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Interpersonal power involves how much actors can influence partners (actor power) and how much partners can influence actors (partner power). Yet, most theories and investigations of power conflate the effects of actor and partner power, creating a fundamental ambiguity in the literature regarding how power shapes social behavior. We demonstrate that actor and partner power are distinct and have differential effects on social behavior. Six studies (total

Background People with obesity face significant discrimination due to their weight. Exposure to such discrimination is associated with poor health outcomes. Little is known about pathways that explain that association, and even less is known about those pathways in racial, ethnic, and sexual minorities. Health risk behaviors may serve as one such pathway. Purpose We examined associations between weight discrimination and health risk behaviors and assessed whether associations are moderated by gender, race, ethnicity, or sexual orientation. Methods Quota sampling was used to oversample Black (36%), Latino (36%), and sexual minority (29%) adults (n = 2,632) who completed an online survey. Using regression analysis, health risk behaviors (maladaptive eating behaviors, physical inactivity, sitting, smoking, alcohol use, and sleep disturbance) were predicted from previous experience with weight discrimination while controlling for demographic characteristics, BMI, and depressive symptoms. Additional analyses tested for interactions between weight discrimination and key demographic variables (i.e., gender, race, ethnicity, and sexual minority status). Results Weight discrimination was associated with greater emotional eating, binge eating, unhealthy weight control behaviors, cigarette smoking, problematic alcohol use, and sleep disturbance. Gender moderated the association between weight discrimination and binge eating, alcohol use, and physical activity, with stronger effects observed in men than women. Exploratory analyses provided limited evidence for differential effects of weight discrimination across specific combinations of intersecting identities. Conclusions Weight discrimination was associated with engagement in unhealthy behaviors and relationships were largely similar across diverse demographic groups. Health risk behaviors may represent a key pathway through which weight discrimination harms health.

The dual-strategies theory of social rank proposes that both dominance and prestige are effective strategies for gaining social rank (i.e., the capacity for influence) in groups. However, the only existing longitudinal investigation of these strategies suggests that, among undergraduate students, only prestige allows people to maintain social rank over time. The current study provides a longitudinal test of dominance and prestige in a context where dominance is more normative: MBA project groups. Among 548 MBA students in 104 groups, peer-rated dominance and prestige predicted gains in social rank over the course of 4 weeks, indicating that both strategies may help people not only gain social rank but also maintain it over time. Furthermore, prestige—but not dominance—led to social rank because of willingly given deference from group members. This confirms a central but thus-far-untested principle of dual-strategies theory: While prestige is based on freely conferred deference, dominance is not.

Abstract. How do people respond when their group’s power is threatened? Four studies suggest that threats to group power lead people to adhere to and invest in their group. When a personally important group’s power was threatened, people psychologically adhered to the group (Studies 1a and 1b). This adherence occurred among people who were high (but not low) in group identification (Study 2). Adherence to the group was associated with behaviors aimed at promoting benefits to the group (Study 3). Findings suggest that people invest themselves in personally important groups when the group’s power is threatened. This occurs largely among people strongly identified with a group, suggesting that clinging to the group occurs especially when costs to leaving are high.

This research differentiated childhood unpredictability (i.e., perceptions of uncertainty or instability due to turbulent environmental changes) from other related constructs to identify its role in adult health. Study 1 (N = 441) showed that, beyond other childhood adversity variables (poverty and adverse childhood experiences or ACEs) and demographic characteristics, perceptions of unpredictability were associated with greater functional disability and worse health-related quality of life (assessed via the CDC's HRQOL Healthy Days measure and the RAND SF-36). Study 2 (N = 564) replicated those findings in a more racially diverse sample and showed that associations with childhood unpredictability held while also controlling for the Big 5 personality traits. Findings suggest that effects of unpredictability were especially pronounced among Hispanic (in Study 1), and Black/African American and low-income participants (in Study 2). Experiencing childhood environments that are perceived to be uncertain, unstable, or uncontrollable may put children on a path toward poor health outcomes in adulthood. Findings advance theories of child adversity and health and identify childhood unpredictability as a potentially valuable target for intervention.

