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Reynolds TA. Our Grandmothers' Legacy: Challenges Faced by Female Ancestors Leave Traces in Modern Women's Same-Sex Relationships. ARCHIVES OF SEXUAL BEHAVIOR 2022; 51:3225-3256. [PMID: 33398709 DOI: 10.1007/s10508-020-01768-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2019] [Revised: 06/05/2020] [Accepted: 06/08/2020] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
Investigations of women's same-sex relationships present a paradoxical pattern, with women generally disliking competition, yet also exhibiting signs of intrasexual rivalry. The current article leverages the historical challenges faced by female ancestors to understand modern women's same-sex relationships. Across history, women were largely denied independent access to resources, often depending on male partners' provisioning to support themselves and their children. Same-sex peers thus became women's primary romantic rivals in competing to attract and retain relationships with the limited partners able and willing to invest. Modern women show signs of this competition, disliking and aggressing against those who threaten their romantic prospects, targeting especially physically attractive and sexually uninhibited peers. However, women also rely on one another for aid, information, and support. As most social groups were patrilocal across history, upon marriage, women left their families to reside with their husbands. Female ancestors likely used reciprocal altruism or mutualism to facilitate cooperative relationships with nearby unrelated women. To sustain these mutually beneficial cooperative exchange relationships, women may avoid competitive and status-striving peers, instead preferring kind, humble, and loyal allies. Ancestral women who managed to simultaneously compete for romantic partners while forming cooperative female friendships would have been especially successful. Women may therefore have developed strategies to achieve both competitive and cooperative goals, such as guising their intrasexual competition as prosociality or vulnerability. These historical challenges make sense of the seemingly paradoxical pattern of female aversion to competition, relational aggression, and valuation of loyal friends, offering insight into possible opportunities for intervention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tania A Reynolds
- Department of Psychology, University of New Mexico, Logan Hall, MSC03-2220, 1 University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, 87131-0001, USA.
- The Kinsey Institute, Indiana University, Bloomington, Bloomington, IN, USA.
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2
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Agey E, Morris A, Chandy M, Gaulin SJC. Arranged Marriage Often Subverts Offspring Mate Choice: An HRAF‐Based Study. AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/aman.13656] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth Agey
- Department of Anthropology University of California Santa Barbara USA
| | - Addison Morris
- Department of Anthropology University of California Santa Barbara USA
| | - Maya Chandy
- Department of Anthropology University of California Santa Barbara USA
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3
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Zhang LR, Chen WW. The Mediating Role of Parental Influence on the Relationship Between Adult Children's Filial Piety Beliefs and Mate Preferences. EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY 2020; 18:1474704920969110. [PMID: 33107335 PMCID: PMC10303453 DOI: 10.1177/1474704920969110] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2020] [Accepted: 09/17/2020] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
In the present study, we aim to examine the mediating roles of the two types of perceived parental influence in the relation between the dual filial piety model and adult children's long-term mate preferences. A survey was administered to 499 Chinese adult children on their filial piety beliefs, perceptions about parental influence, and long-term mate preferences. Structural equation modeling revealed the following findings. (a) For both genders, reciprocal filial piety was positively correlated with good father/mother traits, and authoritarian filial piety was positively correlated with good gene traits. (b) For both genders, sensitivity from the perceived parental influence mediated the link between authoritarian filial piety and good provider traits. (c) For females, sensitivity mediated the link between authoritarian filial piety and good gene traits. (d) For males, parental monitoring from perceived parental influence mediated the link between authoritarian filial piety and good gene and good mother traits. In addition, authoritarian filial piety was positively correlated with good provider and good mother traits. In summary, filial piety can link both directly and indirectly to mate preference through parental sensitivity for males and females and through parental monitoring mainly for males.
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4
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Kellie DJ, Dixson BJW, Brooks RC. Papa Don't Preach? : Using Lies to Expose the Truth about Who Suppresses Female Sexuality. HUMAN NATURE-AN INTERDISCIPLINARY BIOSOCIAL PERSPECTIVE 2020; 31:222-248. [PMID: 32794067 DOI: 10.1007/s12110-020-09372-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
The suppression of sexuality is culturally widespread, and women's sexual promiscuity, activity, and enjoyment are almost always judged and punished more harshly than men's. It remains disputed, however, to what end people suppress sexuality, and who benefits from the suppression of female sexuality. Different theories predict that women in general, men in general, women's intimate partners, or parents benefit most. Here we use the lies women and men tell-or imagine telling-about their sexual histories as an indirect measure of who is most involved in the suppression of sexuality. We asked men and women what they would reply if asked questions by their mother, father, current partner, attractive confederate, and various same- or opposite-sex friends and colleagues about their number of previous sex partners, age at first romantic kiss, age at first consensual sex, and cheating on a previous partner or spouse. By comparing the size and direction of the lies that subjects told, we tested competing predictions of several cultural and evolutionary theories concerning why female sexuality is suppressed and who is driving its suppression. We found that men and women told larger and more frequent lies to their parents, with women telling the largest and most frequent lies of all to their fathers. Additionally, the majority of lies by both men and women were in sexually conservative directions. Our findings suggest that mothers, and especially fathers, restrict female sexuality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dax J Kellie
- Evolution & Ecology Research Centre, and School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Science, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, 2052, Australia.
