From vigilance to violence: Tactics of mate retention in American undergraduates

Abstract

Although the attraction and selection of mates are central to human reproduction, the retention of acquired mates is often necessary to actualize the promise of reproductive effort. Three empirical studies used act frequency methods to identify, assess the reported performance frequencies of, and evaluate the perceived effectiveness of 19 tactics and 104 acts of human mate guarding and retention. In Study 1 (N = 105), a hierarchical taxonomy of tactics was developed from a pool of nominated acts. We then assessed the reported performance frequencies of 19 retention tactics and 104 acts and tested three hypotheses derived from evolutionary models in an undergraduate sample (N = 102). Study 2 (N = 46) provided an independent test of these hypotheses by assessing the perceived effectiveness of each tactic. Discussion draws implications for sexual poaching, susceptibility to pair-bond defection, and the power of act frequency methods for preserving the proximate specificity and systemic complexity inherent in human mating processes.

Full text

From Vigilance to Violence
Tactics of Mate Retention in American
Undergraduates
David M. Buss
Department of Psychology, Unlverslr? of Mlchlgan
Although the attraction and selectton of mates are central to human reproductton, the
retentton of acqmred mates IS often necessary to actualixe the promise of reproductive
effort. Three emptrrcal studies used act frequency methods to Identify, assess the re-
ported performance frequencies of, and evaluate the perceived effectiveness of 19 tacttcs
and 104 acts of human mate guarding and retenhon. In Study 1 (N = 105), a hoer-
areh~uf fuxonomy of tactics was developed from a pool of nonunated acts. We then
assessed the reported petformance frequencres of 19 retentton tacttcs and 104 acts and
tested three hypotheses derived from evolutionary models III an undergraduate sample
(N = 102). Study 2 (N = 46) provided an Independent test of these hypotheses by
assessing the perceived ejfechveness of each tactic. Discussron draws implicattons for
sexual poachmg, susceptibdity to pau-bond defection, and the power of act frequency
methods for preserving the proximate speciflctty and systemic complexity mherent m
human matmg processes.
KEY WORDS Mate retention, Mate guarding, Sex differences
INTRODUCTION
S electlon by consequences IS a powerful prmclple that can be reahzed
at many levels of analysis It forms the basis of Darwin’s theory of
natural selectlon, which mvolves three essential components rsarra-
tlon (e g , due to mutation), selectlon (dlfferentlal rephcatlon of var-
iants), and retention (genetic preservation of selected variants) Operant
learning IS slmllarly structured (Skinner 1981) The vanants are behaviors,
the selection mechanism IS reinforcement, and reinforced behaviors are re-
tamed through changes m brain states, or “engrams.” as yet undiscovered
Mating behavior, broadly conceived, IS also structured by selectlon
logic The pool of potential mates composes the variants SelectIon processes
Received October 3 1986 revised October 28 1987
Address repnn! requests 10 David Buss, Ph D Department of Psychology The Umverslty of
Mlchlgan 580 Union Dnve Ann Arbor MI 48109-1346
Ethology and Socroblology 9 291-317 (1988)
Cs Elsevler Science Pubhshmg Co , Inc , 1988
52 Vanderbilt Ave , New York, New York 10017 Ol62-3095/88/%03 50

292 D hl Buss
operate to reduce this larger pool to ‘1 fen to one or to none And tnctx\
are used to guard or retain asqulred m&es IS g Flmn In press) While much
resenrch ha5 been conducted on m&e selection (e g Bus\ 1985. Epstein
and Guttmdn 1985) and some on mate attraction (e g . Bu,s In pres\ Kenn-
rich and Trost 1986 Slmons 1979) little I\ hnoiin about the txtlcs that
humans use to retain mates once the\ ha\e been acqulled
What tactics and strategies do humans use to retain their mdtes Dal)
Wilson. and Weghor\t t 1982~ propose male ,euual jealousy ~3 one t,ictlc ot
guarding hlate guarding Itself has been proposed as a wperordlnate str,ltegb ,
subwmlng diverse tactics thnt e\ol\e to ensure paternlt! prekent alien In-
semination and defend ,igalnst In\e:,trng m genetlcallb unrelated loung
(Thornhill and Alcock 1983 Dal\ et al 1982. Flrnn In pre:s\. Parker 197-l.
Trl\ers 1972 Wilson 19751
Sexual Jealous) and mate guarding ho\ie\er ma) be con\ldered to be
[HO tdctlc3 N IthIn d larger CL\> of tactics of INIIL’ tric’tlrrotr In humans at
least, direct mate guarding and Jealous\ represent onI1 the most obv1ou4
tactw The retention of d human m&e often requires more than \lgllance
and phwcal restraint Tactics ma) be subtle, Including dlssuadlng potential
competitors. luring one’s mate \ilth pos~t~\e Inducements or e\en rendering
one’s mate less attractl\e or evocutl\e to competitors These tactics nppeLir
lo fall outside the categor) of mate guarding.” but are accurateI) bubsumed
bv the categor) of mate retention
The nature. range. and Incidence of human retention tactics remain
uncharted A crucial research agenda. therefore IS I I to ldentlf) the nature
and range of mate retention tactics among humans 21 to dsielop an organ-
ized taxonomy of these tnctlcs. ?I IO assess H hlch tactics are performed
more and less frequentlv b\ rndle) and female, and 11 to gduge for each
tactic Its effectiveness at succes\full! retaining mate\ These ba\lc goal>
formed the tocub of this series ot studies Before turning to the\e srudle,.
it IS usetul to examine brletlv prior taxonomles ot mate guarding and specific
predictions that can be dra\fn from e\olutlonar\ theor)
EXISTING TAXONOMIES OF MATE GUARDING
The corpus of previous research on mate guardmg IS not large on human\
it IS mlnlscule Three Incestlgators. hoikever. hake pro\ lded at least prehm-
Inary taxonomles of mate guarding tactics ChIselIn ( 19741 considers ttzrrlc~
seyrwsterttrp to be a form of sexual selectlon that prowde\ an alternatIve
mechanism to female choice Ghlselm considers trio maJor forms I) se-
questering by lnhlbltlng access of other males. and 21 sequestering b\ at-
tracting and malntalmng the favor of females
The most ob\~ou\ ~‘a) to mhlblt the access of other males IS to use
brute force-to drlbe off rl\al males and herd females to keep them under
control This categor) of sequestenng also Includes more wbtle forms of

