Yael Sela

Oakland University · Department of Psychology

Peers and primary caregivers influence the development of religious beliefs during childhood and adolescence. However, previous research has not assessed whether childhood religious experiences with peers and primary caregivers are differently related to individual differences in adult religiosity. We investigated whether the frequency of childhood...

People's financial decisions are influenced by sexual (vs. neutral) stimuli, and exposure to such stimuli makes men, more than women, eager to spend money immediately, take financial risks, and "show off" their wealth. Hunger also influences financial decisions, such that hungry (vs. satiated) individuals are more likely to exhibit financial impati...

Previous research indicates that the romantic attachment dimensions of anxiety and avoidance are associated with performance frequency of Benefit-Provisioning and Cost-Inflicting domains of mate retention. The current research aimed to replicate previous findings in a non-Western sample (Iran, Study 1), and to extend this research by investigating...

Romantic relationships with a large age difference between partners are judged to be less acceptable, more disgusting, and less likely to succeed than age-similar relationships. We investigated the role of strategic moralization in condemnation of man-older age-discrepant relationships. We hypothesized that (1) this condemnation promotes self-servi...

Sperm competition theory can be used to generate the hypothesis that men alter the quality of their ejaculates as a function of sperm competition risk. Using a repeated-measures experimental design, we investigated whether men produce a higher-quality ejaculate when primed with cues to sperm competition (i.e., imagined partner infidelity), relative...

A prospective romantic partner’s desirability as a long-term partner may be affected by the values that he or she endorses. However, few studies have examined the effects of “values” on a person’s desirability as a long-term partner. We hypothesized that individuals who endorse social values (vs. personal values) will be perceived as more desirable...

Childhood religious experiences with primary caregivers are instrumental in the development of religiosity. However, the ways that primary caregivers influence these experiences have not been properly operationalized and measured. We addressed this limitation by developing the Childhood Religious Experiences Inventory – Primary Caregiver (CREI-PC)....

People employ mate retention behaviors in response to a perceived threat of partner infidelity, in both offline and online contexts. Previous research has documented sex differences in the use of several mate retention behaviors. In the current study, we investigate sex differences in the performance frequency of mate retention behaviors in an onli...

Previous research documents that men and women can accurately judge male physical strength from gait, but also that the sexes differ in attractiveness judgments of strong and weak male walkers. Women’s (but not men’s) attractiveness assessments of strong male walkers are higher than for weak male walkers. Here, we extend this research to assessment...

People deploy mate retention behaviors to thwart a long-term romantic partner's infidelity. Cost-Inflicting mate retention behaviors (e.g., inducing a partner's jealousy) are riskier than Benefit-Provisioning mate retention behaviors (e.g., showing love and care for a partner), because the former increase the odds of a partner's defection or retali...

Individuals perform mate retention behaviors to minimize the risk of partner infidelity and relationship dissolution. The current study investigates whether consideration of cosmetic surgery can be conceptualized as part of a broader strategy of mate retention for women, but not men. We hypothesized that women's consideration of cosmetic surgery wo...

Childhood religious experiences with peers are important in the development of religiosity. However, peers' influence on these experiences has not been properly operationalized and measured. We addressed this limitation by developing the Childhood Religious Experiences with a Peer Inventory (CREPI). In Study 1 (n = 254), an act nomination procedure...

The field of evolutionary psychology has historically and successfully achieved theoretical and empirical advances at the levels of species-typical and sex-differentiated adaptations. Relatively lesser focus to evolutionary explanations for human individual differences has been provided. Individual differences, however, are essential to the process...

Religion motivates, exacerbates, and even justifies violence. This chapter argues that religious beliefs regarding violence—particularly those of monotheistic, Abrahamic faiths—are shaped by evolved psychological mechanisms. Further, it argues that religiously motivated violence is most likely to occur in evolutionarily relevant contexts. Guided by...

Coalitional mate retention (CMR) occurs when individuals request assistance from a friend to minimize the risk of partner infidelity. We secured reports from men and women in a committed, heterosexual relationship to investigate associations between CMR requests and the sex and personality traits of individuals who request CMR, and the sex of their...