| | - Barnaby J W Dixson
- School of Psychology, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Robert C Brooks
- Evolution & Ecology Research Centre, and School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Science, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, 2052, Australia
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5
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Locke KD, Mastor KA, MacDonald G, Barni D, Morio H, Reyes JAS, Vargas‐Flores JDJ, Ibáñez‐Reyes J, Kamble S, Ortiz FA. Young adults' partner preferences and parents' in‐law preferences across generations, genders, and nations. EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 2020. [DOI: 10.1002/ejsp.2662] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
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6
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Fugère MA, Madden S, Cousins AJ. The Relative Importance of Physical Attractiveness and Personality Characteristics to the Mate Choices of Women and Their Fathers. EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s40806-019-00195-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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7
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Bovet J, Raiber E, Ren W, Wang C, Seabright P. Parent-offspring conflict over mate choice: An experimental study in China. Br J Psychol 2018; 109:674-693. [PMID: 29943825 DOI: 10.1111/bjop.12319] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2018] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Both parents and offspring have evolved mating preferences that enable them to select mates and children-in-law to maximize their inclusive fitness. The theory of parent-offspring conflict predicts that preferences for potential mates may differ between parents and offspring: individuals are expected to value biological quality more in their own mates than in their offspring's mates and to value investment potential more in their offspring's mates than in their own mates. We tested this hypothesis in China using a naturalistic 'marriage market' where parents actively search for marital partners for their offspring. Parents gather at a public park to advertise the characteristics of their adult children, looking for a potential son or daughter-in-law. We presented 589 parents and young adults from the city of Kunming (Yunnan, China) with hypothetical mating candidates varying in their levels of income (proxy for investment potential) and physical attractiveness (proxy for biological quality). We found some evidence of a parent-offspring conflict over mate choice, but only in the case of daughters, who evaluated physical attractiveness as more important than parents. We also found an effect of the mating candidate's sex, as physical attractiveness was deemed more valuable in a female potential mate by parents and offspring alike.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeanne Bovet
- Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse, France
| | - Eva Raiber
- Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse, France.,Toulouse School of Economics, University of Toulouse, France
| | | | | | - Paul Seabright
- Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse, France.,Toulouse School of Economics, University of Toulouse, France
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Fugère MA, Doucette K, Chabot C, Cousins AJ. Similarities and differences in mate preferences among parents and their adult children. PERSONALITY AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2017.01.057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
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9
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The Importance of Physical Attractiveness to the Mate Choices of Women and Their Mothers. EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 2017. [DOI: 10.1007/s40806-017-0092-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
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10
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Apostolou M. An evolutionary account of the prevalence of personality traits that impair intimate relationships. PERSONALITY AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2016.01.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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Apostolou M. Parent-Offspring Conflict Over Mating : Domains of Agreement and Disagreement. EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY 2015; 13:1474704915604561. [PMID: 37924181 PMCID: PMC10480875 DOI: 10.1177/1474704915604561] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2015] [Accepted: 07/27/2015] [Indexed: 11/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Evolutionary reasoning indicates that certain traits are more beneficial when they are found in a mate than in a son- or a daughter-in-law, while other traits are more beneficial when they are found in a son- or a daughter-in-law than in a mate. This translates into different evolutionary pressures exercised on in-law and mate preferences driving them to diverge. The purpose of this research is to identify the domains over which in-law and mate choice is exercised, and following this, to identify the areas of agreement and disagreement in these domains. In particular, using an extensive sample of parents (N = 1,717), Study 1 identifies 10 domains over which mate and in-law choice is exercised. Study 2 employs a sample of families (N = 541) in order to compare the preferences of parents with the preferences of their children. It is found that in-law and mate preferences diverge over several domains including good looks, personality, and family background.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert Kurzban
- Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19146;
| | - Maxwell N. Burton-Chellew
- Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3PS United Kingdom; ,
- Nuffield College, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 1NF United Kingdom
| | - Stuart A. West
- Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3PS United Kingdom; ,
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13
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Arnocky S, Sunderani S, Albert G, Norris K. Sex Differences and Individual Differences in Human Facilitative and Preventive Courtship. INTERPERSONA: AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL ON PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS 2014. [DOI: 10.5964/ijpr.v8i2.159] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Although cooperative mating strategies have been observed in other species, the extent to which men and women act to facilitate the mating success of others has been under-researched, especially among unrelated individuals. The present study addressed this gap in knowledge by exploring potential sex differences and individual differences in attitudes toward facilitating and preventing friends’ mating among 256 heterosexual undergraduate men and women. Results showed that women were more likely than men to express attitudes toward preventing the sexuality of friends, whereas no sex difference existed in facilitative mating. For both men and women, positive reciprocity beliefs and high self-perceived mate-value predicted positive attitudes toward facilitative mating. Among women, preventive mating was predicted by low sociosexuality and high intrasexual (within-sex) competitiveness.