Tacks of htate Retention 293
mnuence such as preventing the fern& tram mating agaln The sperm plugs
of certam crabs and Insects prowdt: LIVID e\‘unples Tactics tar dttractlng
and malntalmng the tabor ot fern&s are equAl\ dl\erse rncludlng plumage
dlsplab . protection from predators and parental pro\ ision
Wllwn (197.51 pro\ldes a talcmom\ ot sort\ lx enumer,ltlng right d~s-
tlnct t) pe> of postcopulator~ comprtltlon ,tmong rnJe> ot I\ hlch file ma\
be considered form5 of mate retention I) mating plugs and repellents 2)
prolonged copuldtlon ?I a pa\\lve phase In I\ hlch the male remaln4 ‘Ittached
to the female Jtsr copulation. II gunrdlng the female u lthout ph! s~cal hold-
ing and 51 departure of the mating pair from the ~~clnlt\ of ri\,lI male>
Perhaps the most comprrhenv\e tawnom\ of mate guarding tactics 15
that ol Thornhlll and Alcoch I I9831 In the conte\t of I/UCYI m‘ltlng \~,tern\
Cant c~trlnrr~rrr ot rrwtr’v troltl (or~pc~~ltrotl represent\ the first c&egor\ ol
txtlc\ Thlb Includes ph) s~call~ rsmw lng the female from ‘weas contalnlng
comprtltor\ counteractmg the attractant sIgnal\ of receptl\e female\. dnd
reducing the conspIcuou4ness of court\hlp dl\pln\
The second mntor categori m ThornhIll .md Alcoch 5 tawnom) consists
ot ~/IVY/~ U//U~I en~rcw ot rul\tw~ cts h\ ~u/rt~r rrrtrlc~\ This Include\ malntalnlng
clots contact \tlth the mat< and repulsing Interfering male3 Repulsion of
Interfering male5 subwmes the tdc‘tlch of chdslng oft other mdles bulldIng
d fence ,wound female\ and ~o\tl~ng other males d\\ a\
No compxable t,iwnomle~ ot t~t~cs e\l\t for humrl?\ Indeed It ap-
pears that the onI\ form ot human mate rrtentlon that hais rrcel\ed serIc)uh
research dttentlon hds been w\u~l ~t‘~dou~\ IDAI rl ~1 I9821 Thu\ ‘in
Important first step IS to Identlfb the n&urt: and range ot txtlcs th,lt hum,ms
use to guard and retain their mate< E\olutlonar\ theor\ md\ be used to
guide the tormatlon ot \peclfis h\pothe\ss JX~UI the sorts ot m&e retrntlon
tactic\ that \IIII he performed h\ hum&in male\ ,md female\
SPECIFIC PREDICTIONS ABOlTT SEX DIFFERENCES IN
TACTICS
Mate retention 1s Important In hum,ms tar both males and femks hut for
different evolutmar\ reawn\ FOI m&x the prim,~r\ 11sh5 ot talllng to
adequntrlb retain an xqulred female ‘u-e c41en Insemlnatlon lo\> ot mating
effort expended to date and 1041 palrntal rftort de\oted to someone elw \
offspring (Dali et al 19821 Cucholded mJe\ not onI\ rl\h In\e\tlng valuable
resources m another \ child. but rl\h losmg entuA~ the time energ\ ,md
rewurcrs the\ ha\e drboted to acquiring the mdtr Irutlall\ Severe IS~IO-
ductlie pen,lltle\ follow from falling to retain an xqulred mate DA\ et al
( 1982) propose male wxual ~e~~lous~ ‘ib one mechanism that hds s~olvrd In
humans to prevent cuckoldr\ and the) h\pothwze that m,dt: Jealous\
should be closeI\ tied to pote:ntlA female sexual InfidelIt\ ISLY ,~lw Sb man\
1979,

294 D hl Buss
In contrast male lnfidellti 01 rfrelt pose\ I~ttle risk to pi temale Without
adequate retention tactic, hoi\e\er. Cl human female risks losing the re-
source3 galnered through her mate such AS mane) >tatus and protection
from marauding males Females rlbk the redirection of these resource\ a\idy
from her her children and her kin and tobiard mtrase\ual competitors
According to Dal) et al Il982). female leAouhv should be less Intense than
maleJealous~ . should be less clearl) centered on sexual InfidelIt) and should
be hea\ 11) centered on pie\ entlng loss of economic and material resources
Male\ and fern&s thu\ differ In the nature of the resources that &ire
lost lx fallures dt mate retention A mole rlhhs losing access to his mate s
reproductive value 4 female rlshs losing her mate s economic and material
resources Therefore the mo,t effectI\ e tactics for rt~ra~rr~ry cl mate should
be those that pro~rcie~ the mate \ilth se\-lrnhcd reproductIveI\ relevant re-
sources Failure to protide these resources ~111 result In the 10,s ot the m,lte
to dn Intrasexunl competttor u ho IS more \%llllng or Ale to do \o
Hypothesis 1
Males. more than females. HIII retam their mates bl prokldtng economtc
and material resources that are Inherent In female mate selection cnterla
(Buss 1987. Slmons 1979)
Hypothesis 2
Females more than males, ~‘111 retain their mates bk prolldmg them with
the reproductive II e sexual) opportunttles that are Inherent In male mate
selection criteria included In these hypothesized retention tactics are at-
tempts b! the female to appear mavlmall) reproductively caluable. mhlch
ImplIes alteration of appearance to be attractive. youthful. and healthful
(Buss 1987 SFmons 1979)
HJ pothesis 3
hlales. In gsner,il ~111 engage III higher trequsnclel ot mdte guarding act\
because ot the greater reproductlte costs a\soclated ulth failures at mate
guarding (Dal\ and Wilson 198.3 Tn\er\ I972 Bara$h 1977 Slmons 1979.
DdMhlnh 1976 WIlllam\ I975 Cihl\elln 197-l Van Den Berghe I9791 Thl\
hipotheslzed \e\ dltference. hoL\e\er. ma\ be sompromlsed If >exuCd In-
fidelrt) bb d male pro\ldes a poiiertul predlctl\e cue to the temale of re-
direction of her mate 3 resource\ To the extent that male InfidelIt) pro\lde\
this cue ferndIe txtlcs of retention dlso should evolve and should center
on pre\entlng sexual InfidelIt Thu\. m‘tle dnd female act\ of retention both
rnd) center on \e\ .md ma\ be performed \\lth equal frequency but for
different proximate reason\
The prelent \tudles were designed to eiamtnc tact!c\ cf ma!:: re:cnt;on
~lthln the context ot d larger conceptual trarne\forh tHu>\ 1986) Thl\ fr‘ime-

Tacks of Mate Retention 295
work starts with reproducttvely relevant goals or tasks at the htghest level
Superordmate strategies (general methods for achieving a goal). mtddle-level
tactics (specific methods for achtevmg a strategy). and spedic acts suh-
sumed by each tactic are used to accomplrsh each goal Examples of goals
are attracting desirable mates. selectmg mates. and producmg offspring Re-
taming acquired mates IS also consldered to be an evoluttonary goal. the
accomphshment of which protects prior mating effort and facthtates ac-
tualtzatton of the reproductive fruits of that effort Several broad strategies
may be directed toward this goal. such as direct guarding. provtdtng posttt\e
Inducements. and threatening negative Inducements
Each superordmate strategy In turn IS composed of specific tactics For
the strategy of Direct Guardmg. for Instance. one can deploy tactics of Vtg-
tlance. Mate Concealment. or Monopohzatton of mate’s time Acts such as
’ He did not let her talk to other males at the party” and ‘She called to
make sure he was where he said he Mould be” compose the most subordinate
level and provide the medium through whtch psychologtcal mechanisms
evolve (Buss 1986. but see Symons 1987) It IS through specific acts that the
goals or functions of mate retention are realized
Acts are expected to differ m how c~ffi)clr~ c thev are at retaining mates
Some may compel one’s mate to adhere to the mating bond. i%htle others
falter at this task Throughout evoluttonary history. mdtvtdual learning his-
tortes. or both. selection pressures should have favored effective tactics over
less effective tactics These constderattons generate a fourth hypothesis
Hypothesis 4
Acts assessed to be highly effective at successfully retannng mates ~111 be
performed more frequently In the context of mating relattonshtps than HIII
acts assessed to be less effective
As described earlier. human males and females differ In the reproduc-
tively relevant resources garnered and potenttally lost through a mate Males
and females are predicted to differ. therefore. not only m how often they
per]orm certain mate retention tactics. but also m IZON’ ~ffecf~~~~ such tactics
are This leads to the final hypotheses
Hypothesis 5
Tactics of mate retention that Involve provtdmg economtc and material re-
sources will be more effective for male performers than for female
performers
Hypothesis 6
Tactics of mate retention that Involve sexual Inducements and apparent en-
hancement of reproductive value WIII be more effective for female perform-
ers than for male performers

