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Can buy me love: Mate attraction goals lead to perceptual readiness for status products
Abstract
Exposure to mating cues activates the goal to signal one's mate value to members of the opposite sex. This mate attraction goal may render men perceptually ready for products that signal their mate value to women. As men's mate value is partly determined by their financial prospects, men may be more likely to notice products that would signal their financial resources to women. The current study demonstrates that exposure to a sexily dressed woman increases single men's likelihood of noticing status products in a visual display. Not only do these findings further support the link between conspicuous consumption and male mating strategies, they are the first to demonstrate perceptual readiness for indirect (i.e., products) rather than direct (i.e., opposite sex individuals) means for reproduction.
... As the signaling of "good genes" is performed especially by men interested in shortterm relationships, they will be more likely to engage in the purchase of luxury products in contexts involving the possibility of attracting the opposite sex (Janssens et al., 2011;. The fewer money men save over a given time interval, the more sex and more sexual partners they get, suggesting a relationship between a conspicuous pattern of consumption and success in short-term relationships (Kruger, 2008). ...
... For example, men who watch photos of attractive women later spend more money on conspicuous products (Griskevicius et al., 2007). In another study, men were led into a laboratory by an attractively (or unattractively) dressed experimenter; in the laboratory, those men saw images of luxurious and non-luxurious products and were subsequently asked to write down in 25 seconds all the products they remembered (Janssens et al., 2011). Single men, led to the laboratory by the attractive woman, recalled a higher proportion of luxury products (Janssens et al., 2011). ...
... In another study, men were led into a laboratory by an attractively (or unattractively) dressed experimenter; in the laboratory, those men saw images of luxurious and non-luxurious products and were subsequently asked to write down in 25 seconds all the products they remembered (Janssens et al., 2011). Single men, led to the laboratory by the attractive woman, recalled a higher proportion of luxury products (Janssens et al., 2011). ...
Objetivo: O objetivo deste artigo é discutir a função adaptativa do consumo, enfatizando-se o consumo masculino de produtos luxuosos.Método: Trata-se de uma revisão narrativa e crítica da literatura científica.Resultados: As evidências reunidas sugerem que homens que ostentam produtos luxuosos utilizam os meios materiais da cultura disponível (e.g., carros luxuosos numa sociedade industrializada e habilidade de caça numa sociedade tradicional) para exagerar e exibir características atraentes no “mercado amoroso”.Relevância: Este estudo expande a literatura existente ao discutir as funções evolutivas do consumo e as diferenças entre causas distais e proximais do consumo conspícuo.Contribuições: Este estudo fornece uma integração de resultados de pesquisas anteriores sobre consumo de produtos luxuosos por homens, a partir deu um racional da Psicologia Evolucionista.
... Prior literature reports that activating a romantic mating motive prompts men to display luxury goods to attract potential romantic partners by signaling social status (Griskevicius et al. 2007;Janssens et al. 2011;Sundie et al. 2011). However, it argues that for women, luxury consumption is less useful in the relationship formation stage, because men value non-status-related qualities such as sociability in potential partners. ...
... Consumers use products in strategic ways to overcome challenges, seize opportunities, and ensure favorable outcomes in romantic pursuits (Durante and Arsena 2015;Hasford et al. 2018; Van den Bergh et al. 2008). Prior research examines how consumer behavior is shaped by a general mating motive-a general desire to form a romantic relationship-such as when imagining a date with an attractive individual or viewing pictures of potential partners (Griskevicius and Kenrick 2013;Griskevicius et al. 2007;Janssens et al. 2011;Sundie et al. 2011). Previous work suggests that a mating motive impacts the behaviors of men and women differently. ...
... Previous work suggests that a mating motive impacts the behaviors of men and women differently. In particular, it leads men to display luxury goods (Griskevicius et al. 2007;Janssens et al. 2011;Otterbring et al. 2018;Sundie et al. 2011) to loudly signal their high social status, wealth, and ability to provide resources for women (Buss 1989;Eastwick and Finkel 2008;Kenrick et al. 2001;Townsend and Levy 1990). In contrast, women display prosocial behaviors (Griskevicius et al. 2007) and conformity with men's preferences (Hasford et al. 2018) to signal their kindness, helpfulness, and agreeableness, which they believe men value (Campbell 2002;Hornsey et al. 2015). ...