The aim of this study was to describe people's day-to-day experiences with weight-based discrimination and to distill themes that shed new light on this phenomenon.A qualitative study was conducted in 2019 using a purposive sampling strategy. A racially and ethnically diverse sample of 32 U.S. adult men and women with a body mass index ≥30 kg/mPrimary types of interpersonal weight-based discrimination included offensive comments, negative assumptions, social rejection, and unwanted attention or bullying. Participants also encountered environmental sources of weight bias such as inadequate seating in public venues. Three higher order themes that cut across people's experiences with weight-based discrimination were identified: 1) the often-ambiguous nature of weight-based discrimination; 2) intersections between body weight and other social identities; and 3) the role of social comparison processes.Findings provide a detailed portrait of people's everyday experiences with weight-based discrimination. These experiences often reflected widely held negative stereotypes about people with higher body weight and conveyed the socially devalued status of higher-weight individuals in society. Findings have important implications for future research and interventions aimed at reducing the harmful effects of weight-based discrimination on health and emotional wellbeing.

Some group leaders exhibit hypervigilance to signs of social disapproval and that vigilance manifests at basic levels of social information processing such as visual attention and face perception. The current research tests hypotheses about when, why, and in whom such vigilance occurs. Across 2 pilot studies and 5 experiments (N = 1,667) we find that, when their social relationships are at stake, prestige-oriented leaders (but not dominance-oriented leaders) overperceive signs of social discontent and disapproval. When delivering public (but not private) critical feedback to subordinates, prestige-oriented leaders attended vigilantly to social cues, especially negative emotional expressions indicating social discontent (Experiment 1). When delivering public (but not private) critical feedback, prestige-oriented leaders were also biased toward perceiving smiles as disingenuous (Experiment 2). Experimental manipulations of prestige produced similar results, suggesting that an orientation toward prestige causes leaders to perceive smiles as disingenuous (Experiment 3), interpret neutral facial expressions as concealing negative, rather than positive, emotions (Experiment 4), and fixate their attention on social cues (Experiment 5). Consistent with error management theory, hypervigilance to signs of social discontent and disapproval may prompt prestige-oriented leaders to strengthen their social relationships and help them avoid losing the support of their group. These findings are among the first to illuminate basic cognitive processes underlying the psychology of prestige. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Pathogen avoidance is an important motive underlying human behavior and is associated with numerous psychological processes—including biases against social groups heuristically associated with illness. Although there are reliable measurement scales to assess chronic dispositional levels of pathogen avoidance, no measurement scale currently exists to directly assess moment-to-moment fluctuations in pathogen avoidance. This paper presents the Situational Pathogen Avoidance (SPA) scale, which assesses situational variability in pathogen avoidance, especially as it pertains to avoidance of social stimuli. Across six studies, we demonstrate the reliability and validity of the SPA scale, show that the scale is influenced by situational activation of pathogen avoidance motives, and demonstrate that it mediates the association between pathogen avoidance motives (both chronic and situational) and social biases against obese and foreign targets. The SPA scale provides a valuable measurement tool for researchers who study pathogen avoidance and to those who study social biases more generally. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1007/s40806-020-00256-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Abstract. Laboratory studies have linked variability in temperature to the psychology of social affiliation. In colder ambient environments, for example, people report greater loneliness, and they pursue both physical warmth and social affiliation (i.e., social warmth). Here, a field experiment tested whether tactile warmth eliminates the effect of colder ambient temperatures on desires for social affiliation. Consistent with previous research, people expressed greater intentions to affiliate on colder days. However, tactile warmth eliminated this effect. On colder (but not warmer) days exposure to a tactile warmth manipulation eliminated heightened desires for social affiliation. Findings suggest that seemingly subtle changes in temperature can have important implications for the psychology of social affiliation, and such findings apply to real-world contexts outside the laboratory.