296 D hl Buss
STUDY 1: A TAXONOhIY OF HUkIAN hl ATE RETENTION
TACTICS AND ASSESSMENTS OF REPORTED
FREQUENC5’
Rationale
Method for Obtaining 4cts of hlate Retention

Tactics of hlate Retention 297
Act Selection and Construction of Tavonom)
Th2 goal ot thl5 nomlndlon prossdurs \+a‘, to Idrntlt\ a dl\erbs rdngt: ot
act5 ot m&r wt2ntlon that could be 11d ~OI \ub\equrnt studw and could
folm the ba5l5 for a prellmlnar\ td\onom\ of hct~cs Ths construction ot
this prellmmar) taxonomy ma) be honorIficall) called IteratlLe but trial-
and-error Hould be a more accurate descrlptlon First. the large numbers of
redundant11 nominated acts were ehmlnated. a5 \sere general tendenc) state-
ment5 and 5tatements considered too Lague to constitute an observable act
(2 g He like5 to heep an ele on her ) These reduction procedures left
IO-1 reasonably dtstmct acts all of \ihlch Here retained for subsequent
>tudle\
Second these IO-1 dcts \\ele catsgotrzed rationall\ Into I9 homogeneou,
act clwers Scrutln\ of the I9 homogeneous xt clu5ter5 suggested that the!
could b2 partitioned Into IL\ o broad c‘ltegol les-[ho52 Invol\ Ing ~rrferse~~rrtr/
tt~trtrtprr/ltrrotrJ (acts duwted toirard one’5 mdtej and tho52 In\ol\ Ing ttz-
Itclsc’\lltil tllcrrllplrl~ltlotl\ tact> dlrectsd to\iard wme-\e\ potential
compstitors)
Third tactic3 ulthln exh of these t\\o broad categor125 \\ers further
clasvfied Intersexual mampulatlons Liere partltlonsd mto Drtar Gtrtrttfrtlq
(Vlgllance Conc2nlment of hlate and hlonopollzatlon of Mate’s Time).
Nt~gtrlr~ e /tzhc-twattrs (InfidelIt\ Thrrat Pumshment of hlate s Threat to
Infidellt~ EmotIonA I%mpulatlon Commmltment hiampuldtlon. and De-
rogation of Competitor\) and P~srrr~ t’ Intftrt cttlet1f~ tResourc2 Dl5plab. Se\-
ual Inducements Enhancement of Phkwal Appearance Lo\2 dnd Caring
and SubmIssIon and Debasement 1
Intrase\ual manlpulatlon\ 112re furthel partItIoned Into Pttblrc- ‘5rpturl.s
of Pot $1’) TtotI (Verbal SIgnal> of Po55esslon Ph\ 5lcal Signals of Po\5e55lon
and Posses\l\e Ornament,ttlon I and \~~trfr~ t’ Itufrrc-t~tttc’trt\ I Dsr ogatlon of
Mate to Competitors Intrawxual Threats and \‘lolrnceI The \peclfic act5
listed under edch categor! dr2 shoiin In Tab12 I
It should be not2d that this prehmlnar\ taxonom). l1h2 all tavonomles
of beha\lor I\ somsi\ hat arbltrar\ Se~rral of the Intrrse\ual manlpulatlons.
such as Concrlalm2nt of hlate fat rNampl2 could b2 regardrd a5 lntrasevual
manlpulatlons as \rell 5lncr: theb function to pre\cnt acce55 to one s mat2
b) Intra\e\ual comprtltor5 Slmllarl\ argument5 could be marshaled th‘it
some specific xts belong rn tactics other than those Into trhlch the) Her2
classified
The primark value of thl5 prellmlndr\ tawnom) hotiever 15 that II
pro\ Ides the most detailed tawnom) of m&2 retention tactic\ let proposed
pro\ldes a 5tartlng pomt that cdn be elaborated and r2fined b) turther In-
vestigation and emplrlcal evluatlon and pro\ Ides d h2ut I\tic for conducting
research on performance trequencle5 and tactic effectl\eness

Table I Taxonom! of Tactics and Acts of hlate Retention
Inter5e\ual mampularmn~
Dlrrst guardmg
\ &ince
He called her ;I[ unexpected [Imel to see \rho she \\a~ \rlth
He called her to mabc sure she \\as uhere >he said she uould he
He had his fnends chccb up on her
He vwoped through her personA bslongmgJ
He qur~twned her about u ha1 \he dud \S hen the! *err: apart
He dropped b\ unekpestedlb 10 we irhar she \\ds domg
He read her personal mall
He sra\ed SIOS 10 her H hlle the\ \terc dt rhe pars\
~1 [he pan\ he did not lel her WI at hl\ s&r
Conse~lmenr ot maw
He did not rake her 10 the part\ \\hcrr: orhcr rnJe\ uould he pre>e:nr
He rsfu\ed to In[rodu<s her to his \ame-w\ tnendy
He roob her J\\AI tram the gathenng u here orher mdle\ \\ere present
He J,d not Ier her talk to the other male>
hlonopolize mdle ) [Ime
He ,pent 41 hl> tree [Ime \rlth her SO thar ,hc could not meet anhone cl>e
Hc Inv>lcd rh~r >hc SU\ A home \rlth him rather rhan gomg WI
He monopollzcd her tlme d[ rhe xwal gdrhcnng
He Insl~tcd thal shs ,pend Al her tree lime ulth him
He \rould 1131 ICI her go out \rrthoul him
Negdrl\e Inducemzn[>
Thrcawn mtidellt\
Hc flirted nlth another \roman III tronr at her
He >hourd Intcrcqr in other tiomcn to mahe her dngr\
He mcnt out u Ilh other \\omcn IO mdhe her ~caIous
He ralhcd IO nnorhcr uoman al rhe part\ LO maks her ~c~4our
Punish mdte 5 threar IO Infidcllr\
He became angrb u hen she flirted KU much
He Ignored his mate u hen she ~rxted lllrtlng M irh others
He threatentd 10 break up It she c\sr chcawd on him
Hc telled ~1 her dtrer she shwed an Interest In orhcr men
He >ald that he irould nc\rr tall, to her @aIn If he e\er ~a\$ her \rlrh wmeone else
He hlr her u hen he z,iught her fl~flmg \rlrh wmeanc cl\e
He becamc lealous \rhen rhe H~II~ out \iirhout him
Emorwnal mampulnhon
He cried u hen she wd rhe ml&r ga OUI \tlth >omc’one else
Hs made her tee1 gtulr\ &out ralhlnp IO other men
He told her he uould dw 11 >he exer lctr
He rhrc~tencd IQ harm himbelt It yhe e\er let1
He pleaded thdr he could nor II\e ~\~rhout her
Hc sncd In order to hcep her \rlrh him
He rold her rhar >hc \~AS depsndem on her
He prctcndcd IO he mad w th31 >hr \iauld tecl gu~lr\
Commitmcnl manlpul~illon
He ashed her IO marr\ turn
He gor her pregwnr SJ \he would SKIM \rnh him
He told her [he\ needed pi LolaI comnulmenl 10 sach other
She rold him >he ~\a. pregnant llwm appl~cAc to ferndIe onI\ I
Drrogiuon ot compenlor\
Hc SUI doun the appsardncc ol other male\
He ~iartcd d bad rumor abw~ another m&
Hc GUI do\\ n the orhcr gu\ 5 \lrength
He pointed out 10 her the other gu\ , tla\i\
He told her th;lr [he other gu\ she \~a\ Interested In had slept !<lrh nearI\ c\er\one
He [old her [hc other pub L\~S ~tupld
He [old her tht: orher gub UPS IUSI out IO u\e her
POWI\ c mduxmenr\
Resource dl\pld\
He >pcm ,I lot ol monc! an her
He bought her an expcnsl\e gitt
He houghr her a bauquer ot nouzrs
Ht: rook her WI to a nlc‘t: re~ldurdm
Ht: bought her somrJe\!clr\ or: g ring nrshlassl
He bought her d >mall gitr
298

