Strategic self-promotion and competitor derogation: sex and context effects on the perceived effectiveness of mate attraction tactics.

Abstract

In this article, 7 evolutionary hypotheses about the context-specific nature of mate attraction effectiveness were empirically tested and supported. In the context of short-term mating, for example, men have faced the adaptive problem of finding sexually accessible women. As a result, men express a preference for sexually availability in short-term mates. In Studies 1 and 2, separate groups of undergraduate participants judged sexual availability tactics as most effective when used by women seeking short-term mates, confirming the hypothesized link between the judged effectiveness of mate attraction tactics used by one sex and the expressed mate preferences of the other. Showing resource potential was judged most effective for men seeking a long-term mate, whereas giving resources immediately was judged most effective for men seeking short-term mates, confirming the hypothesized importance of temporal context in mate attraction effectiveness. Discussion focuses on the context-specificity of human mating psychology and on linking evolutionary and traditional approaches to romantic attraction.