Although evidence documents the use of prestige and dominance for navigating group hierarchies, little is known about factors that explain people’s orientation toward prestige versus dominance. The current research applied a life history perspective to assess the role life history strategies play in prestige and dominance. Four studies document associations between adopting a slow life history strategy and having an orientation toward prestige. We also saw some (less consistent) evidence that people’s orientation toward prestige is rooted in exposure to predictable childhood environments, a known antecedent of slow life history strategies. Although we observed some evidence that exposure to unpredictable childhood environments was associated with dominance, there was little direct evidence that this relationship was explained by a fast life history strategy. Findings suggest that an orientation toward prestige is likely to be observed in people with a slow life history, who adopt a long-term time horizon for planning and decision-making.

Guided by principles from life-history theory, theories of adaptive calibration provide an overarching theoretical framework for understanding the developmental roots of impulsivity and externalizing psychopathology. The current research provides evidence for robust associations between perceptions of childhood unpredictability, delay discounting (Studies 1a and 1b), and adult externalizing traits and behaviors (Study 2). Both associations were observed while controlling for perceptions of the harshness of childhood environments, as well as a range of demographic characteristics. The association with externalizing traits and behavior was observed over and above current mood and depressive symptoms. Study 2 also replicated a previously documented association between changes in maternal employment, residence, and cohabitation during childhood and externalizing behavior and, furthermore, suggested that this association was mediated by perceptions of unpredictability. These studies provided no evidence for links between perceived childhood unpredictability and basic forms of risk-taking (Studies 1a and 1c). This research adds to a growing body of work leveraging principles from life-history theory to demonstrate links between childhood experiences, impulsivity, and potentially debilitating forms of mental illness. This work also highlights the value of assessing people’s perceptions of their childhood environments.

One challenge many marital couples face is that they experience discrepant levels of sexual desire for one another. Such discrepancies are particularly likely to arise in mixed-sex relationships because, at least in long-term relationships, men tend to have higher levels of sexual desire for their partner than do women. But what underlies this sex difference? We used a dyadic study of 100 mixed-sex community-based newlywed spouses to investigate the role of biological, relational, cognitive, and emotional factors in explaining sex differences in dyadic sexual desire for a long-term partner. Consistent with predictions, wives on average reported lower daily sexual desire for their spouse than did husbands. Moreover, individual differences in men's and women's levels of circulating testosterone explained this sex difference whereas relational (marital satisfaction, commitment), cognitive (sex-role identification, stress, self-esteem), and emotional (mood, depressive symptoms) factors did not. These findings advance our knowledge of factors that influence dyadic sexual desire and may have practical implications for treating relationship distress in mixed-sex marriages.

Dominance and prestige are two strategies people use to regulate their social rank within group hierarchies. Despite a growing literature on dominance- and prestige-oriented leaders, little is known about how those strategies operate among people lower in social rank. Four studies tested the hypothesis that, among subordinates, dominance and prestige are associated with high levels of malicious and benign envy, respectively. Individual differences in prestige were positively and independently associated with benign envy, and negatively associated with malicious envy. Individual differences in dominance were positively and independently associated with both malicious and benign envy. Two experiments demonstrated that activating a prestige-oriented mindset (relative to a dominance-oriented mindset) caused people to display higher levels of benign envy. No experimental effects on malicious envy were observed. Theories of prestige and dominance provide a useful framework for understanding ways in which subordinate group members strive for high social rank.

