
David A. FrederickChapman University · Department of Psychology
David A. Frederick
Doctor of Philosophy
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94
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August 2012 - present
June 2011 - present
Publications
Publications (94)
Given the ubiquitous nature of love, numerous theories have been proposed to explain its existence. One such theory refers to love as a commitment device, suggesting that romantic love evolved to foster commitment between partners and enhance their reproductive success. In the present study, we investigated this hypothesis using a large-scale sampl...
The Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) is a widely used self-report measure of subjective well-being, but studies of its measurement invariance across a large number of nations remain limited. Here, we utilised the Body Image in Nature (BINS) dataset–with data collected between 2020 and 2022 –to assess measurement invariance of the SWLS across 65...
Detachment from nature is contributing to the environmental crisis and reversing this trend requires detailed monitoring and targeted interventions to reconnect people to nature. Most tools measuring nature exposure and attachment were developed in high-income countries and little is known about their robustness across national and linguistic group...
Affectionate touch (e.g. hugging, handholding) is an essential component of many intimate relationships and is a primary contributor to overall relationship satisfaction as well as sexual satisfaction. Affectionate touch is understood to be a form of non-verbal communication in which the giver is expressing positive feelings toward the receiver. He...
Detachment from nature is contributing to the environmental crisis and reversing this trend requires detailed monitoring and targeted interventions to reconnect people to nature. Most tools measuring nature exposure and attachment were developed in high-income countries and little is known about their robustness across national and linguistic group...
The current study investigates attitudes toward one form of sex for resources: the so-called sugar relationships, which often involve exchanges of resources for sex and/or companionship. The present study examined associations among attitudes toward sugar relationships and relevant variables (e.g., sex, sociosexuality, gender inequality, parasitic...
Love is a phenomenon that occurs across the world and affects many aspects of human life, including the choice of, and process of bonding with, a romantic partner. Thus, developing a reliable and valid measure of love experiences is crucial. One of the most popular tools to quantify love is Sternberg’s 45-item Triangular Love Scale (TLS-45), which...
The Body Appreciation Scale-2 (BAS-2) is a widely used measure of a core facet of the positive body image construct. However, extant research concerning measurement invariance of the BAS-2 across a large number of nations remains limited. Here, we utilised the Body Image in Nature (BINS) dataset – with data collected between 2020 and 2022 – to asse...
The current investigation examined whether women’s perceptions of the sex ratio (ratio of women to men) in the local population influence their body dissatisfaction and weight loss motivations. A higher ratio of women to men in a given population signifies a relative abundance of same-sex mating competitors, intensifying female intrasexual competit...
The U.S. Body Project I examined predictors and prevalence of body image concerns among 11,620 adults recruited via Mechanical Turk. Researchers were invited to propose hypotheses or conduct secondary data analysis on the anonymized dataset. This resulted in 11 papers for this special issue. The first four papers examined the demographic predictors...
The Oxford Handbook of Human Mating covers the contributions and up-to-date theories and empirical evidence from scientists regarding human mating strategies. The scientific studies of human mating have only recently risen, revealing fresh discoveries about mate attraction, mate choice, marital satisfaction, and other topics. Darwin’s sexual select...
Love is a worldwide known phenomenon that affects many aspects of human life, including considering a romantic partner with whom to bond. Thus, developing a reliable and valid measure of love experiences is crucial. One of the most popular tools to test love levels is Sternberg's 45-item Triangular Love Scale (TLS-45), which measures three love com...
People across the world and throughout history have gone to great lengths to enhance their physical appearance. Evolutionary psychologists and ethologists have largely attempted to explain this phenomenon via mating preferences and strategies. Here, we test one of the most popular evolutionary hypotheses for beauty-enhancing behaviors, drawn from m...
People across the world and throughout history have gone to great lengths to enhance their physical appearance. Evolutionary psychologists and ethologists have largely attempted to explain this phenomenon via mating preferences and strategies. Here, we test one of the most popular evolutionary hypotheses for beauty-enhancing behaviors, drawn from m...
People across the world and throughout history have gone to great lengths to enhance their physical appearance. Evolutionary psychologists and ethologists have largely attempted to explain this phenomenon via mating preferences and strategies. Here, we test one of the most popular evolutionary hypotheses for beauty-enhancing behaviors, drawn from m...
Most body image studies assess only linear relations between predictors and outcome variables, relying on techniques such as multiple Linear Regression. These predictor variables are often validated multi-item measures that aggregate individual items into a single scale. The advent of machine learning has made it possible to apply Nonlinear Regress...
Despite substantial literature surrounding how people process and perceive faces, there is very little research investigating how people evaluate their own faces. We examined how gender, body mass, race, age, and sexual orientation were linked to people’s satisfaction with the appearance of their eyes, nose, facial shape, and face overall among 11,...