The Coalitional Mate Retention Inventory (CMRI; Pham et al., 2015) assesses the frequency with which individuals solicit allies to assist with mate retention efforts. The current study subjected the CMRI to confirmatory factor analyses. A model comparison approach was employed using data from a large community sample of participants currently in a...

Personality dimensions are associated with various romantic relationship outcomes. The current study examined associations among the Big Five personality dimensions and mate retention domains in a community sample in Iran. Participants (n = 308) completed a survey that included measures of personality and mate retention behaviors. The results revea...

Humans perform copulatory behaviors that do not contribute directly to reproduction (e.g., cunnilingus, prolonged copulation). We conducted a content analysis of pornography to investigate whether such behaviors might contribute indirectly to reproduction by influencing ejaculate volume—an indicator of ejaculate quality. We coded 100 professional p...

Objective: To investigate the relationship between perceived mate value discrepancy (i.e., the difference between an individual's mate value and their partner's mate value) and perceived frequency of mate retention performed by an individual relative to their partner. Method: In two studies, participants in long-term, exclusive, sexual, heterose...

Relying on religion as the basis of one’s morality is problematic. Although religion can motivate positive behaviors and cooperation, it also motivates and exacerbates violence in particular contexts, arguably by being shaped by preexisting mechanisms in evolved human psychology. First, we provide a brief overview of human sexual selection from an...

Women perform oral sex on their male partner (i.e., fellatio) as part of a Benefit-Provisioning mate retention strategy, and women’s personality predicts their interest in, and time spent, performing fellatio. We explored whether women’s mate retention behavior mediates the relationship between their personality traits and their performance of fell...

“Mate retention” behaviors are designed to reduce the likelihood of a partner’s infidelity. One mate retention strategy that individuals use is to increase a partner’s relationship satisfaction by provisioning that partner with benefits. Men who report performing more mate retention behaviors, in general, and more benefit-provisioning mate retentio...

Women’s copulatory orgasm may function to retain sperm from men with “good genes”, one indicator of which is attractiveness, and one benefit of which is pathogen resistance. Women who perceive their partner to be more (vs. less) attractive are more likely to report orgasm at last copulation. Another benefit of male attractiveness to women is that h...

Men who report performing more mate retention behaviors, in general, and more benefit-provisioning mate retention behaviors, in particular, also report greater interest in, and spend more time, performing oral sex on their female partner. We extended these findings to a female sample to investigate whether women’s oral sex behaviors are related to...

Evolution by natural selection is the only known process capable of producing complex biological systems. Natural selection drives evolution and produces change over time in gene frequencies in a population. Organisms are vehicles for genes, and continually struggle to survive and reproduce. Adaptive problems resulting in differential reproductive...

Men perform oral sex on their romantic partner as part of a broader benefit-provisioning mate retention strategy and men higher in Agreeableness are especially likely to provision their partner with benefits. The current research explored whether men's benefit-provisioning mate retention behavior mediated the relationship between their Agreeablenes...

Lankford asserts that suicide terrorism is attributable to suicidality. We argue in this commentary that this assertion is not well supported theoretically or empirically. In addition, we suggest that failure to acknowledge religious beliefs as motivationally causal for suicide terrorism may place innocent people at risk of murder in the service of...

Male Indian Flying Foxes (Pteropus giganteus) that spend more time performing oral sex on a female also spend more time copulating with her. In humans, men who spend more time copulating with their regular partner also perform more "semen-displacing" copulatory behaviors (e.g., deeper, more vigorous penile thrusting). We investigated whether men wh...

Pham and Shackelford (2013a) documented that men at greater risk of their partner’s infidelity reported greater interest in and spent more time performing oral sex on their partner. The current study is an extension of their study to a female sample. We recruited 200 women to investigate whether women’s oral sex behaviors are related to the risk of...

We secured data from 243 men in committed, sexual, heterosexual relationships to test the sperm retention hypothesis of oral sex. We predicted that, among men who perform cunnilingus on their partner, those at greater risk of sperm competition are more likely to perform cunnilingus until their partner achieves orgasm (Prediction 1), and that, among...