Relative to other racial/ethnic groups in the United States, Hispanic American (HA) youth have higher rates of overweight and obesity. Previous work suggests that low perceived social status (SS) promotes excess caloric intake and, thereby, development of obesity. Psychological resilience may play a role in reducing adverse eating behaviors and risk for obesity. The objective of this study was to investigate whether resilience (as measured by the Connor Davidson Resilience Scale) interacts with experimentally manipulated SS to affect dietary intake among HA adolescents (N = 132). Using a rigged game of Monopoly (Hasbro, Inc.), participants were randomized to a high or low SS condition. Following the Monopoly game, participants consumed an ad libitum lunch and their dietary intake was assessed. There was a significant interaction between resilience and experimentally manipulated SS for total energy intake (p = 0.006), percent energy needs consumed (p = 0.005), and sugar intake (p = 0.004). For the high SS condition, for each increase in resilience score, total energy intake decreased by 7.165 ± 2.866 kcal (p = 0.014) and percent energy needs consumed decreased by 0.394 ± 0.153 (p = 0.011). In the low SS condition, sugar intake increased by 0.621 ± 0.240 g for each increase in resilience score (p = 0.011). After correction for multiple comparisons, the aforementioned interactions, but not simple slopes, were statistically significant.

Childhood unpredictability and harshness are associated with patterns of psychology and behavior that enable individuals to make the most of adverse environments. The current research assessed effects of childhood unpredictability and harshness on individual differences in sacrificial moral decision making. Six studies (N = 1,503) supported the hypothesis that childhood unpredictability, but not harshness, would be associated with fewer decisions to reject harm (consistent with deontological ethics) and to maximize overall outcomes (consistent with utilitarian ethics). These associations were not moderated by perceptions of current environmental unpredictability (Studies 3a and 3b) and were robust to potential confounds (religiosity, political conservativism, Big 5 personality traits, and social desirability; Study 5). The associations between childhood unpredictability and lower deontological and utilitarian tendencies were statistically mediated by low levels of empathic concern and poor-quality social relationships (Study 4). Findings are consistent with the possibility that early calibration to ecological unpredictability, but not harshness, undermines other-oriented psychological processes which, in turn, reduce moral concerns about harm and consequences for other people. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Here, we provide an experimental test of the relationship between levels of proinflammatory cytokines and present-focused decision-making. We examined whether increases in salivary levels of proinflammatory cytokines (interleukin-1β and interleukin-6) engendered by visually priming immunologically-relevant threats (pathogen threat, physical harm) and opportunities (mating) predicted temporal discounting, a key component of present-focused decision-making. As hypothesized, results revealed that each experimental manipulation led to a significant rise in both salivary interleukin-1β and interleukin-6. Moreover, post-manipulation levels of each cytokine independently predicted temporal discounting across conditions. These results were not moderated by pre-manipulation levels of either cytokine, nor were they found using the difference between pre- and post-manipulation levels of cytokines as a predictor. Together, these results suggest that levels of proinflammatory cytokines may play a mechanistic role in the desire for immediately available rewards.

Sexual and romantic partnerships play a central role in social life, and they serve as the key social engines that drive human reproductive success. Close relationships come in all shapes and sizes...

Leaders often are faced with making difficult decisions for their group, such as when a course of action preferred by group members conflicts with one that is likely to optimize group success. Across 5 experiments (N = 1110), we provide evidence that a psychological orientation toward prestige (but not dominance) causes leaders to adhere publicly to group members' desires at the expense of group task outcomes-to prioritize popularity over performance. Experiments 1-3 demonstrated that, in private, prestige-oriented leaders chose what they saw as best for group performance but that, in public, they chose whichever option was preferred by members of their group. In private, prestige-oriented leaders' tendency to choose the performance-enhancing option was mediated by group performance motives; in public, their adherence to group preferences was mediated by social approval motives. Experiments 4 and 5 advanced the investigation by using experimental manipulations to prime an orientation toward prestige. Findings replicated those from the earlier studies: participants primed with a prestige orientation prioritized popularity over performance. Results illuminate the conditions under which "good" leaders might make poor decisions. (PsycINFO Database Record

