Mate preference and brain oscillations: Initial romantic attraction is associated with decreases in alpha- and lower beta-band power

Initial romantic attraction (IRA) refers to a series of positive reactions (such as feelings of exhilaration and compulsive thinking) toward desirable potential partners, usually at initial or early‐stage encounters when no close relationship has yet been established. After decades of effort, the evolutionary value and key characteristics of IRA are well understood. However, the brain mechanisms associated with IRA are unclear. To address this question, we simulated a mate selection platform similar to that of Tinder. When participants assessed their romantic interest in potential partners on the platform, their electroencephalogram (EEG) signals were recorded in real time. The behavioral data demonstrated that IRA to ideal potential partners mainly reflects the dimensions of arousal and domination. The main study finding was that processing of the individual preference faces that resulted in IRA was associated with a decrease in power in the alpha and lower beta bands over the posterior and anterior sensor clusters; this occurred between 870 and 2,000 ms post‐stimulus. Key findings regarding event‐related potentials (ERPs) sensitive to individual stimuli preferences were replicated. The results support the hypothesis that brain oscillations in the alpha and lower beta range may reflect modulation in cortical activity associated with individual mate preferences.

We Don't Choose Whom We Love: Predictors for Romantic Attraction to Villains

INTRODUCTION

Why are women (not) romantically attracted to dark personalities or villains, which might be a risk factor for intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization? In the current study, it is opted to investigate how adult attachment, maladaptive personality traits, and acceptance of couple violence in women predict romantic attraction to heroic/villainous characters using structural equation modeling (SEM).

METHOD

First, a pilot study was conducted in 122 heterosexual women (aged 16-25) to select male TV characters. This resulted in the selection of six villains and 10 heroes for the main study, in which 194 other heterosexual women (aged 16-25) were asked to rate the pictures of TV characters through an online questionnaire. This was combined with self-report measures of maladaptive personality traits, acceptance of couple violence, and adult attachment. These variables were entered into a SEM model to assess model fit.

RESULTS

Overall, women rated heroes higher on physical appearance (pilot study) and romantic attraction (main study) compared to villains. We found different direct effects of avoidant (negative) and anxious (positive) attachment styles on romantic attraction to heroes. Moreover, maladaptive personality traits fully mediated the positive effect of avoidant attachment style on romantic attraction to villains.

DISCUSSION

Despite the limitations of the study design (e.g., low N, low notoriety of the TV characters), this study emphasizes that women are generally more romantically attracted to heroes (vs. villains). Besides, there are different predictors of romantic attraction to heroes and villains, which requires further investigation, especially in the context of IPV.

Roles of P300 and Late Positive Potential in Initial Romantic Attraction

Initial romantic attraction (IRA) refers to a series of positive reactions to potential romantic partners at the initial encounter; it evolved to promote mate selection, allowing individuals to focus their mating efforts on their preferred potential mates. After decades of effort, we now have a deeper understanding of the evolutionary value and dominant factors of IRA; however, little is known regarding the brain mechanisms related to its generation and evaluation. In this study, we combined classic event-related potential analysis with dipole-source analysis to examine electroencephalogram (EEG) signals generated while participants assessed their romantic interest in potential partners. The EEG signals were categorized into IRA-engendered and unengendered conditions based on behavioral indicators. We found that the faces elicited multiple late positivities, including P300 over the occipital-parietal regions and late positive potentials (LPPs) over the anterior regions. When compared to faces that did not engender IRA, faces that did engender IRA elicited (1) enhanced P300 over the parietal regions and heightened neural activity in the insula and cingulate cortex and (2) larger LPPs over the anterior regions and heightened neural activity in the orbitofrontal cortex, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, cingulate cortex, frontal eye field, visual cortex, and insula. These results suggest IRA is generated and evaluated by an extensive brain network involved in emotion processing, attention control, and social evaluations. Furthermore, these findings indicate that P300 and LPP may represent different cognitive processes during IRA.

A Cross-sectional Study Examining the (In)congruency of Sexual Identity, Sexual Behavior, and Romantic Attraction among Adolescents in the US

OBJECTIVE

To examine how sexual identity, romantic attraction, and sexual behavior co-relate for cisgender adolescents.

