Is the Grass Really Greener? The Influence of Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation on Mate Copying Behaviors

Abstract

ABSTRACT Mate copying is a sexual strategy whereby individuals attend to socially available information about their prospective mate. This allows for more accurate decision making in regard to mating. This phenomenon was originally demonstrated among nonhumans, but there is an increasing weight of evidence suggesting that humans also engage in mate copying. Research typically focuses on heterosexual cisgender women, with no previous studies having looked at those identifying outside of the traditional gender binary. The current study aimed to address this gap by examining the impact of gender identity and sexual orientation on the propensity to engage in mate copying. Participants (N = 831) completed an online survey providing desirability ratings for photographs alone (T1) and then rated the same photographs after receiving social information about the relationship status and previous relationship history of the pictured individual (T2). It was found that both gender identity (F(4, 713) = 3.94, ηp 2  = .02) and sexual orientation (F(4, 713) = 4.40, ηp 2  = .02) influenced an individual’s overall propensity to mate copy, and that desirability patterns for individuals were very different depending on these variables. It was concluded that while mate copying certainly is evident among humans, the phenomenon is extremely nuanced and sensitive.