Table I (Confumed)
Intersexual mampulatlons
Posltl\e mducements
Sexual Inducements
He ga\e m to her sexual requests
He acted sexy to take her mmd off other guvs
He pertormed sexual favors to keep her around
He had a ph)slcal relatlonshtp uith her to deepen their bond
He gave m to sexual pressure to keep her
Enhancing phvwal appearance
He made up his face look nice
He dressed mcelv to maintain her interest
He more the latest fashions to enhance his appearance
He made sure that he looked nice for her
He made hlmself extra attractive’ tar her
Emphasize lobe and canng
He told her that he loLed her
He \\ent out of his ba) to be hnd nice and canng
He complrmented her on her appearance
He BS~S helpful Nhen rhe reallv needed it
He dlsplabed greater afTectlon for her
Submw,lon and debasement
He told her that he would change in order to please her
He became a sla\e to her
He ga\e in to her e\er) alsh
He went along with everything she sold
He acted against his UIII to let her habe her Ma)
Intrasexual mampulallons
Public signals of possession
Verbal signals of pos5esslon
He Introduced her as his girl fnend (woman spouse etc )
He told his male tnends how much the\ uere in love
He bragged about her to other guy5
He mentioned to other males that she was taken
He told others the lntlmate things the) had done together
Phb wal vgnals of possession
He held her hand when other gubs were around
He klrsed her u hen the other gubs mere around
He held her closer nhcn another male \\alked mto the room
He put his arm around her In front of others
He sat next to her \rhen others were around
Possessi\ e omamentation
He asked her to uear hi5 Jacker
He asked her to wear his nng
He gate herleuelr! to slgnlfb that she \\as taken
He wore her clothe5 In front of others
He hung up a picture of her 30 other5 uould know she mas laben
Negdtl\e rnducements
Derogation of mate to competitor5
He told other gu)5 temble things about her 50 that the) uouldn I like her
He told other gu) 5 that she \%as not a nice person
He told other gu\s that she ear, 5tupld
He told other gu\, she might ha\e a social disease
He told other5 5he \\a5 a pain
Intrasexual threats
He I elled at the other gun 5 u ho looked at her
He stared cold11 at the other gu\ who ua5 loobmg at her
He threatened to hit the gu) uho Has making moves on her
He ga\e the other gun a dirt) look uhen he loohed at her
He told the other gu\ to stab aua\ from her
He confronted the gu) 1% ho had made a pass at her
Violence
He hit the gu\ Hho made a pass at her
He picked a fight ulth the gu\ \\ho \tas mtere5ted In her
He got his friends to beat up the gu\ uho ua5 Interested In her
He 1 andahzed the propert\ of the gu) who had made d pas5 at her
He slapped the gub M ho made a pass at her
299

300 D Nl Bugs
Method for Obtaining Assessments of Reported Performance
SubJects One hundted ,ind t\\o undergr~~du~~ts subtrcts 52 ternale\ ,lnd 50
males partvzlpated In this p‘trt ot Stud\ I None h,ld pc~rtlclpcited In the ,lct
nomlnatlon stage The me&n dgs ~a\ IX 9-I tSD = 0 841
Assessment of bachgrorrnd tnfortttalrotr Subjecr\ fit Ft completed ‘I qire~tlon-
ndlle that ashrd ~hrther OI not the\ had been ~n\ol\rJ In ‘I lomantlc I+
latlon,hlp lvlthln the p‘i\t \ectt 111 hw rn<m\ different Iorwntlc rcbtlon-
\hlps” ,ind ph\>lc,jl trl,ltlon\hlps the\ h,ld been ~n\ol\ed trlthln the pa>t
tiiu \ea14 and \\lth \\ h,lt ftsqurnc\ h,ld the\ dated ~lthln the p,lst t\ro \ex\
Subject\ I\ ho Indlcnted \e\ to the qus\twn &out ln\oI\rmrnt \\lthln the
past iear \SSIIZ retained tar thl\ ktud\ sight wtyect\ M ho Indlc‘lted th,tt the\
h,id not been rom,~ntlcc~ll\ In\ol\sd \\t:~e y\sn 4tern,ltl\e pIoc‘eduIt:~ ,Ind
not Included
Rern,iInIn_c wblrcts IN = ItVt then ,tn\\\errd qxc‘~f~c quetwns ,but
their Iomantlc pxtner Inltl,dr, ot therl romcmtlc p,irtner ,cgs and clii\\ ot
partner number of month\ ot In\ol\emrnt \\lth partnel pIolwblllt\ that
5UbJeCt ~rould still be with thI\ ~‘II KIWI in one \ecu and ,I ratlnp on ‘1 7-point
\c~I~z of hu\\ C‘IOSC the Iclittlon\hlp \\‘t\ \\lth tht: p,t~ tnc1
4c1 reports of perfortnance Jrequettc! Sukgect\ then completed ‘in Act Report
In the filet-perwn slngulx of ho\\ ottrn If ‘It Al the\ h&Id psrtormsd each
of the IO-1 xt4 of m,ctr gu,udlng and rrtentlon \rlthln the pLt\t \C<II The
In,tructwwl wt pIecedIng the IO4 <Icth \~ns ‘14 foIlon Y
Results
,WOSI and least freqaentlv reported at IS Tktle~ 2 and i >ho\\ the acts th‘tt
dre mo\t ,.md least trequentl! pertormrd l-q male\ ,ind ternale\ In thl\ s‘mipls
The potentlcd wxtz~ Iangs tram I 011 cno \utyec‘t\ report e\e~ ha\ ~ng pcr-
tormtsd the xt) to 4 (JO (~11 \ubtrsts Import performIng the Ltct otten,
nla\t frequentI\ 1sp01 Ied mcile m,itr retention ,ictb in\ol\e conipl~-
mentlng the ma on heI ,~ppear,tnce \lttlng ne\t to heI \\ hen other\ ale
around bring 111s hind attectlon,lte ad helpful to the m,ltt: ?I\ Ing In tc,
her w\u,~l ~eque\t~ ,ind purch,t\lng gltth ,md dlnnrl\ loI hsl Le,l\t tre-
quentl\ reported m,tle xts Include gettln_e her plegn‘cnt to beep hei u\lng
\ lolensr +un\t her and potentl,tl Intrc~w\u,cl poxher\ ,lnd deIogcttlng in-
tInw\u,tl rl\al4 ‘t\ \ieII ,I\ hi\ p,irtncl