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14
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Divergence between in-law and mate preferences: Evolved predispositions or socialization and experience effects? PERSONALITY AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES 2014. [DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2014.06.034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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15
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van den Berg P, Fawcett TW, Buunk AP, Weissing FJ. The evolution of parent–offspring conflict over mate choice. EVOL HUM BEHAV 2013. [DOI: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2013.07.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Buunk AP, Hoben AD. A Slow Life History is Related to a Negative Attitude towards Cousin Marriages: A Study in Three Ethnic Groups in Mexico. EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY 2013. [DOI: 10.1177/147470491301100215] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Little is known about current attitudes towards cousin marriages. Using data from a rural population in the Mexican state of Oaxaca, the present research examined how life history was related to attitudes towards cousin marriages in various ethnic groups. Participants were 205 parents from three ethnic groups. i.e., Mestizos (people of mixed descent, n = 103), indigenous Mixtecs ( n = 65), and Blacks ( n = 35). Nearly all men in this study were farm workers or fishermen. Participants reported more negative than positive attitudes towards cousin marriage, and women reported more negative attitudes than did men. The main objection against marrying a cousin was that it is wrong for religious reasons, whereas the risk of genetic defects was considered relatively unimportant. Cousin marriage was not considered to contribute to the quality and unity of marriage and the family. The three ethnic groups did not differ in their attitude towards cousin marriages. However, a slower life history was related to a more negative attitude towards cousin marriages, especially among Blacks, less so among Mixtecs, and not at all among Mestizos. In addition, and independent of the effect of life history, with increasing levels of parental control over mate choice, the attitude towards cousin marriage was more positive, but among men the attitude was more negative the more religious they were. The results are discussed in the context of theorizing on life history theory and the benefits and costs of cousin marriages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abraham P. Buunk
- Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences and Department of Psychology, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Ashley D. Hoben
- Department of Psychology, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
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17
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Dubbs SL, Buunk AP, Taniguchi H. Parent-offspring conflict in Japan and parental influence across six cultures. JAPANESE PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2013. [DOI: 10.1111/jpr.12003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
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18
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Buunk AP, Pollet TV, Dubbs S. Parental Control over Mate Choice to Prevent Marriages with Out-group Members. HUMAN NATURE-AN INTERDISCIPLINARY BIOSOCIAL PERSPECTIVE 2012; 23:360-74. [DOI: 10.1007/s12110-012-9149-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
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19
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Apostolou M. Parent-Offspring Conflict over Mating: Testing the Tradeoffs Hypothesis. EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY 2011. [DOI: 10.1177/147470491100900401] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The difference in genetic relatedness between parents and offspring results into traits such as beauty being more beneficial in a spouse than in an in-law. As a consequence, mate and in-law preferences do not overlap, and each party tends to prefer more the traits that give it more benefits. This paper tests the hypothesis that this divergence in preferences interacts with the tradeoffs nature of mating to give rise to parent-offspring conflict over mating. In particular, using a design where mate choice is constrained by a budget, three hypotheses are tested: First, asymmetries between in-law and mate preferences result in asymmetrical compromises in the choice of an in-law and a spouse. Second, the hypothesis is tested that when choice is constrained, disagreement spreads to traits where there is no divergence between in-law and mate preferences. Finally, it is hypothesized that there is a negative relationship between mate value and parent-offspring conflict over mating. Evidence from two independent studies in two different countries provides support for all three hypotheses.
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Apostolou M. In-law preferences in a post-industrial society: What parents want in an in-law and how this differs from what their children want in a spouse. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2011. [DOI: 10.1080/19424620.2011.638930] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/14/2022]
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21
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Apostolou M. ‘Oh My Child, What an Inappropriate Spouse for You!’: Asymmetrical Preferences and Parent-Offspring Conflict Over Mating. SOCIAL AND PERSONALITY PSYCHOLOGY COMPASS 2011. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1751-9004.2011.00346.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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22
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Dubbs SL, Buunk AP. Parents Just Don't Understand: Parent-Offspring Conflict over Mate Choice. EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY 2010. [DOI: 10.1177/147470491000800405] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Previous research reveals that children and parents are not in complete agreement over which traits are most important for the mate of the child. Children tend to prefer traits that suggest genetic quality, whereas parents prefer characteristics that suggest high parental investment and cooperation with the ingroup. Using a sample of parents, mothers ( n = 234) and fathers ( n =240) the hypothesis was supported; parents perceived characteristics indicating a lack of genetic quality as being more unacceptable to the child, while characteristics indicating a lack of parental investment and cooperation with the ingroup were more unacceptable to themselves. Sex differences between mothers and fathers and sons and daughters were explored.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shelli L. Dubbs
- School of Psychology. University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Australia (Corresponding author)
| | - Abraham P. Buunk
- Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Department of Psychology, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
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