Previous research has found that for men, activating a mating motive increases luxury consumption as a way to attract a romantic partner. However, little is known about the role of luxury consumption in women’s romantic endeavors. The present research conceptualizes a mate screening motive which explains how women use luxury consumption to romantically signal to men. Six studies and two follow-ups conducted in controlled and field settings show that the mate screening motive boosts women’s consumption of luxury goods as a way to signal their mating standards to men and thereby deter undesirable pursuers. The effect is diminished when mate screening is less necessary such as when external screening tools are available (e.g., screening filters on dating websites), the quality of potential mates is high, and the focus is on selecting a desirable partner rather than deterring undesirable pursuers. The findings have important implications for understanding how consumers use products and brands in romantic relationships, and for designing marketing strategies and communication for luxury brands, commercial dating services, and dating apps. Our findings also provide insights for consumers on how to use brands and products as effective communication devices in romantic endeavors.
... behavior perhaps served a new function from the perspective of evolutionary psychology (Griskevicius et al., 2007;Sundie et al., 2011). Some empirical evidences showed a connection between mating motives and conspicuous consumption (Griskevicius et al., 2007;Griskevicius, Tybur, & Van den Bergh, 2010;Janssens et al., 2011;Roney, 2003;Saad & Vongas, 2009;Sundie et al., 2011). For example, when the female confederates were sexily dressed, single men paid more attention to luxurious products related to status and wealth in visual search tasks (Roney, 2003). ...
... For example, the gorgeous long tail of the peacock, which was only used to attract the peahens, is more likely to be found by natural enemies; Melanesians have to spend a lot of time and risk preying the turtles, which will be used as the main course of the banquet, to show the good physical quality of the men in their family (Smith & Bird, 2000). Costly signaling theory has made these puzzling behaviors reasonable (Farthing, 2005;Griskevicius et al., 2010;Janssens et al., 2011;Smith & Bird, 2000;Zahavi, 1975). According to the previous studies, the wealth and high social status that conspicuous displays represent are more emphasized by women who are selecting romantic partners (Lens, Driesmans, Pandelaere, & Janssens, 2012). ...
... For example, men who were close to the young women would give higher praise for material wealth (Roney, 2003). A central driving force behind these differences is the evolved sex differences in mate preferences and parental investment (Farthing, 2005;Griskevicius et al., 2010;Janssens et al., 2011;Smith & Bird, 2000;Trivers, 1972). Women invest more in raising a child, and thus have more evolved to choose mates that can protect them and devote enough resource in offspring (Trivers, 1972). ...
Conspicuous consumption, an economic concept, has a new interpretation from the perspective of evolutionary psychology. Recent researches indicated an initial empirical link between mating motives and individuals' conspicuous consumption, positing that people might use costly products to display their wealth to potential mates. Building on the previous work, we examined conspicuous consumption as a signaling system in the context of Chinese culture. The present research tested whether priming individuals with mating cues would increase their willingness to spend more on conspicuous displays compared with those primed with neutral cues (N=60). The results showed that mating motives elicited individuals' desire for conspicuous consumption; and a priming effect emerged in females. This may result from the unique Chinese culture of 'Mian Zi'. Previous work showed that failure in mating is an issue of losing face (Zhao, 2010). Since most Chinese unconsciously maintain their faces, it is possible that both men and women in romantic mindset spend more on luxury products, in an attempt to be competitive and face-saving. This research is important in that it provided a valuable contribution to our understanding of the underlying mechanism in conspicuous consumption.
... Not surprisingly, then, research seeking to enhance understanding of the motivations for luxury consumption, as well as the implications of such consumption for individuals' well-being and social relationships, has received increasing attention in the fields of psychology, economics and marketing. The evolutionary theoretical framework has proven to be generative within this research domain, where researchers have applied evolutionary biological theories and models to help explain more nuanced, context-dependent motivations for the consumption and display of status-linked goods (Griskevicius et al., 2007;Janssens et al., 2010;Lens, Driesmans, Pandelaere, & Janssens, 2012;Miller, 2000Miller, , 2009Mittal & Sundie, 2017;Otterbring, Ringler, Sirianni, & Gustafsson, 2018;Saad & Vongas, 2009;Sundie et al., 2011;Wang & Griskevicius, 2014). This work has tended to emphasize the role of luxury goods display in mate attraction and mate retention dynamics. ...