Tactics of Mate Retention 301
Table 2 hlosl and Least Frequent11 Reported hlate RelentIon icts-Male Sample
NO hlsan SD -kt
Most frequentI\ performed
I 1 hl 0 49 I compllmentcd her on her appearance
‘)
; 3 49 0 58 I WI ne\~ IO her \s hen other\ \\erc around
3 18 0 65 I \\cnl out 01 m\ u,t\ to be Lmd mce 4nd idrme
I
I
I
I
I I
I
I
I
\\A\ hclplul ~hrn >he realI\ neeJcJ II
mdde \urc that I loohrd n~c‘c lor her
cl~qda\rd grrdtcr ,rtlectwn fw her
drc\red n~~rl\ to mdtntaln her Intcrc\t
put m\ am\ around her m tront ot other\
~~1s in to her W\U~II rcque\t\
bought her a >mdll g.111
spent ,i IOI 01 mww on her
held her h,mJ \\ hen other gu\ \ \\ere ,tround
got her pregnant w \hz \roulJ 51d\ I\ lth mc
gor m\ lrtends to be,u up the gut u ho ~33 Interc*tsd in her
told the other gu\\ that >he might hake J. wc~~tl dwdse
htt her \rhsn I caght her fllrtlng \tlth wwieone elsz
Appcd the gu\ who made a pa\\ nt her
~,rndnlrrrd the propert) al the gut uho made d pa\\ ;II her
fold other gui, tcrrlhlc thtngr ahou~ her w the\ ~ouldn I Ilhr: her
htt the gu) \rho made J PDF dt her
retuwd to Introduce her IO m\ amwe\ hxends
rtartrd J. bad rumor about awther male
threatened to hxm m\wlf tf *he s\sr lett me
fold her that the other gub \hc ~a5 Intetafed In has slept ulth
nsarl\ r~erbune
Table 3 hlosl and Least Frequent11 Reported hlale Retention Acts-Female Sample
NO hlecm SD Ail
hlo51 lrequentl~ performed
I ? 5-l 0 64 I ~a) hslptul \\hrn he realI\ nwdrd II
3
; 1 18 0 70 I made up m\ face to loob nice
J-t-4 0 70 I compllmented him on hi5 ,ippcrrranLe
4 133 0:‘) I made wre that I looked n~cc for him
i 3 29 0 78 I rn~ next to htm uhen other\ \\erc around
6 1 29 0 NJ I uent WI ol m\ ~a\ to he hand nice and caring
7 3 IO 0 76 I made m\wll extra attractt\e lor him
x 7 0-l 0 99 I held his hand N hen other girls were around
9 3 02 0 90 I bought him d small gltt
IO -’ 9x I 00 I dre55cd nvxl\ IO malntdln hi% lntere5t
II 2 96 0 79 I \iore the Inted la>hlon\ to enhance m\ appedrdncz
I? 289 0 86 I put rnb drm around htm I” tront 01 the others
Led51 trequrntl\ performed
I I 00 0 00 I hit the girl M ho m,tde r~ pa,, at htm
3
; I 00 0 00 I pched a fight \\lth the girl \\ho \!d\ tntcroted In him
I 00 0 00 I got pregnant SO that he \\ould >td~ ulth me
-l I 00 0 00 I told other girls that he mtght hake J. WCIJI Jt>eaw
i I 00 I) 00 I \andaltzed the propert\ ot the girl u ho had made ,I pas, dt him
6 I MI 0 00 I threatened IO h‘trm m\selt It he c\er left me
7 I 00 0 00 I \lapprd the girl \kho mddc a pnsr rlt him
8 I 02 0 1.t I got m\ trtcnd\ to beat up the gtrl N ho \~a\ Intere\ted in him
0 I 02 0 I-1
IO I o-l I) I9
I I I o-1 0 I9
I2 I o-l 0 I9
I
I
I
I
_
told him th,tt the girl \rho ~a Intererted in htm 4cpt \\ith nearl\
e\er\onz
\ellrrd ‘II the other girl \\ ho loohed at him
told the other girl\ th,it he ~a\ 4up1d
told the other grl\ to \I<I\ r~~ia\ trum him

302 D. hl Buss
hlost frequent11 reported reported ferndIe mate retention acts Include
being nice kind dnd nffectlonate There 13 also a strong presence of reported
acts InkoILed In altering appearance to looh nice. mahlng up the face dnd
dressing nIceI\ dnd \t\llshl\ Least tlequentl\ reported xt\ b) female\ In-
clude hitting ~andnlizing. spreadmg bad rumors. thredtenlng self-harm if
the mdle Ie:n\es sldpplng )elllng dnd verbal communlcatlons to rI\dls to
\tA\ d\\ d\
Se\ Differences in IJse of Tactics
Table 3 shoirs the nnal)ses of se\ differences In reported performance tre-
quencles dt the tactic IeLel along \rith the means dnd standard de\latlonb
of each tdctrc. corrected tar the number ot dct\ composing each tactic for
comparative purposes
Three of the four specific h! pothe\e> are confirmed In the\e data Males
more thdn ternale\ use the tactic ot Resource Display to retain m&es Fe-
males. more than males use the tastlc\ ot Enhdnclng Appearance dnd In-
fidelit! Threat to retain their mates SpecIficJIb falsified IS the hkpothesls
that Sexual Inducements wll be used b) ternales more than b) males In-
deed the sex difference 14 slgmficant In the opposite direction
Several sex differences In reports of mate retention tactics \\ere found
that \\ere not predicted In adLance hlales more than ferndIe\. report wing
Table J Sex Dd’ferences m Reported Performance of Mate Retentron Tacks
\ igilance
ConccAmcnl ot male
hlonopollraIwn ot llrns
Infidelll\ rhrrar
Purwhmcm ol rhrrdl IO male c
inkkIll\
EmotIonal mnnlpularwn
Commllmenr manipulalwn
Derogalon ot c‘ompeI11or~
Rerource d~splnt
kkual InduLemenl*
4ppearance enhancemen
Lo\e and crirc
Sutrmlbslon and drtwisemenr
\‘rrhal porsc3smn signals
Ph) wzal possecclon signals
Po\w5si\e ornamcnl&on
Drrogatmn of mdle
IntrasrwA rhrcaI\
\ iolense
Toral

Tactlcs of hlate Retention 303
Table S Sex DdTerences m Reported Performance Frequencb
No t-test
Male5 Fern&~
hledn SD Mean 5D 4ct\
More frequent male performance
I
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
IO
II
I?
I3
I4
2 IX
2 II
I 91
2 I2
I 73
2 h9
I 73
I 49
I 2.l
I 45
I 12
I 33
I 27
I 3s
More frequent female performance
I -9 32’ I 81
2 -4 91‘ I 27
3 _ 2 94-- 2 4s
.l _ 2 88” 2 67
i, -2 78” I 8-i
6 _ 2 33*** I 92
7 _ 2 13”” I 00
8 _ 2 01*** I 41
0 M
0 ‘6
0 98
0 99
I 01
0 x2
0 87
0 71
0 56
0 77
0 39
0 69
0 61
0 66
I 0-t
0 67
0 9h
0 72
0 85
0 98
0 00
0 51
I 08
I Oh
I I3
3 48
2 06
2 96
3 IO
2 31
2 38
I 12
I 73
I \rent Jong nlth
e\ erb thmg >he sod
I acted agaln>t m\ HIII to
let her hd!e her \\a\
I bought her some teuelr\
te B ring nechlacel
I bought her a bouquet ot
Ilo\\ ers
I asked her to \irar ml
Jacket
I tooh her out to a n,Le
restaurant
I pcrtormed \e\uaI fator\
to keep her around
I pa\ e her Jebelr\ to \lgnlt\
that ,hs Ha\ taben
I told the other guts to <tab
aua\ tram her
I did not take her to the
part\ u here other males
uould be present
I plcked a fight ulth the
‘gu\ H ho ia, Interested
In her
I threatened to hit the other
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
guk uho war making
mo\e\ on her
asked her to Hear rn\
ring
InsIsted that >he spend all
ot her tree time \\lth me
made up ml face to look
nice
uore hts clothes m front
01 other%
uore the latest tashlons to
enhance ml appearance
made ml self extra
attracttke for him
flirted with another male
III front of him
told ml temale friends
hou much ue uere In
lo\ e
hit htm H hen I caught htm
tllrttng ~tth someone
el>e
told others he aa\ a pain
‘p<OOOl
. . p (001
*‘- p < 0 05