Researchers have suggested that women compete with same-sex peers using indirect social tactics. However, the specific predictors and mechanisms of this form of female intrasexual competition are less well understood. We propose that one mechanism by which women harm rivals' social opportunities is through selectively transmitting reputation-relevant social information. Moreover, we contend that this behavior is designed to undermine the romantic and social appeal of same-sex romantic rivals who are perceived to be threatening. Evidence from five studies suggests that women's dissemination of social information is strategic and reliably predicted by various cues of romantic rival threat: attempts at mate poaching (Study 1), physical attractiveness (Studies 2 and 3), and provocative clothing (Studies 4 and 5). Women strategically harmed and failed to enhance the reputations of other women who threatened their romantic prospects directly (by flirting with their romantic partners) and indirectly (by being attractive or provocatively dressed). Women's dispositional levels of competitiveness also predicted their information transmission: highly competitive women (both generally and in romantic domains specifically) disclosed more reputation-damaging information than did less competitive women. Furthermore, women transmitted reputation-harming information about female targets independent of how much they explicitly liked those targets, suggesting a disconnect between women's intentions and their gossip behavior. Irrespective of the gossiper's intentions, pilot data confirmed that social harm is likely to befall the women targeted by the transmission of reputation-damaging social information.

When attempting to resolve relationship problems, individuals in close relationships sometimes challenge their partners with statements that oppose their partners' point of view. Such oppositional behaviors may undermine those partners' relational value and threaten their status within the relationship. We examined whether perceptions of opposition from a partner during a series of problem-solving interactions were associated with reactivity in testosterone levels and whether those associations were different for men and women. Fifty newlywed couples discussed four marital problems. Each member of the couple reported how much oppositional behavior they perceived from their partner during the discussions. Pre- and post-discussion saliva samples were assayed for testosterone. For men, but not for women, perceptions of oppositional behavior were associated with heightened testosterone reactivity, and this result replicated across three different measures of testosterone reactivity. Findings were specific to men's perceptions of oppositional behavior, and held controlling for objective measures of oppositional behavior coded from videos of the conversations. Results highlight the benefits of considering pair-bonded relationships as a novel context for investigating associations involving hormones and behavior. Findings also raise the possibility that sex differentiated hormonal reactions to opposition partly explain why conflict among heterosexual partners can be so divisive.

Experiencing the tactile sensation of warmth can affect cognition and behavior across a variety of domains, including affiliation, aggression, and consumer choice. Yet few investigations have provided a theoretical rationale for when and why such effects occur. Five experiments tested the hypothesis that the tactile experience of warmth can satisfy a person's acutely active desire for social affiliation. Across 5 experiments, the tactile experience of warmth (vs. control temperatures) reduced outcomes that would otherwise be aimed at restoring a person's level of social affiliation, but this effect was observed only among people who had just been excluded (not those undergoing a control procedure) and only among people low in fear of negative evaluation-those people known to experience strongly activated affiliative motives following exclusion. Findings suggest that warmth-a sensation signaling the proximity of a close relationship partner-satisfies currently active affiliative motives. More broadly, findings provide a theoretical framework for understanding ways in which effects of sensory primes depend upon the motivational state of the perceiver. (PsycINFO Database Record

Dominance and prestige represent evolved strategies used to navigate social hierarchies. Dominance is a strategy through which people gain and maintain social rank by using coercion, intimidation, and power. Prestige is a strategy through which people gain and maintain social rank by displaying valued knowledge and skills and earning respect. The current article synthesizes recent lines of research documenting differences between dominance- versus prestige-oriented individuals, including personality traits and emotions, strategic behaviors deployed in social interactions, leadership strategies, and physiological correlates of both behaviors. The article also reviews effects that dominance versus prestige have on the functioning and well-being of social groups. The article also presents opportunities for future research and discusses links between dominance and prestige and the social psychological literature on power and status.

