SOI (i.e., interested in a long-term, stable relationship). For people with an unrestricted SOI (i.e., interested in a short-term, sexual relationship), however, self-control was related to lower selectivity. Our findings point to the flexibility of self-control in facilitating goal progress, stimulating people to refrain from—or act on—their impulses, depending on their own personal mating goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous comparisons of relationship quality between individuals in couple‐initiated and arranged marriage have yielded inconsistent findings. One factor which may help to explain this inconsistency is variability in the way in which arranged and couple‐initiated marriages are practiced. To test this, we recruited 116 Bangladeshi women engaged to be married or within the first 3 years of couple‐initiated and arranged marriages. We tested to see which of three models (type of marriage only, perceived influence over partner selection only, and a model that included both relationship type and influence over partner selection) best accounted for variance in self‐reported intimacy, passion, commitment as well as positive and negative relationship quality. Results suggest that influence over partner selection is a better predictor of these outcomes than marriage type, with marriage type offering little if any information beyond that provided by perceived influence. Regardless of marriage type, women with greater influence over their partner selection reported higher levels of intimacy, passion, commitment and positive marital quality. Negative marital quality was unrelated. Future research may benefit from reconceptualising the arranged/couple‐initiated marriage dichotomy as a continuum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What might explain our instinctual attraction to certain individuals, aside from visible factors such as appearance? We examined possible biologically-driven selection for immunology genes, specifically preferences for Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC)-dissimilarity, through the ecologically-valid method of speed-dating. Two-hundred-and-sixty-two single Asian Americans went on speed-dates ( N observations = 2215) with participants of the other sex, making second date offers and rating each other on measures of mate desirability, facial attractiveness, and body scent attractiveness. Using a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis, women, but not men, showed preferences for speed-dating partners based on MHC-complementarity. The direction of findings varied by single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), such that SNPs closer to the major HLA (Human Leukocyte Antigen) genes supported dissimilarity preferences, whereas those farther away supported similarity preferences. The relative effects of MHC-based measures in comparison to an array of behavioral predictors were examined via random forests. Results indicated that for both men and women, the importance of MHC-based indices was comparable to that of a partner's self-reported personality attributes in predicting second date offers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spousal similarity and its consequences are widely studied, but methodologically challenging topics. We employed Response Surface Analysis to examine similarity along political attitudes, personal values, and personality traits. Opposite-sex couples (624 individuals) expecting a child were recruited. Spouses were highly similar regarding their political attitudes and moderately similar regarding trait Openness and the personal values Universalism and Tradition. Similarity for other traits and values was weak (e.g. Conscientiousness, Power values) or non-existent (e.g. Neuroticism, Benevolence values). Similarity in conservative vs. liberal attitudes was non-linear: a conservative-conservative union was most common. Women's relationship satisfaction was related to similarity in left-right and liberal-conservative political attitudes, and both partners' satisfaction was related to similarity in Self-Direction values. Similarity in personality traits was unrelated to relationship satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined an understudied but potentially important source of romantic attraction—genetics—using a speed-dating paradigm. The mu opioid receptor (OPRM1) polymorphism A118G (rs1799971) and the serotonin receptor (HTR2A) polymorphism −1438 A/G (rs6311) were studied because they have been implicated in social affiliation. Guided by the social role theory of mate selection and prior genetic evidence, we examined these polymorphisms’ gender-specific associations with speed-dating success (i.e., date offers, mate desirability). A total of 262 single Asian Americans went on speed-dates with members of the opposite gender and completed interaction questionnaires about their partners. Consistent with our prediction, significant gender-by-genotype interactions were found for speed-dating success. Specifically, the minor variant of A118G (G-allele), which has been linked to submissiveness/social sensitivity, predicted greater speed-dating success for women, whereas the minor variant of −1438 A/G (Gallele), which has been linked to leadership/social dominance, predicted greater speed-dating success for men. For both polymorphisms, reverse “dampening” effects of minor variants were found for opposite-gender counterparts. These results support previous research on the importance of the opioid and serotonergic systems in social affiliation, indicating that their influence extends to dating success, with opposite, yet gender-norm consistent, effects for men and women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research suggests that women’s motivation to appear attractive is increased around the time of ovulation. However, the specific hormonal correlates of