Body image is a critical component of an individual’s sexual experiences. This makes it critical to identify demographic and sociocultural correlates of sexuality-related body image: the subjective feelings, cognitions, and evaluations related to one’s body in the context of sexual experience. We examined how sexuality-related body image differed b...
According to the tripartite influence model, body dissatisfaction is shaped by internalizing cultural appearance ideals stemming from appearance-related family, peer, and media pressures. This model was developed for women, but emerging evidence points to its relevance for men’s body image. This study advanced this budding research by (a) integrati...
Racial minority men and women face a wide variety of appearance-related pressures, including ones connected to their cultural backgrounds and phenotypic features associated with their identity. These body image concerns exist within a larger context, wherein racial minorities face pressures from multiple cultures or subcultures simultaneously to ac...
Objectification theory and the tripartite influence model provide useful frameworks for understanding the body image experiences of men and women. However, there is little systematic investigation of how sexual orientation moderates the links between these constructs and body image satisfaction. It has been hypothesized, for example, that the assoc...
Objectification theory proposes that widespread sexualization causes women to engage in surveillance of their appearance. We integrated this concept into a model with constructs from the tripartite influence model, which proposes that body dissatisfaction is a result of internalizing cultural notions of thin ideal beauty that stem from family, peer...
Despite growing interest in comparing body image experiences across diverse groups, limited work has examined whether body image measures operate similarly across different populations, raising important questions about the appropriateness of comparing scale means across demographic groups. This study employed measurement invariance testing to eval...
The objective of this study was to re-examine the factor structure of the Body Image Quality of Life Inventory (BIQLI), a measure that quantifies perceived effects of one’s body image on various aspects of psychosocial functioning. Data on the 19-item BIQLI from a community sample of 11,620 U.S. men and women were split into cross-validation sample...
We examined how gender, body mass, race, age, and sexual orientation were linked to appearance evaluation, overweight preoccupation, and body image-related quality of life among 11,620 adults recruited via Mechanical Turk. Men were less likely than women to report low appearance evaluation, high overweight preoccupation, negative effects of body im...
"In our commentary, we lay out several lines of critique and commentary that we hope will challenge Davis and Arnocky to (1) consider how these points might be integrated into their model and (2) stimulate further research on these topics by scholars applying evolutionary and sociocultural lenses. For some of the critiques and questions we raise, w...
We examined how demographic factors (gender, sexual orientation, racial group, age, body mass) were. linked to measures of sociocultural appearance concerns derived from objectification theory and the tripartite influence model (McKinley & Hyde, 1996; Schaefer et al., 2015) among 11,620 adults. Men were less likely than women to report high body su...
The current study examined the prevalence and correlates of over 50 sexual practices in a national survey of heterosexual and lesbian women in relationships. Coarsened exact matching was used to create comparable samples of heterosexual (n = 2510) and lesbian (n = 283) women on six demographic factors, including relationship length. Heterosexual an...
The tripartite influence model suggests that appearance pressures from family, peers, and the media contribute to thin-ideal internalization, which leads to increased body dissatisfaction and subsequent eating disorder pathology. The tripartite influence model was initially developed and tested among primarily White samples, and emerging research s...
Gay men are underrepresented in research on sexual satisfaction. We examined sexual satisfaction and over 50 sexual practices in an online U.S. national survey of men in relationships. Coarsened exact matching created comparable samples of heterosexual (n = 3527) and gay (n = 452) men on six demographic factors, including relationship length. Resul...
The Breast Size Satisfaction Survey (BSSS) was established to assess women’s breast size dissatisfaction and breasted experiences from a cross-national perspective. A total of 18,541 women were recruited from 61 research sites across 40 nations and completed measures of current-ideal breast size discrepancy, as well as measures of theorised anteced...
The first national study of body image was reported four decades ago in the article The Happy American Body (Berscheid et al., 1973). To provide a modern follow-up to this study, we used two Internet panel surveys of U.S. adults to examine feelings about appearance (Survey 1: Married N = 1095; Single N = 5481) and weight, appearance, body, and musc...
This cross-sectional study explored similarities and differences between heterosexual, bisexual, and lesbian women in levels of, and relationships between, the following constructs using a Tripartite Influence Model framework: family, peer, and media appearance pressures, thin and muscular ideal internalization, and eating disorder (ED) pathology....
Objective
Evidence suggests that eating disorders (EDs) may be under‐detected in males. Commonly used measures of EDs such as the Eating Disorder Examination‐Questionnaire (EDE‐Q) were initially developed within female samples, raising concern regarding the extent to which these instruments may be appropriate for detecting EDs in males. The current...
Researchers have observed variation in levels of body image disturbance and eating pathology among women from different Western countries. Examination of cross-cultural differences in the established risk factors (i.e., thin-ideal internalization, muscular-ideal internalization, and appearance pressures from family, peers, and media) for negative o...