... Recent evolutionarily-informed research has shown that men understand this mating-relevant value of sending status-linked signals to women. When focused on desirable romantic opportunities, some men become more motivated to engage in conspicuous consumption (Griskevicius et al., 2007;Janssens et al., 2010;Sundie et al., 2011). Research has also shown that women are more receptive to dates (i.e., uncommitted social encounters) with men who display prestige products as opposed to more ordinary, mundane possessions (Dunn & Searle, 2010;Guéguen & Lamy, 2012;Sundie et al., 2011). ...
... The evolutionary perspective leads to predictions that certain people in certain contexts will readily attend to others' luxury consumption signals, such as the display of products and services bearing luxury brand names (Janssens et al., 2010;Lens et al., 2012;Saad & Vongas, 2009). More basic cognitive research has shown that people differentially attend to stimuli they associate with rewards (through either a learning process, or an inherited predisposition), even when those stimuli are not relevant to a focal cognitive task, and are not salient (Anderson, 2013;Anderson, Laurent, & Yantis, 2011;Le Pelley, Pearson, Griffiths, & Beesley, 2015). ...
Four studies provide evidence for a process by which a woman's conspicuous consumption can serve as a deterrent to affiliative behaviors by materialistic men, via heightened perceptions of the woman's financial standards for a romantic partner. Materialistic men report utilizing status and resources to attract women more than non-materialistic men. Materialistic men may therefore utilize information about a woman's status-linked displays to better calibrate their financially-oriented mating efforts. Differential attention to more subtle displays of a woman's luxury branded items appears to drive materialistic men's disinterest in social interaction with a woman who conspicuously consumes. A woman's conspicuous consumption causes materialistic men to rate a real interaction with that woman less favorably. For women, the opposite is observed, with non-materialistic women reacting more negatively to the interaction.
... For example, one important development of conspicuous consumption is the connection to statusseeking behavior and sexual behavior. Various research has found that men tend to conspicuously consume in order to impress and attract a mate (Sundie et al., 2011;Collins et al., 2015;Janssens et al., 2011;Segal and Podoshen, 2013;Griskevicius et al., 2007;Saad and Vongas, 2009). Though men have continually been found to spend more conspicuously, particularly for mate attraction, other research has found that women utilize conspicuous consumption for mate guarding and retention (Wang and Griskevicius, 2014). ...
... High quality goods or consumption thereof, often associated with "traditional" conspicuous consumption given connections with expensiveness and wastefulness Conspicuous Conceptualization Exemplary Citation(s) Short Definition Costly Signaling/Mate Attraction (Sundie et al., 2011;Janssens et al., 2011;Saad and Vongas, 2009) Individuals demonstrate their suitability as a mate by conspicuously wasting excess resources to show ability to absorb handicaps Conspicuous Altruism (or Blatant Benevolence) (Griskevicius et al., 2007) Individuals conspicuously act to benefit society and others to show ability to endure high costs (monetary, time, or energy related) and garner high status Conspicuous Conservation (or Pro-Environmental Signaling) (Sexton and Sexton, 2014;Delgado et al., 2015;Griskevicius et al., (2010) Individuals adopt environmentally-beneficial products to show that they are pro-environmental, or being "green to be seen" Conspicuous Innovation (Schaefers, 2014) Individuals conspicuously consume niche products to differentiate themselves as innovators to a need. Indeed,"[w]hat was luxury for Diogenes was necessity for Rousseau" (Jennings, 2007, 103), and a luxury for Rousseau is now a need for modern society. ...
... Noel et al. Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions xxx (xxxx) xxx-xxx et al., 2015;Janssens et al., 2011;Segal and Podoshen, 2013;Griskevicius et al., 2007;Saad and Vongas, 2009), conspicuous consumption explains why the innovator adopter category tends to be more male than female for conspicuous innovations (Schaefers, 2014). As the innovation becomes more visible and is communicated to heterophilous groups via communication channels, it garners social reputability for the innovators, which in turn causes the next adopters to pecuniarily emulate. ...