within-woman changes in motivation to appear attractive have not been investigated. To address this issue, we used a longitudinal design and a data-driven visual preference task. We found that women’s preference for attractive makeup increases when their salivary testosterone levels are high. The relationship between testosterone level and preference for attractive makeup was independent of estradiol level, progesterone level, and estradiol-to-progesterone ratio. These results suggest that testosterone may contribute to changes in women’s motivation to wear attractive makeup and, potentially, their motivation to appear attractive in general. Our results are also consistent with recent models of the role of testosterone in social behavior, according to which testosterone increases the probability of behaviors that could function to support the acquisition of mates and competition for resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Past research shows that men respond to women differently depending on where women are in their ovulatory cycle. But what leads men to treat ovulating women differently? We propose that the ovulatory cycle alters women’s flirting behavior. We tested this hypothesis in an experiment in which women interacted with different types of men at different points in their cycle. Results revealed that women in the ovulatory phase reported more interest in men who had purported markers of genetic fitness as short-term mates, but not as long-term mates. Furthermore, behavioral ratings of the interactions indicated that women displayed more flirting behaviors when they were at high than at low fertility. Importantly, fertile women flirted more only when interacting with men who had genetic-fitness markers, not with other men. In summary, fertility not only alters women’s behavior but does so in a context-dependent way that follows adaptive logic. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The present paper aims to draw the attention of social researchers towards online relationships, different as pattern of construction and dynamics from offline relationships and also to outline a real image of this new social phenomenon. Using qualitative sociological approach, the study aims to be an exploratory investigation of the process of initiation, construction and dynamics of relationships developed via Internet. The thematic analysis of the interviews has revealed key elements in what regards: the socio-demographic profile of the individuals involved in this type of relationships; human mate selection patterns in the virtual environment; the dynamics of online relationships. The conclusions of the study lead us to believe that the degree of tolerance and social acceptance regarding online relationships follows an upward trend, which renders the Romanian society as being opened to the emergence of new social phenomena. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although females of many species closely related to humans signal their fertile window in an observable manner, often involving red or pink coloration, no such display has been found for humans. Building on evidence that men are sexually attracted to women wearing or surrounded by red, we tested whether women show a behavioral tendency toward wearing reddish clothing when at peak fertility. Across two samples (N = 124), women at high conception risk were more than 3 times more likely to wear a red or pink shirt than were women at low conception risk, and 77% of women who wore red or pink were found to be at high, rather than low, risk. Conception risk had no effect on the prevalence of any other shirt color. Our results thus suggest that red and pink adornment in women is reliably associated with fertility and that female ovulation, long assumed to be hidden, is associated with a salient visual cue. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Parental investment theory and sexual strategies theory predict that women and men should differ on many of the criteria by which they choose mates. These theories posit a gender selectivity effect, such that women should be more selective than men in their mating choices. The theories also posit an age differential effect, such that women should seek older mates, and men should seek younger mates. These two hypotheses have been supported by self-report surveys, speed-dating studies, analysis of on-line and newspaper personal ads, and laboratory analog studies. However, each of these data sources has limitations. Therefore, a new source of data may provide a valuable additional test of the robustness of these effects. The current study examined two independent sources of data involving blind dates arranged and paid for by newspapers. Consistent with the first hypothesis, we found women to be more selective than men. We also found that matchmakers tended to pair older men with younger women, consistent with the second hypothesis. However, contrary to the second hypothesis, we found no evidence that the age differential between members of a couple influenced their ratings of the date. The implications of these findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An influential explanation for gender differences in mating strategies is that the sex-specific reproductive constraints faced by human ancestors shaped these differences. Other theorists have emphasized the role of societal factors, hypothesizing, for example, that gender differences in mate preferences should wane in gender-equal societies. However, findings have been ambiguous. Using recent data and a novel measure of gender equality, we revisited the role of gender parity in gender differentiation for mate preferences. In the first study, 3,177 participants from 10 nations with a gradually decreasing Global Gender Gap Index (GGI) provided online ratings of the desirability of mate attributes with reportedly evolutionary