The association between low socioeconomic status (SES) and obesity is well documented. In the current research, a life history theory (LHT) framework provided an explanation for this association. Derived from evolutionary behavioral science, LHT emphasizes how variability in exposure to unpredictability during childhood gives rise to individual differences in a range of social psychological processes across the life course. Consistent with previous LHT research, the current findings suggest that exposure to unpredictability during childhood (a characteristic common to low SES environments) is associated with the adoption of a fast life-history strategy, one marked by impulsivity and a focus on short-term goals. We demonstrate that a fast life-history strategy, in turn, was associated with dysregulated weight-management behaviors (i.e., eating even in the absence of hunger), which were predictive of having a high body mass index (BMI) and being obese. In both studies, findings held while controlling for participants' current socioeconomic status, suggesting that obesity is rooted in childhood experiences. A serial mediation model in study 2 confirmed that effects of childhood SES on adult BMI and obesity can be explained in part by exposure to unpredictability, the adoption of a fast life-history strategy, and dysregulated-eating behaviors. These findings suggest that weight problems in adulthood may be rooted partially in early childhood exposure to unpredictable events and environments. LHT provides a valuable explanatory framework for understanding the root causes of obesity.

People’s physical position relative to others may shape how those others perceive them. The research described here suggests that people use relative physical position to manage impressions by strategically positioning themselves either higher or lower relative to ostensible observers. Five studies supported the prediction that women take and display photographs portraying themselves in a low relative physical position to highlight their youthful features and appear attractive, whereas men take and display photographs portraying themselves in a high relative physical position to highlight their size and appear dominant. The effectiveness of these strategies was confirmed in two studies that measured social perceptions of male and female targets who varied in their relative position. In sum, as do members of other social species, people use relative physical position to manage social impressions, and although these impression-management strategies may have deep ancestral roots, they appear to manifest themselves through a contemporary human modality—photographs.

The ratio of men to women in a given ecology can have profound influences on a range of interpersonal processes, from marriage and divorce rates to risk-taking and violent crime. Here, we organize such processes into two categories – intersexual choice and intrasexual competition – representing focal effects of imbalanced sex ratios.

Power (reflecting control over resources and the capacity to influence others through reward and punishment) and status (reflecting the capacity to influence others through respect and admiration) both represent central aspects of social hierarchy and both exert important influences on social judgment. This article reviews recent evidence regarding the effects power and status have on social judgment. In reviewing that evidence, we focus on the enhanced goal pursuit and social distance experienced by those with power, and on the need to be alert for signs of social disapproval among those high in status. The paper also reviews factors that influence perceptions of power and status, focusing on ways in which stereotypes about power and status might inform the way people perceive power and status in others.

Research in evolutionary psychology has identified two general strategies – dominance and prestige - used to attain influence and high social rank within groups. Whereas dominance is defined by the use of force to gain social rank, prestige is defined by the display of valued skills and abilities. Although studies have provided insight into the personality traits and motivations that characterize people high in dominance versus prestige, less is known about specific social influence tactics used by people who adopt those strategies. Participants (n = 207) reported on their use of nine social influence tactics, including both complaisant (e.g., building relationships, using reason) and coercive (e.g., punishing or directly coercing others) tactics. Prestige was positively associated with complaisant tactics but negatively associated with coercive tactics. Dominance was positively associated with both coercive tactics and complaisant tactics. This study provides evidence linking the overarching strategies people use to regulate their social rank to specific forms of social influence.

Two studies examine psychological and demographic factors that predict attitudes toward mask-wearing during the COVID-19 pandemic. These studies differentiate pro-mask from anti-mask attitudes. Political conservatism, younger age, and gender predicted anti-mask attitudes but were unrelated to pro-mask attitudes. Psychological reactance was associated with anti-mask attitudes, over and above demographic variables. Empathy, trust in healthcare professionals, and perceived normativity of mask wearing were associated with pro-mask attitudes, over and above demographic variables. These studies suggest that demographic variables such as political orientation and age are associated with anti-mask but not pro-mask attitudes, but also that psychological factors differentially predict anti- and pro-mask attitudes over and above demographic factors.