This paper explores how conceptions of luxury and status affect the manner in which a relatively novel technology—an electric vehicle— diffuses across societies. To do so, it combines Veblen's notion of conspicuous consumption and Roger's diffusion of innovation by proposing a new theoretical variation, which we term “conspicuous diffusion.” The paper sketches natural connections between the two theories, namely how conspicuous consumption relates to technological and societal development, and how diffusion of innovation is intrinsically connected to status. In combining these approaches, we hypothesize that the success of an innovation is guided by its adherence to the canons of conspicuousness and conspicuous value, which it loses as the innovation diffuses across the population. To illustrate the explanatory power of conspicuous diffusion, we examine the status of electric vehicles in the Nordic region, based on original data from multiple methods, including expert interviews and focus groups. We find that conspicuous diffusion can explain previous failures and current successes of electric vehicle diffusion patterns. The paper concludes with recommendations for policymakers, industry, and academia.
... From the perspective of evolutionary psychology, research findings have suggested that sexual stimuli can trigger mating motives (Bergh, Dewitte, & Warlop, 2007;Griskevicius & Kenrick, 2013) that elevate men's interest in status products (Griskevicius et al., 2007;Janssens et al., 2011;Sundie et al., 2011) and boost women's overt benevolence, such as helping others (Griskevicius et al., 2007). The theoretical basis underlying the male reaction is costly signaling theory, according to which men consume status products in a way similar to male peacocks flaunting their beautiful tails to attract peahens, in order to present desirable mating qualities, such as wealth, status, or the ability to obtain resources, to women they find attractive, ultimately serving their mating goals (Griskevicius et al., 2007). ...
... In summary, findings in research have suggested that men exposed to sexual stimuli when purchasing status products intend to present a desirable impression with a high mating value (Griskevicius & Kenrick, 2013;Leary & Kowalski, 1990). This intention can trigger men's interest in status products (Griskevicius et al., 2007;Janssens et al., 2011;Sundie et al., 2011) because these goods favor the presentation of their mating value. At the same time, this intention may also depress men's interests in discounted products because these goods may be unfavorable for their mating value presentation. ...
... For instance, Janssens et al. (2011) showed that interaction with a woman wearing clothing that was sexy helped male students remember status goods more accurately than when the woman was wearing unsexy clothing. Similarly, Griskevicius et al. (2007) found that activating respondents' mating goals by asking them to select the most desirable romantic partner from photographs of three attractive members of the opposite sex, can make men spend more money on items that conspicuously convey their financial resources. ...
In this research we examined whether or not when men are exposed to sexual stimuli (e.g., images of sexually attractive women) this negatively affects their purchase intention for conspicuous goods being offered at a discounted price. We conducted 3 experiments, with Chinese men (282 in total), and found that sexual stimuli can activate male mating goals, prompting the men in our study to care more about the presentation of their mating value; thus, they preferred nondiscounted conspicuous goods to discounted ones. The negative effect of sexual stimuli on men’s purchase intentions toward discounted conspicuous goods was greater for men who tended to associate discounts with low status, cheapness, and stinginess (i.e., strong negative impression association) than for those with a weak negative impression association. These findings identify the boundary conditions of a trade-off for men between economic benefits and signaling values for discounted conspicuous goods. © 2017 Scientific Journal Publishers Limited. All Rights Reserved.
... Moreover, men actually show a higher preference for luxury items when exposed to a romantic context. In particular, men report a higher desire for money (Roney, 2003), tend to discount the future (e.g., Wilson & Daly, 2004), and have a better recall memory for conspicuous status products in the presence of mating cues (Janssens et al., 2011). A recent study suggests that men are even willing to engage in financial risktaking to compensate for a lack of physical attractiveness in order to increase their desirability as a mate (Chan, 2015). ...