Se1 differences ln specljic acts t-te\t> \iet-e conducted for each ot the 10-l
\peclfic acts to e\amlne se\ dlfference4 rn performance frequenci rn greater
detail Those shwing ,rgnlfisant differences are <ho\\ n in Table 5 The
greater male reports of xts of submis\lon and debasement are strongI! seen
In acts such a\ going Ang \rlth e\er\ thing that she said and acting against
his IVIII Greater male reporting of ,ict5 of resource dlspla! 15 Seen m act)
such as purchastngJei%elrb Uoiier>, and nice dinners tor the female Se\
difference> in Intrasexual threats and \lolence are seen In acts such as
threatening to hit the other gu\ and plchmg a fight ~lth the potentA
poacher
Greater fem,lle- lhan mk-reported pertoi m‘tnce I\ wxn promlnentll 111
act\ of nppe‘~rance C~lterCltwn such ,I\ rn,Aing up the f,rcs weCI, -LX [he late>1
fa\hwns .md m,thrng hei\elf e\trrl ,lttrCtcll\e tar hsr p,trtwr The ~1 ot
tllrtlng mirth other men In front ot her pxlner >eem\ speclfic,tll\ desIgned
Lo elicll ‘1 JScdOUS rZ‘ICtlOl1

Tactm of hlate Retention 305
Relahonshlp senousness and mate relet&on factlcs To e\amrne u hethel the
rntenslty and serwusnes4 of the romanttc rrL~tlonshrp are ,_~issoc~ated i\lth
mate guarding and retcntlon tactics. the \at table\ ot hlonth\ In\ ol\ed Prob-
ablht) of Being Together m One I’ear ,md Rrl,itlon5hlp Closenesy \+ere
correlated wth performance reports of exh of the I9 tactics fat males and
females separate11 These results are sho\in In Table h
Many of the tactics of mate retention dre posltl\el\ correlated \\lth the
seriousness of the relatIonshIp The correlations thrlt apprx e~psc14l) ro-
bust for both sekes are those \\lth the tactics of \ lgllancc Commitment
Mantpulatlon Resource D~spl,t\ Lo\e and Gale. C’erbJ dnd Ph\blc,ll Slg-
nals of Possession. and Posxss~~e Orndmentatlon The onI\ tnctlc th,it dp-
pears to be consIstentI) negatIveI) correlated 11 tth relatlonshlp serlou~ness
IS Derogation of hlate Sew4 Inducement and Appearance Enh,mccmrnt
are not srgruficantl~ correlated \tlth lelatlon5hlp 5erlou>nes>
DISCUSSION
The result5 of Study I lend support to the hlpothesls that male undelgrnd-
uates use the tactic of Resource D~splai to retam mates more than female
undergraduates do The\ also support the hcpotheses th‘tt temale5 UQ Ap-
pearance Enhancement and InfidelIt\ Threat more than male5 do to letdIn
mates In contrast. the hypothesis that females irould use the tactic of Se\uA
Inducement more than males 15 talslfied b\ the5e dat,h Indeed In this sample
males appear to use thl5 tactic slgmficantlq more than females do
Perhaps the most strlkmg finding to emerge from Stud) I 1s how 5lmllx
males and females are m the acts and tactic> the\ report usmg to retain and
guard then- mates The correlation across the IO3 xts betliren male5 and
females for mean performance IS + 0 91 Thl5 suggests that In 5p1ts of se\erdl
slgmficant sex difference,. male5 and females In this sample \how remarh-
able slmrlarity m the tactic5 the1 report using to retain their mates Indeed.
thl5 stud) found no overall se\ difference In mate retention tactics using d
summarl score conslstlng of all IO-1 dctb
The significant correlation\ betireen relatIonshIp serIousne54 and mate
retention tactics suggest that such txtxs come Into pIa\ prlmarll! In berIou5
relationships \vlth long-term potential Since long-term rslatlonshlp5 gen-
erall) produce offsprmg more often than 5hott-term ,lffalr5 thl5 finding
although It uas not predicted In advance 15 congruent \ilth dn r\olut~~na~q
account
Obtammg report5 of performance frequencies of xt\ ot m<tte rstentlon
provides an important first step In Identlf)lng which txtlcs ‘ippear to be
performed more and less frequently. which tactic5 she\\ 5lgnlficant >ex dlf-
ferences and the manner In i\hlch reported performance IS related to the
seriousness of the relatIonshIp Holteever assessment of reported perform-
ance frequency does not \leld direct Information about ho\{ effectl\e each

306 D nl Burr
STUDY 2: JUDGIIIENTS OF TACTIC EFFECTIF ENESS
Goals and Rationale
The purpwz\ of Stud\ 2 ~\e~ts I) IO dentIt\ u hlch ‘tc‘t\ ,rnd txtlcs ‘II~‘
conwkred mwt dnd ledbt sttecti\r ‘it *Iucces~tull\ Ietdlnlng mates 21 to
pro\ de an Indeprndent te\t of the w\ d~ttslsntlatrd h\ pothew\ ot te\ource
d~\plav dppenrdnce snh,lncrment W\LIJI Inducement ,mci Infldrllt! thre,lt
and ?J to test the h\pothwh thar act, ~udgsd to be hIghI\ cffect~\t: ~111 be
performed more trequrntl\ th,m .cct\ ~udgsd to be Ir\\ ettsctl\r
Method
.kbJecls Subtect\ for Stud\ 2 belt: 46 undergrdudtr ~ttkisnt~ 26 temdls~
and 3J mdes none ot N horn hd pnrtlclpCltrd In Slucl\ I The rnr‘ln ,tgs \\:I\
I9 22 (SD = 3 651 Sutgect\ ~eit: leGed In group\ ianging from h to IO
Design The design of Stud\ 2 ~\a> a 2 x 2 In Lshlch the first tnstor \\‘I\
he\ ofsutyect (male femaleI and the Second \\as se\ ofactor (male. ternale)

Tactrcs of hldte Retention 307
Results
Rebabd@ of act effectrvenesspdgments Alpha rellablht\ coefficients (Cron-
bath 1951) Mere computed tor each ot the four cells In the 2 x 2 matrix
These rellabllltles are 0 90 and 0 89 for male judge5 ratings of male and
female actors respectIveI) The correspondmg rellAllt\ coefficients for
female judges are 0 96 ;Ind 0 89 These results suggest that composite rell-
abllltv can be obtained regarding \\ hlch act\ are more and IesS effectl\e In
retaining mates
A ctsJudged to be most and least effech ve Table3 7 and 8 she\\ the actsJudged
to be most and least effective for male actor> and temale actors respectl\el\
ActsJudged to be hIghI) effective for mdles Include being kind. nice caring.
affectionate and compllmentar) ActsJudged to be least effectl\e for males
Include those of violence wch <IS hitting one s mate and acts of snoopmg
through personal mall and belongIng\ Slmllarlv. derogation of mate to others
(e g telling others she IS stupid) IsJudged to be relativeI\ Ineffective
For femdle actors. being nice kind and lovmg are also Judged to be
hlghlv effective at retaining one’s mate Other hlghlk effectwe female acts
Include making herself extra attractl\e * dressing nicely to maintain his
Interest. acting sex) to take hrs mind off other women. and making up her
face Least effective female acts parallel least-effectl\e male xts In the
Table 7 Most and Least Effectme Male 4cts of hlate Retentlon
No Mean SD Act
0 5-l
0 81
0 71
I 01
0 8X
I 8X
I -1-l
I 39
I 25
I 2-1
I I8
I 6?
0 29
0 47
0 56
0 66
0 72
0 Y?
I I2
0 95
I I5
0 7x
I 23
0 93
I ~rls helptul Hhen bhe realI\ needed II
I \rent out ol m\ \rab to be kind nlcr and carmg
I told her th,rt I bed her
I dl\pla\ed grrarer Aecttan lor her
I compllmrnted her on her appearance
I ashed her to mdrrb me
I Introduced her a3 rn) gllltrlend i\\omnn qxxtse ctc 1
I told m\ male trwnds hou mush me uere 111 lme
I bought her a bouquet of flwers
I dressed nIceI\ to maintain her mterest
I made sure that I looked nice tar her
I told her that I trould change m order to please her
I hit her N hen I caught her nu-trng uith someone elvz
I read her personal mail
I snooped through her pelwnal helongmg~
I LandJtzed the propert) of the gun \I ho h,+d made J pass at her
I did not let her talb to other male\
I uent out II tth other women to mnhe her _tealour
I told the other guts that the \\a> \tupld
I told others she \%a\ d pain
I told others the mtlmate thing\ we had done together
I \rould not let her go out ~rtthout me
I shoued an Interest In other women to mabe her angrb
I slapped the man \\ ho mdde a pas3 al her