origins. In the second study, GGI scores were related to gender differences in mate preferences previously reported for 8,953 participants from 31 nations (Buss, 1989). Both studies show that gender differences in mate preferences with presumed evolutionary roots decline proportionally to increases in nations' gender parity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is no consensus whether ideal mate preferences are actually expressed in real choices or whether people choose partners according to traditional sex preferences or seek those similar to them. In order to address these questions, 267 Brazilian university students (120 involved and 147 not involved in a romantic relationship) participated in this study, describing themselves and their current or most recent romantic partner. As inclusion criterion, involved subjects must have been in a stable relationship for at least 12 months. Our results suggest that male choice reflects typical preferences based on Parental Investment Theory. On the other hand, the typical female preferences were not observed; instead, their choices indicate a preference for similar partners to themselves. Given that similarities are important to maintaining long-term relationships, females may adapt their preferences in order to ensure male investment in a long-term relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both humans and nonhumans have evolved a variety of mechanisms to recognize pathogen threat and a variety of adaptive behavioral responses to minimize exposure to it. Because social interactions facilitate the spread of infection among individuals, the ability to recognize and avoid infected and potentially infected individuals is crucial. The neuropeptides oxytocin (OT) and arginine vasopressin (AVP) are involved in mediating various facets of social behavior, including social recognition and responses to salient social threats. Results of studies with rodents have revealed that OT and AVP are also associated with the olfactory-mediated recognition and avoidance of actually or potentially infected individuals. The evidence reviewed here suggests that OT and AVP likely play parallel roles in modulating the recognition and avoidance of socially relevant pathogen threat in both humans and rodents. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Knowing one's mate value (mate-value accuracy) is an important element in reproductive success. We investigated within- and between-sex differences in this ability in a real-life speed-dating event. A total of 190 men and 192 women filled out a personality questionnaire and participated in speed-dating sessions. Immediately after each date, participants recorded who they would choose as mates and who they expected would choose them. In line with evolutionarily informed hypotheses, results indicated that sociosexually unrestricted men and more agreeable women showed greater mate-value accuracy than sociosexually restricted men and less agreeable women, respectively. These results have important implications for understanding mating behavior and perhaps the origin of sex differences in personality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We tested a dual process motivational model of ambivalent sexism and gender differences in intimate partner preferences. Meta-analysis of 32 samples (16 with men, 16 with women; N = 5,459) indicated that Benevolent Sexism (BS) in women was associated with greater preferences for high-resource partners (r = 0.24), whereas Hostile Sexism (HS) in men was associated with stronger preferences for physically attractive partners (r = 0.20). Study 2 examined the ideological correlates of this gender difference (N = 249 men, 243 women). For women, Right-Wing Authoritarianism (RWA) was associated with greater preferences for high-resource partners, mediated by BS. For men, Social Dominance Orientation (SDO) was associated with greater preferences for attractive partners, mediated by HS. These findings indicate that women’s desire for high-resource partners is related to a protection and security-provision motive, whereas men’s desire for attractive partners is related to a dominance-based status-marker motive. Gender differences in these dual motives have implications for understanding the reciprocal reinforcement of gender inequality. We argue that they exacerbate gender inequality by decreasing women’s immediate motivation for direct access to resources (because they may be provided for by men) and promoting instead goals in women relating to the maintenance of an attractive appearance valued by men. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Our study explored the relationship between feminist identity and women’s report of an ideal male partner’s conformity to masculine gender role norms. Heterosexual, mostly White, college women (N = 183) completed measures assessing feminist beliefs and the masculinity characteristics of an ideal male partner. Results indicated that feminist identity significantly predicted participants' preferences for an ideal male partner’s conformity to masculine norms. Specifically, women who were more accepting of patriarchal culture, endorsing traditional gender roles and denying sexism, reported wanting an ideal male partner to conform to traditional masculine norms of emotional control, risk-taking, power over women, dominance, self-reliance, and disdain for homosexuals. In contrast, feminist-identified women reported wanting an ideal partner who did not conform to the traditional masculine norms of violence, power over women, playboy, and self-reliance. We discuss implications of these findings for women’s heterosexual relationships, including the possibility that feminist identity may serve as a protective factor against involvement in unsatisfying, or even violent, romantic heterosexual relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]