... To elicit intrasexual competitiveness, we used a priming procedure. This method is commonly applied and well established in evolutionary informed research on conspicuous consumption (e.g., Griskevicius et al., 2007;Hudders et al., 2014;Janssens et al., 2011;Sundie et al., 2011;Wang & Griskevicius, 2014). The scenarios were adopted from the study by Griskevicius et al. (2009). ...
... As conspicuous luxury car, a Porsche Boxster was selected, while a Ford Fiesta was chosen as inconspicuous nonluxury car. In line with previous studies, cars were considered as appropriate products to investigate male conspicuous consumption (e.g., Dunn & Searle, 2010;Janssens et al., 2011;Saad & Vongas, 2009;Sundie et al., 2011). Car models were picked based on sales reports and popularity statistics (Autobild.de, ...
Previous research found that men conspicuously consume luxury products to attract a mate and to signal their mate value. However, these studies have yet neglected to investigate the function of male conspicuous consumption in same-sex competition. Given that intersexual and intrasexual selection are closely related processes, it stands to reason that a further function of male conspicuous consumption could be to impress and deter same-sex rivals. An 2 (intrasexual competition context vs. control) x 2 (conspicuous luxury vs. inconspicuous non-luxury) between-subjects experimental study conducted with an MTurk sample (N = 160) revealed that men reported both higher liking of and an intent to purchase a conspicuous luxury car compared to an inconspicuous non-luxury car due to increased feelings of social status. This effect was stronger in the intrasexual competition than in the control context. An additional perception study using a single factor between-subjects design (conspicuous luxury vs. inconspicuous non-luxury car) among German men (N = 405) indicated that male participants rated a man who displayed a conspicuous luxury car more as a rival and mate poacher and less as a friend. They further perceived him to be superior on various mate value characteristics (i.e., attractiveness, intelligence, ambition, and status) and rated him as more oriented towards short-term mating. In sum, our findings add to previous research in the field of evolutionary consumer psychology by suggesting that male conspicuous consumption of luxuries may also serve a function in male-male competition.
... This is the case when individuals experience a threat to their social status position (Rucker & Galinsky, 2008) or when social status can be instrumental to reach one's current goals. Because of the central role of status signaling in the context of mate attraction, as recognized by the costly signaling hypotheses, status concerns and the interest in luxury goods are triggered when a mate attraction goal is activated (Janssens et al., 2011; Lens, Driesmans, Pandelaere, & Janssens, 2012). In this paper, we test the hypothesis that status relevant experiences increase individual's interest in luxury goods, in two settings. ...
... We tested the hypothesis that status relevant experiences increase individuals' interest in luxury goods, for low 2D:4D individuals, but not for high 2D:4D individuals , in two contexts. On the one hand, as mentioned earlier, social status concerns are relevant in situations in which a mate attraction goal is activated (Janssens et al., 2011; Lens et al., 2012). Therefore, we chose to conduct a field study nearby a popular beach in a metropolitan area in the summertime, when the beach is frequented by a large number of sunbathers. ...
... We argued above that luxury goods can be considered instrumental in the context of an activated mate attraction goal. Therefore, we can (approximately) measure individuals' interest in acquiring luxury products with a " luxury products recognition task " (Janssens et al., 2011). Participants were asked to look at ten displays. ...
In this paper we study consumers’ interest in acquiring and displaying expensive luxury products. Based on recent insights in consumer psychology, which build on developments in evolutionary biology, we consider luxury products as “costly signals”: wasteful and costly goods, whose purpose is to communicate one’s biological fitness, and social status, to others. In line with previous research, we show that experiences that trigger mate attraction goals (Study 1: Exposure to others in bathing outfit) or status display goals (Study 2: Experiencing a vicarious victory of one’s favorite sports team) can increase people’s interest in luxury products. However, we demonstrate that some individuals are predictably more responsive to those experiences than others. We used a physiological measure (the proportion of the length of the index finger and ring finger of the right hand, 2D:4D) as a proxy for individual differences in exposure to prenatal androgens (i.e., testosterone). This measure has been related to dominant and competitive behavior later in life. We predict and find that individuals with a low 2D:4D (i.e., high exposure to prenatal androgens) were more responsive to the status-relevant experiences: they became more interested in luxury goods after these experiences. This was not the case for high 2D:4D individuals.