There is a notable gap between heterosexual men and women in frequency of orgasm during sex. Little is known, however, about sexual orientation differences in orgasm frequency. We examined how over 30 different traits or behaviors were associated with frequency of orgasm when sexually intimate during the past month. We analyzed a large US sample of...
The precarious manhood perspective proposes that men respond with aggression when they experience threats to their masculinity. Consistent with this view, we hypothesized that men would represent themselves as stronger and more formidable after their masculinity was threatened. A recent study, however, found that men reported less physical strength...
Body image activists have proposed adding disclaimer labels to digitally altered media as a way to promote positive body image. Another approach advocated by activists is to alter advertisements through subvertising (adding social commentary to the image to undermine the message of the advertisement). We examined if body image could be enhanced by...
Plastic surgery, or reconstructive surgery, is designed to repair damage to the body. In contrast, cosmetic surgery involves surgical procedures that are not necessary to improve one's health, but intended to alter one's appearance. Women express more interest in cosmetic surgery than men and over 90 percent of cosmetic surgeries and cosmetic proce...
Asian American women experience sociocultural pressures that could place them at increased risk for experiencing body and face dissatisfaction. Asian American and White women completed measures of appearance evaluation, overweight preoccupation, face satisfaction, face dissatisfaction frequency, perfectionism, surveillance, interdependent and indep...
Passion and sexual satisfaction typically diminish in longer-term relationships, but this decline is not inevitable. We identified the attitudes and behaviors that most strongly differentiated sexually satisfied from dissatisfied men and women who had been together for at least three years (N = 38,747). Data were collected in 2006 from cohabiting a...
Recent reviews have challenged the view that gay men are at higher risk than heterosexual men for developing poor body image. The current project examined the extent to which gay and heterosexual men differed on measures related to body image. We also examined whether body mass index (BMI) moderated the association between sexual orientation and bo...
According to a "mating market" approach, people with desirable traits have a stronger "bargaining hand" and can be more selective when choosing partners. We examined how heterosexual mate preferences varied by gender, age, personal income, education, and appearance satisfaction (Study 1 N= 22,815; Study 2 N= 4790). Men and women differed in the per...
Rationale:
We conducted three experiments to examine how cultural frames shape attitudes about health, focusing on obesity, which is considered a public health crisis and is imbued with symbolic meaning.
Methods:
College students (Ns = 99, 114, and 293) read news articles that presented high body weight according to one or more of the following...
Chivalry dictates that on a “date,” the man pays, whereas egalitarian ideals suggest that gender should not determine who pays. We examined the extent to which people embrace or reject these competing notions. Unmarried heterosexual participants (N = 17,607) reported their behaviors and attitudes regarding who does and who should pay for dates on a...
Objectives:
In the popular news media, public health officials routinely emphasize the health risks of obesity and portray weight as under personal control. These messages may increase support for policies designed to reduce rates of obesity, but can also increase antifat stigma. Less often, the media cover 'Health at Every Size' or 'Fat Rights' p...
Drawing on 25,185 responses collected via an online news website, our findings extend and update Fischer and Oliker’s (1983) classic study on gender and life cycle differences in friendship. We found no substantial gender differences in number of friends people can count on to celebrate birthdays, discuss intimate matters like one’s sex life, or de...
People with traits that are attractive on the mating market are better able to pursue their preferred mating strategy. Men who are relatively tall may be preferred by women because taller height is a cue to dominance, social status, access to resources, and heritable fitness, leading them to have more mating opportunities and sex partners. We exami...
Friends play important roles throughout our lives by providing expressive, instrumental, and companionate support. We examined sexual orientation, gender, and age differences in the number of friends people can rely on for expressive, instrumental, and companionate support. Additionally, we examined the extent to which people relied on same-gender...
One hypothesis derived from evolutionary perspectives is that men are more upset than women by sexual infidelity and women are more upset than men by emotional infidelity. The proposed explanation is that men, in contrast to women, face the risk of unwittingly investing in genetically unrelated offspring. Most studies, however, have relied on small...
The Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire-3 (SATAQ-3) and its earlier versions are measures designed to assess societal and interpersonal aspects of appearance ideals. Correlational, structural equation modeling, and prospective studies of the SATAQ-3 have shown consistent and significant associations with measures of body image...
In 1972, the first major national study on body image was conducted under the auspices of Psychology Today. Body image was assessed with the Body Parts Satisfaction Scale, which examined the dissatisfaction people experienced with 24 aspects of their bodies. Despite the continued reliance on this scale and reference to the study, data on the factor...