308 D nl Bus\
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I

Tactw of hlate Retentm 309
Table 9 Dfferences m Percened Effectl\eness for Male and Female Actors
hlals ALlOr Female Aclar
hlsnn SD hlean SD F
Se1 dlfferetu-es m pert e~ved act effet II wIess To r\,tmlnt: the w\ J~ffe~ence~
in p~2tcei\ecl dct ettecti\rnesh tar male dnd trmdltl pertotmer~ In prrdtsr
dstnll t-te\tS \\ere conducted tar exh ot the 1111 ac‘t~ T\\ent\-sl\ shwsd
\ignlticc~nt drftetrncr~ These xe \ho\\ n in Tdder IO ,lnd I I
The greater female- than male-percel\ed act effectl\enes\ rehults shw
se\ernl Interesting pattrt ns that dd not emerge from the broader analis
of tactics Speclficall~ making up one 4 face IS ~udgrd to be more sffec-
t~\e for ternales than for males In ret,wmg mates Attempts to mahe the

310 D Rl Buss
Table IO \e\ Differences In -\CI Effectl\eness-Aits Belleted IO be hlore Effectlre for hlales

Tactm of Mate Retention 311
Table II Sex Dtfferences m 4ct Effectt\eness--Acts Belleled to be More Effective for
Females
performance and acts judged to be effectlie for females 13 +0 81 These
results strongly support the h) pothe\ls that effective mate retention xts are
performed more frequentI\. although the lath of umt) suggests room for d
few high frequent\-low effectl\enes\ act\ J\S nell a\ a te\\ lo\\ frequenci-
hrgh effectiveness act\
The cross-sex correlations \iere also computed to test the more \peclfic
hypotheslh that performance frequencies \\III correlate more hIghI ~11th
same-sex actor effectl\ene\s than ~lth opposlte+e\ actor effectl\eness The
correlation betbeen male frequencre, and female actor effectiveness 1s
+0 82. the corresponding correlation tot- female frequencb and male actor
effectiveness IS +0 67 These result\ g~\s onl! par&d support to the more
\peclfic prediction Flnall\v the correlation hetireen male and female actor
effectlbenel, ncros\ the 10-l mean\ IS +O 84. suggesting high congruence In
N hlch xts are considered to be effectlie tor m,des and female3
Discussion
Stud) 7 ua5 de\gned to obtdin an a\\essment of w hich acts of m&e retention
are more and less effectr\e. to test specific be\ dlfterentldted predIctIon\
about which tdctlcs are more effectlie and to test the h) pothe\ts that hIghI)
effective acts ~111 be performed more frequentI) than dctsJudged to be less
effective Result5 suggest that LoLeCnre and Resource D~spla\ are the high-
est for both sexes in Judged effectiveness in rebining A mate In contrast

312 D hl Buss
GENERAL DISCUSSION

Tachcs of hlate Retentmn 313
while male txt~cs of m&e retention center on resource pro\ Iwn iTn\ers
I9721 In addltton. undergraduate male\ more than females tepolted higher
frequencies of Intr,i5e\uA threat5 dnd \ lolencs-_,i finding congruent \rlth
the ;Inal\\ts of m&e guarding In the context of male 5ewal ~ealou5\ tDnl\
et aI 1982 Fllnn In pre>s) Future resexch using dlfferentl) composed 5am-
pie\ could te5t the genelallti of thete \e\ dlffetence5
Several predlctl\e tallures and unantlclp‘lted rewlts hoiie\sr wggest
Ilmlt5 to this e\olutlonat 1 account The mo5t Important predlctl\e failure
~\‘as that males repel ted using \e\ual Inducements more than dud female\.
a finding contradictor! to the e\olutlonar\ h\ pothesls One powble eupla-
nation 14 that \e\eral dct\ ma! ha\e been irorded cimbrguou5lv For example
the act 1 ga\e In to her [hi>] sewal request5 ma!, ha\e been Interpreted
b\ ,ome wbJect5 a\ g~\mg m to the female \ request to abstain rather than
her request to conwmate Ho\re\er. thl> interpret&Ion doe5 not accord i+lth
the finding for the 5peclfic land le55 dmblguous) act I performed sexual
favors to keep her [hlrn] around \i hlch A50 shoii 5 greater male than female
pertormance Another powble explanation 14 thdt female5 ma\ be more
reluctant to admit wng sewal Inducements. ii htle 5uch reportorial Inhtbl-
(Ion5 do not occur for male5 Whether thew result5 represent artifacts of
the particular methods used \e\ dtfference, In reporting mhlbtttons or le-
gltlmate problems for th14 e\olutlonar) account must annit repltcatlon usmg
alternatl\e methods and multiple data sources
Stud, 1 also found 5trong correlations bet\\een the seriousness of the
relatlonshlp and the frequenci of performmg manv tactics of mate guarding
Tactics of Vyylance Resource Display Lo\e and Care Verbal and Phq wal
Possession Signals and Possessive Ornnmentatlon were all posltlLel\ cor-
related \%lth relatIonshIp serlousne\s for both male5 and females Onl) De-
rogation of Mates ~as negatl\el\ correlated ~lth the seriousness of the re-
latlonshlp These results wggest that tactics of mate retention come mto
pla) most strongly m the context ot lasting pair bond5 and conslderably less
50 In the context ot temporary romantlc partner5
The methods used In Stud\ I contain several llmltattons that could be
cwcumvented In tuture research First. smce self-report> were used 5oclal
deslrabthty could habe biased reports of act performance Second. subJects
could be felt-deceived and not ha\e full or conwous accers to the acts of
mate retention they actually use Future studies could protitabl) use multlple
data sources (e g . b) friends or spou5esl and different methods te g . direct
observation) to address the5e methodological I\we5
Stud) 2 \\\a> de5lgned to pro\lde an Independent test of the evolutlon-
based hypotheses and to pro\lde an Index of the effectl\eness of each act
and tactic Independent Judges agreed well Hlth each other on the relative
effectiveness of dcts of mate retention Resource Dlspla) Mas Judged to be
a more effective tactic \i hen pet-formed b) male5 than when performed bb
female5 InfidelIty Threat was Judged to be more effectl\e Hhen performed
by females Both result5 support the evolutwnarv predlctlons

