Cads, Dads, and Magazines: Priming Women's Sexual Preferences with Articles About Sex and Relationships.

Evolutionary theorists have determined that the characteristics women seek out in potential romantic and sexual partners are largely determined by which reproductive strategy is optimal for an individual's circumstances (e.g. fertility, age, social position) at any given time. These alternative partnering strategies are reflected in the dual nature of sexual content in women's lifestyle magazines. The present study explored whether such content may affect the characteristics women seek out in potential partners. In a laboratory experiment, women with different relationship goals and in different phases of their ovulatory cycle were randomly assigned to read an article from a women's lifestyle magazine that discussed sex in either relational or recreational terms before completing explicit and implicit measures of partner trait preferences. Condition, relationship goals, and fertility did not affect participants' enjoyment of the article. However, after reading the recreational sex article, women scored higher on an explicit test of the importance of superficial, appearance-related traits in a potential romantic partner. Reading the recreational sex article was associated with stronger implicit preferences for partner traits associated with short-term relationships and low-investment reproductive strategies. Reading the relational sex article was associated with stronger implicit preferences for partner traits associated with long-term relationships and high-investment reproductive strategies. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]