... In addition, males are more willing to help others in situations where they can exhibit heroism and dominance than in general situations (Sundie et al., 2011). From the perspective of consumption, the mate-attraction motive makes consumers pay more attention to products showing their status (Janssens et al., 2011) and prefer to purchase luxury products (Griskevicius et al., 2007;Bradshaw et al., 2020) and conspicuous brands (Sundie et al., 2011;Gurzki and Woisetschläger, 2017). However, the mate-attraction motive makes women more caring (Griskevicius et al., 2007) and more willing to show their beauty (Kenrick and Keefe, 1992;Hill and Durante, 2011) and cooperation (Griskevicius et al., 2006). ...
... Erotic stimulation is widely used in marketing. Previous studies have shown that erotic stimulation from women can actuate men's mate-attraction motive, prompting them to be more masculine (Baumeister and Vohs, 2004), to pay attention to status-appealing products (Janssens et al., 2011), to prefer buying luxury products (Griskevicius et al., 2007) and conspicuous brands (Sundie et al., 2011). Unlike men, women tend to regard erotic stimulation from other women as a threat to their existing intimate relationships, which in turn arouses their mate-keeping motives (Griskevicius and Kenrick, 2013). ...
Based on the theory of human reproductive motives, this study discusses how erotic stimulation can help activate male and female consumers’ reproductive motives (i.e., mate-attraction and mate-retention motives), influencing product purchase intention and brand personality perception. Specifically, the results of four experiments reveal that when a man receives erotic stimulation from women, his mate-attraction motive is activated. Consequently, he perceives that the brand personality of his possessions is more rugged, and his preference for products with a rugged brand personality is stronger. Unlike male consumers, when a heterosexual woman in an intimate romantic relationship receives erotic stimulation from other women, her mate-retention motive is activated. As a result, she perceives that the brand personality of her partner’s possessions is sincerer and prefers to purchase products with a sincere brand personality for her partner. This effect will not occur when a product is owned by her male colleague than her partner.
... Generally, the amount of resources influences the dimension and degree of the preference for mate selection cues in the mate selection decision. For example, men with more financial resources have higher requirements regarding women's physical attractiveness (Janssens et al., 2011;Yong and Li, 2012;Li et al., 2016a), while women consider men's resources regardless of their resources (Townsend, 1989;Khallad, 2005;Vigil et al., 2006). In addition, an increase in their own financial resources will lead women to pay more attention to the appearance and character of men (Gangestad and Simpson, 2000;Lu et al., 2015). ...
... Therefore, does the amount of resources that an individual can offer in a trade-off affect his or her preference regarding the characteristics of a mate? In fact, mate selection requirements change in response to changes in environmental cues (Roney, 2003;Janssens et al., 2011;Yong and Li, 2012), and the amount of resources that an individual possesses affects trade-offs in the process of mate selection. ...
According to the research on the influence of resources on mate selection, the amount of financial resources affects an individual’s choice of “luxuries” and “necessities” among mate selection cues, while the amount of time resources affects cue diversity. However, for a long time, researchers only paid attention to the impact of financial resources and ignored the role of time resources. Therefore, this paper draws lessons from the relevant research on the influence of time on decision-making and proposes to study mate selection from the perspective of decision-making. Additionally, current research concerning the influence of resources on the choice of a spouse focuses more on results and neglects to examine the process. Therefore, based on the relevant theories, this paper makes several theoretical assumptions regarding the influence mechanism of resource availability on mate choice decisions, gender differences, and the actor-partner effect.
... The display of economic resources is a successful tactic that men use to appeal to this trait in females (Saad, 2007;Schmitt & Buss, 1996). Men are more likely to notice, have more favorable attitudes towards, and spend more money on luxury products when they are motivated by mating goals (Griskevicius et al., 2007;Janssens et al., 2011;Roney, 2003;Saad, 2007). ...
... The stream of research that has linked conspicuous consumption to mating motivations has focused on inducing mating goals by exposing participants to, or reminding them of, members of the opposite sex (Griskevicius et al., 2007;Janssens et al., 2011;Roney, 2003;Sundie et al., 2011). Missing from this body of work, however, is an inquiry into whether other variables can induce or prime mating motivations. ...