314 iI hl Buss
Stud\ 2 also produced &I predlctl\s f~lluie No UZ\ dlttelcnct: \i~\ tound
to1 the percel\ed etftxtl\ene\\ ot 5r\u,1l Inducemrnt .I\ A m,rtr retentwn
1LiCtlc ‘I rewlt thnt corrobordte~ the pred~ctr\e t,ulute found In Stud\ I In
xldltlon ;ippear,lnce rnh‘~ncsment ii‘+\ ~udgcd to he onI\ \llghtl! more cf-
ftxt~tr for fern&\ th&ln for m,ilo \ho\\lng up \trongl\ oni\ for the ,rct I
mdde up ml tact2 to looh nice ” Thew trsult\ pow problem\ for thl\ e\o-
lutionarb dccount
An intiiguing se\ dlffercnce In perceived dct eftrcti\ene4s emeigscl to1
the dct\ I mrnt out \\tth others to mAs him /her] tc’alou~ I tJhed to
,mother mdn [\iomen] ‘it the p‘+t t\ to m&z him [her] ts,~lou~ Ltnd I \hw\ed
Interest In othr1 men [\iomen] to mths horn [her] angr\ These act\ \iert:
all ludged to be more ettestlie tot tzmalr\ than for male4 Th1\ suggest’; [h&it
mJeJe,ilou~\ in addition to being dn c‘\ olked mnle tactic For guarding agarn~t
dlien inwmination (ELiI\ et dl IWr rnd\ he drt ~le~c/ rrrf~~r~lrfvrtrl/\ /P\ /t,mllt~s
through the trnplted thred to fidellt\ LLI, <I txtlc to1 ret‘i1n1ng mdte\
The h\pothesis that etfectr\s xt\ ,md tactic\ ~111 be pertormtxl molt:
hequentl\ th,ln le\\ eftectlte act\ ,md t.~t~c\ I+‘I~ tested t-t\ relating the
result\ from Stud\ I \\1th the rewlt\ from ‘Stud\ 2 Cortel,ltlons hrt\ieen
me,m-reported perforni,ince tisquencirs dnd mr<rn-effecti\ rnesr r‘itings
\trongI) \upportrd the h! pothe This finding I\ Intngurng In that It wggr\ts
d kind of m,ltchlng lag fHerrnste1n 197-l) III nhlch xt prrtorm~nce fre-
quench IS c,ll~lvated to the rttectr\ens>\ ot ~ucses~full~ rst,unrng .I m‘itr
Indt\ tdual learning hl\torre\ or WI en\ Ironmcnt ot e\olutronar\ ad‘~ptedne\\
(or both, appe.ir to ha\r selected tot- high-perforrn~wx frequrncw ot thaw
t,+ct~c\ th,+t tend to be etfrctl\e Future resr,irch could tru1tfull\ e\rmilne
analogou\ beha\ moral cJlhr‘ttron brt\iesn perfw m,m<c: frrqwncles dnd et-
fectl\t’ns\\ ‘11 accompll\h1ng other reproductl\el! relc\,lnt t‘i\h\ wch ‘13
attracting a m,lte n\lng 1n hrerxshw ,icqu1nng tewurces or derogating
Intrase\ual competlto1~ (Bu\\ 19X6,1
In spite of significant 92\ difterenzs m&2 ;incl tern&z undtxgradudtrs
are rrmarhabl\ \r~rrrltr, In the IKIIC~ ,+nd ,tcts the! report using to rst,un
thstr mate\ The\ alw yhw grr‘lt \1mrlarlt\ In the txt1c4 con~drred to be
eftectl\ e The COI reLltwn bet\\ wn rnJe\ and ternale for rrportrld psrform-
dnce frequence\ 14 +0 c)I for xt etfectr\sneb\ the cotrsl.itlon 15 +O S-1
No stgnlficmt OI t*t(rl/ drfferrncer \\ere tound het\\txn male\ ,Ind female>
for either total perfwm~nse frequencre\ or totA act effectr\rne\s Thee
rewlts wgge\t that ,rt le,~\t 1n thrx \,miple\ txtlcs of mdte rrtentlon tithe
not c\clu~bel\ 01 r\rn primniiI\ d m& xti\it\ The w\,tl\ \ho\i man\
more slmrlantle~ th,in dlfferencrs
In thrs \t‘ln. It rn,i) lx noted that Lo\r ,rnd Car-r I~~I\ ‘1 hrquentl\ re-
ported tnctlc lx both w\e\ end \!a\ alro tudgrd to be the mo\t c’fbxtl\e
tactic-findtng~ that \\t:ie not antic1pAzd b\ this e~olut1on,~r~ ricC‘ount Prr-
haps love and care pro\ 1de the mwt po~rerful cue\ of long-term M Ill1ngne~\
to commit reproductiveI\ rele\,int resources to the current pdlr bond Thl\

Tactics of Mate RelentIon 315
h) pothrvs could be tested IN ekamlnlng correlations betirern tdctlc usage
and reproductive outcomes dcros\ couple\
Several further research dlrectwns are Indlc&d The occurrence of
mate retention talctIc ImplIes the presence of poacher5 Act frequency meth-
od5 ccm be dpplled u Ith equal Inclswene5s tu tactics ot poaching The same
se\ difference hypotheses ma) be ,ldvanced for sexual poaching as ivere
advanced for mate-guarding hlale poxher should use material and mon-
etar) lewurce IUIS~. female\ should poach iilth Inducement5 that com-
munlcdte ncce5~ to rsproductl\e \,~lus And. bawd on the ple5ent te5ults.
both vzxt‘\ ma) be predicted to poxh \\lth tdct~cs ot lo\e and care
A related reseach direction concerns $/I.\( t>prr/~lrr\ to poacher5 hlales
and female5 w5ceptlbls to poxher should be those u hose mate5 fall to
emplov sex-effective retention txt~c\. combined M lth the presence of poach-
ers \\ho entice 141th sex-effectlie lures The present data on tactic effec-
tlveness i leld a calculus of L alues b! N hlch wsceptlblllt) threshold5 can be
prrdlcted. nnd the) 5uggrst th*lt a profitable research dIrectIon i\ould be
longltudlnal 5tud) of coupled lndlvlduals
An Important llmltatwn of the pre\ent studies concerns the samples
uwd- 4merlcan undetgr,tduates Ths5e wmples obviously dre not reprs-
wntatl\ct of samples dra\rn from other culture\ or r\en from other subcul-
tures \i Ithin Amenc,l Although 5) sternatic InquIt-\ Into preclselb !\ hlch fea-
ture5 of American undergraduate soc~oecolog~ differ from features found In
other groups hd5 not been conducted. se\ era1 speculatlon3 ma) be advanced
Amencdn undergraduate5 tend to be eupwed to a homogeneous 5w1al net-
work con5wng of hundred\ of potential mate5 of similar age The Ideology
15 often sgalltarlan and males and females are I~ksl~ to ha\e more slmllar
career prospect\ than m other samples or culture\ FInall\ there are typl-
call1 \reahrr formal social 5tnctures on eutla-pair matings wch as those
that occur m groups populated \rlth kin. H here strong rsllgmus mechamsms
sx15t 01 1% here arranged marriages carrb explicit prohlbltlons on extra-pair
matings Thew difference5 In socloecologq are Ilhel\ to have pwerful ef-
fects on the mdte retention txtlc5 used and In the wrts of se\ dlfferencss
lIkeI) to occur The results obtained m the5e studies mu>t be Interpreted
wthm thl5 contekt and may not be generahzabls to mate rctrntlon tactics
used In other cultures or wbculturrs
A crucial nelt step. therefore, IS to ~+tudv other samples \clthln this
culture that differ m ~ocweconomlc status wbcultural background. age and
marital status Cross-cultural research \iould aI50 go a long \caq toLvard
testing the generalIt\ or specIficIt) of the results found here FInall) an
exiting next 5tep would be to use other data wurces te g . report5 bv spouse
as MelI a5 bl wlfr and other methods (e g dlrcct beha~loral observation)
to obtain assessments of tactlc5 of mate retention and their relatl\e
effectiveness
Mate guarding IS a complev process Dal) and Wilson (19831 note that

316 D hl Bus
REFERENCES
- And Cld~h h H The act Irequens\
IW-1x3 19x3
Cronbdch L J Coetklenl dlpha dnd Ihe
33-l IYII
Dal\ hl anll \\ ilbon hl St,\ E~ol~rrorr

Tactws of hlate Retentton 317