The Effect of Competition on Men’s Self-Reported Sexual Interest

Abstract

Men have been sexually selected (both via male–male competition and female choice) to compete with other men for survival and reproduction. Evidence in humans suggests that men are especially competitive with other men over resources and, if successful, are valued as attractive mating prospects by women. We predicted that experimentally manipulating competitive outcomes would differentially affect men’s sexual interest, with a victory resulting in men expressing greater interest in mating opportunities and a loss resulting in decreased interest in mating opportunities. One hundred thirteen men were asked to participate in a speed-based competition. Participants were randomly assigned to experience a win, a loss, or no competitive feedback (control condition). Participants’ sexual interest was gauged by their responses to photographs of women of differing attractiveness, wherein they were asked to rate their sexual interest in the photographed women and to give attributions of sexual interest to the same women. Results showed that single (unmated) men exhibited the predicted effects of competition on sexual interest. Specifically, whereas both single men and mated men were more sexually interested in high-attractiveness women than in low-attractiveness women, only single men exhibited a higher sexual interest after a win, followed by the control and losing conditions, respectively.