STUDY DESIGN

The Teen Health and Technology survey was a cross-sectional, self-report online survey. More than 5000 youth between 13 and 18 years of age were randomly recruited through Harris Panel OnLine's panel as well as outreach by GLSEN to over-recruit lesbian, gay, bisexual, and other sexual minority youth. Data were collected between 2010 and 2011. Analyses were conducted in 2018 and restricted to cisgender youth.

RESULTS

Overall, romantic attraction and sexual behavior most closely mapped each other. The greatest discordance was noted between sexual identity and romantic attraction. For example, 59% of girls and 16% of boys who identified with a nonheterosexual identity reported that at least 1 of their 2 most recent sexual partners was a different gender. Nine percent of heterosexually-identified girls and 3% of heterosexually-identified boys reported romantic attraction to the same sex, and 6% and 7% of heterosexually-identified girls and boys, respectively, reported that at least 1 of their 2 most recent sexual partners was the same gender.

CONCLUSIONS

Treating romantic attraction, sexual identity, and sexual behavior as synonymous assumes a unidimensionality that is unsupported by the data. Pediatricians and others working with youth, including researchers, should be mindful not to assume identity on the basis of behavior. Researchers should be clear and purposeful about how they are operationalizing "sexual minority" and how it may affect the composition of their study population. Healthy sexuality and risk reduction programs need to acknowledge that adolescents with a particular sexual identity may have romantic attractions, and even sexual encounters, with people who fall outside of that identity.

Romantic Attraction and Substance Use in 15-Year-Old Adolescents from Eight European Countries

Sexual minority youth are at higher risk of substance use than heterosexual youth. However, most evidence in this area is from North America, and it is unclear whether the findings can be generalized to other cultures and countries. In this investigation, we used data from the 2014 Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study to compare substance use in same- and both-gender attracted 15-year-old adolescents from eight European countries (n = 14,545) to that of their peers who reported opposite-gender attraction or have not been romantically attracted to anyone. Both-gender attracted, and to a lesser extent, same-gender attracted adolescents were significantly more likely to smoke cigarettes, consume alcohol, get drunk and use cannabis, or be involved in multiple substance use in the last 30 days compared to their opposite-gender attracted peers. Those adolescents who have not been in love had significantly lower odds for substance use than all other youth. The pattern of results remained the same after adjusting for country, gender and family affluence. These findings are compatible with the minority stress and romantic stress theories. They suggest that sexual minority stigma (and love on its own) may contribute to higher substance use among adolescents in European countries.

Projection of Romantic and Sexual Desire in Opposite-Sex Friendships: How Wishful Thinking Creates a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

In two studies, the authors examined the projection of romantic and sexual desire in opposite-sex friendships. In both studies, perceivers who strongly desired their friends projected this desire onto their friends, believing that their desire was more reciprocated than was actually the case. In turn, projection of desire appeared to motivate perceivers into enacting relationship initiation behaviors, which predicted changes in targets' romantic and sexual desires over time (Study 2). Projection was elevated for perceivers who saw themselves as high in mate value, and targets appeared to be influenced by perceivers' overtures primarily when they believed perceivers were high in mate value. This research suggests that, for perceivers high in mate value, romantic and sexual desire creates biased perceptions that initiate self-fulfilling prophecies.

Romantic attraction and conflict negotiation among late adolescent and early adult romantic couples

In a sample of 35 couples (college students, aged 18-24) who were dating for no longer than six months, each partner was given a semi-structured interview to assess the nature and intensity of romantic preoccupation with his or her lover. In addition, partners were jointly given a revealed differences task in which they were asked to discuss the issue of their highest disagreement and to arrive at an agreement. Findings suggested that higher levels of romantic preoccupation are related to partners' inclination to downplay their disagreement and to negotiate their differences less successfully. The same assessment six weeks later showed that where levels of romantic preoccupation among romantic partners stayed stable, the partners showed an increasing capability to recognize and face their disagreements and even a tendency to better negotiate disagreements started to emerge. Findings of this study suggest that two processes operate within a bond between romantic partners. The first process refers to the attraction or preoccupation between partners and the second refers to the quality of conflict negotiation that evolves over time. Where at the initial stage of a romantic bond the attraction process overshadows partners' ability to acknowledge and deal with differences, the two processes develop differently over time.