News reporting on research studies may influence attitudes about health risk, support for public health policies, or attitudes towards people labeled as unhealthy or at risk for disease. Across five experiments (N = 2123) we examined how different news framings of obesity research influence these attitudes. We exposed participants to either a contr...
Many studies have documented systematic shifts in women’s mate preferences and sexual motivations across the ovulatory cycle. Harris (2012) presents a nonreplication of one particular finding in this literature—namely, that women’s preference for masculinity in men’s faces shifts across the cycle. Harris critiques the empirical and theoretical lite...
This chapter introduces the reader to some of the influential perspectives on female mate choice in human evolutionary biology, including parental investment theory. We then present two key theories in evolutionary psychology that have been applied to understand variations in women’s mating preferences and choices: sexual strategies theory and stra...
Regret and anticipated regret enhance decision quality by helping people avoid making and repeating mistakes. Some of people's most intense regrets concern sexual decisions. We hypothesized evolved sex differences in women's and men's experiences of sexual regret. Because of women's higher obligatory costs of reproduction throughout evolutionary hi...
We investigated body image in St. Kitts, a Caribbean island where tourism, international media, and relatively high levels of body fat are common. Participants were men and women recruited from St. Kitts (n = 39) and, for comparison, U.S. samples from universities (n = 618) and the Internet (n = 438). Participants were shown computer generated imag...
The constituents of attractiveness differ across the sexes. Many relevant traits are dimorphic, suggesting that they are the product of intersexual selection. However, direction of causality is generally difficult to determine, as aesthetic criteria can as readily result from, as cause, dimorphism. Women have proportionately smaller feet than men....
Women's mate selection criteria can be expected to include a preference for men who can protect them and their offspring. However, aggressive dominance and physical formidability are not an unalloyed good in a partner; as such, men are likely to be coercive toward their mates. Accordingly, because of the potential costs of living with an aggressive...
Over the last decade, a growing literature has shown that women in the fertile phase of the menstrual cycle demonstrate stronger preferences for men with masculine traits than they do when in the non-fertile phases of the cycle (see Gangestad and Thornhill, 2008 and Jones et al., 2008 for recent reviews). In a recent article, Harris (in press; Sex...
Growing evidence shows that features we find attractive in members of the opposite sex signal important underlying dimensions of health and reproductive viability. It has been discovered that men with attractive faces have higher quality sperm, women with attractive bodies are more fertile, men and women with attractive voices lose their virginity...
This study reports results from the first International Body Project (IBP-I), which surveyed 7,434 individuals in 10 major world regions about body weight ideals and body dissatisfaction. Participants completed the female Contour Drawing Figure Rating Scale (CDFRS) and self-reported their exposure to Western and local media. Results indicated there...
Over the last decade, a growing literature has shown that women in the fertile phase of the menstrual cycle demonstrate stronger preferences for men with masculine traits than they do when in the non-fertile phases of the cycle (see Gangestad and Thornhill, 2008 and Jones et al., 2008 for recent reviews). In a recent article, Harris (in press; Sex...
The effect of genes and hormones on the development of the fetus determines whether an individual becomes male or female. Hormones released in the body also cause individuals to develop a more male-typical or female-typical type of brain and behaviors. Some people have bodies that do not exactly fit into the categories of male or female; for exampl...
The leg-to-body ratio (LBR), which is reliably associated with developmental stability and health outcomes, is an understudied component of human physical attractiveness. Several studies examining the effects of LBR on aesthetic judgments have been limited by the reliance on stimuli composed of hand-drawn silhouettes. In the present study, we devel...
A casual look at the literature in social cognition reveals a vast collection of biases, errors, violations of rational choice, and failures to maximize utility. One is tempted to draw the conclusion that the human mind is woefully muddled. We present a three-category evolutionary taxonomy of evidence of biases: biases are (a) heuristics, (b) error...
In many non-Western societies, moderate to high levels of body fat in women have long been equated with health, physical attractiveness, social status, and fertility. In recent times, however, many Western cultures have emphasized the idea that slender women are most attractive. This emphasis on thinness has led to increased levels of body dissatis...
The prevalence of breast augmentation and breast lift surgery suggests that many women are dissatisfied with their breasts. This study analyzed women's and men's views about breast size and shape among 52,227 heterosexual adults, ages 18–65, who responded to an online survey. Although most women (70%) were dissatisfied with the size or shape of the...
Does the prevalence and degree of body dissatisfaction differ among heterosexual and homosexual men and women? Some theorists have suggested that, compared to their heterosexual peers, gay men are at greater risk for body dissatisfaction and lesbians at lower risk. Past studies examining this issue have generally relied on small samples recruited f...
Physical stature plays an important role in human mate choice because it may signal dominance, high status, access to resources, and underlying heritable qualities. Although past research has examined overall preferences for height, we propose these preferences are modified by evolved mechanisms that consider one’s own height and prevailing social...