Male jealousy is an adaptive interpersonal process that functions to maintain relationships by reducing the likelihood of partner sexual infidelity. Ancestral men would have been most reproductively successful to the extent that they responded to signs of low partner commitment with increased jealou

Field research has the potential to substantially increase both the replicability and the impact of psychological science. Field methods sometimes are characterized by features – relatively high levels of participant diversity, relative lack of control over extraneous variables, greater focus on behavioral dependent variables, less room for researcher degrees of freedom, and lower likelihood of publication bias – that can increase the veracity and robustness of published research. Moreover, field studies can help extend psychological research in valuable ways to applied domains such as health, law, education, and business. Consequently, field studies, especially those that integrate an applied perspective, can provide information directly relevant for tackling important social problems. Incorporating field data into lines of basic research can increase not just the replicability, but also the relevance and impact of one's science.

In heterosexual individuals, attention is automatically captured by physically attractive members of the opposite sex. Although helpful for selecting new mates, attention to attractive relationship alternatives can threaten satisfaction with and commitment to an existing romantic relationship. The current study tested the hypothesis that although a mating prime would increase selective attention to attractive opposite-sex targets (relative to less attractive targets) among single participants, this effect would be reduced among people already committed to a long-term romantic partner. Consistent with hypotheses, whereas single participants responded to a mating prime with greater attentional adhesion to physically attractive opposite-sex targets (relative to less attractive targets), participants in a committed romantic relationship showed no such effect. These findings extend previous research suggesting the presence of relationship maintenance mechanisms that operate at early stages of social cognition.

This research uses the Health and Retirement Study to identify psychological and social factors that prospectively predict new reports of perceived weight discrimination among individuals who measure in the obese weight category. Participants (M(age)=66.89, SD=8.33; 58% women) reported on their personality and social isolation, had a body mass index (BMI)≥30, reported no perceived weight discrimination at baseline, and completed at least one assessment over the up to 8-year follow-up (N=3,064). Eleven percent of participants reported new experiences of perceived weight discrimination. Higher Neuroticism and loneliness at baseline were associated with new reports; Conscientiousness was protective. This research adds to models of weight stigma by identifying psychological and social factors that contribute to reporting new instances of perceived weight discrimination.

How do women respond to being valued for sex by their partners? Although research supporting objectification theory suggests that women's reactions to sexual valuation are primarily negative, a separate body of research indicates that women expend significant effort to enhance their sexual appeal. Evolutionary perspectives suggest that whether women are more or less satisfied with partners who value them for sex may depend on how committed those partners are. Being sexually valued by a relatively uncommitted partner may violate women's desire to avoid short-term sexual relationships and thus may be negatively associated with relationship satisfaction. In contrast, being sexually valued by a highly committed partner may positively influence women's relationship satisfaction because it signals to them that they have successfully attracted a long-term relationship partner. Two studies of newly married couples supported these predictions. In Study 1 (N = 109), husbands' sexual valuation was positively associated with marital satisfaction among wives who perceived that those husbands were highly committed, but negatively associated with marital satisfaction among wives who perceived that those husbands were relatively less committed. Study 2 (N = 99) revealed the same pattern for wives (but not husbands) using a likely manifestation of sexual valuation-engaging in frequent sex. These findings join others to demonstrate that interpersonal processes do not have universally positive or negative implications for relationships; rather, their implications depend on the context in which they occur, including contexts that were reproductively beneficial or costly throughout evolutionary history.

We have argued that the evolutionary perspective to social psychology is not untestable, not reductionist, not a theory about rigid genetic determinism, not a justification for the status quo, and not incompatible with sociocultural or cognitive analyses. What it is, instead, is a set of ideas that have proved quite useful in generating novel hypotheses, and parsimoniously connecting findings from very different domains ranging from mate choice and family relationships to aggression and intergroup relations. Adopting an evolutionary perspective can help us appreciate not only the common threads that bind the people in our culture to those in other cultures, but also, beyond that, to the other species with which we share the earth. Taking this broad perspective, however, also makes us aware of the vast reaches of our own ignorance. As yet, we know very little about how evolved psychological mechanisnis inside individuals develop, or how they influence, and are influenced by, the complex cultures that humans construct. Bringing light to these questions will require a fuller integration of all the different theoretical perspectives on human social behavior.