Evolutionary psychology has established that humans have a fundamental motive for mating, and that men buy luxury products to attract mates. Absent from this body of work is an investigation of how nature-related variables influence mating motivations, and thus affect preferences for luxury products. Using an evolutionary lens, our research examines how reminders of the sun affect men's preferences for luxury products. The results of four experiments show that, when reminded of the sun, men become more sexually motivated, exhibit a more positive mood, and thus show higher preferences for luxury products.
... Building on costly signaling literature (Bird & Smith, 2005;Bird, Smith, & Bird, 2001;Nelissen & Meijers, 2011;Zahavi & Zahavi, 1997) and evolutionary theories on human mating strategies (Buss, 1988;Griskevicius et al., 2007;Janssens et al., 2010), this study proposes that conspicuous displays of exercise efforts are a self-promotion tactic that support mating efforts. From an evolutionary perspective, people seek out healthy partners (Buss, 1988;Eastwick & Finkel, 2008), but it is difficult to observe others' healthiness directly, so they infer the information from specific physical cues (Grammer & Thornhill, 1994;Rhodes et al., 2007;Shackelford & Larsen, 1999). ...
... People also actively try to appeal to interesting partners by signaling their desirable traits (Janssens et al., 2010). If they use posting about workouts as a costly signal, they likely try to send it in an appropriate context (Wang & Griskevicius, 2014). ...
Why do people love to share their running routes on social media? From an evolutionary perspective, the conspicuous display of exercise efforts provides an indicator of health. These displays benefit the sender, given that health establishes a human mate preference. Hence, potential mates attribute higher mate value to individuals posting about workouts because of greater inferred healthiness. In line with this theorizing, activating a mating motive increases online sharing intentions for workouts (vs. activities that require less energy) when people sense their own mate value to be low. Moreover, a mating motive increases senders’ desire to ensure workout posts are noticed by attractive potential partners. Along with some boundary conditions of the costly signal, this article details the implications of these findings for theory, public policy, and online community marketers.
... Previous research on this topic has typically examined men, assuming that conspicuous consumption more strongly promotes mate attraction among men (e.g., Griskevicius et al., 2007;Janssens et al., 2011;Sundie et al., 2011). Women tend to favor wealthy, high-status men in order to maximize their own future ability to nurture their children (Trivers, 1972). ...
... Therefore, conspicuous consumption helps men attract mates (Hennighausen, Hudders, Lange, & Fink, 2016;Li & Kenrick, 2006). Priming men with mate-attraction goals increases their consumption of luxury and status products (Janssens et al., 2011). Mate preferences differ between men and women; specifically, fertility-related characteristics (e.g., age, physical health) matter more to men than does wealth or status. ...
This study aimed to use evolutionary psychology to explain conspicuous consumption’s relationship with mating goals among women. We used experiments to show that power moderates conspicuous consumption’s relationship with mating goals among women through an underlying relationship with women’s social comparison tendencies. In Study 1, the participants read a passage describing a young woman wearing a coat made by a conspicuous brand (vs. an ordinary brand) who aimed to attract a desired man (vs. aiming to guard against potential competitors’ attempts to disrupt her established intimate relationship). Participants in the conspicuous-brand condition were more confident that the young woman would succeed in mate attraction and guarding than participants in the ordinary-brand condition, suggesting the participants believed the conspicuous brands facilitated mate attraction and mate guarding more than ordinary brands. Study 2 manipulated the participants’ power states and mating goals and measured participants’ social comparison tendencies and conspicuous consumption index values. In the mate-guarding condition, high-power participants showed more inclination toward conspicuous consumption than low-power participants. In the mate-attraction condition, low-power participants showed a greater inclination toward conspicuous consumption than did high-power participants. Comparison orientation also mediated power’s effect on conspicuous consumption inclination. The evolutionary psychological basis for the above findings is discussed, and suggestions are offered regarding product marketing.
... Finally, by referring to human mate selection theory to introduce a process explanation of the systematic appeal of packages shaped after ideal human body figures, our research extends the current stream of research aimed at uncovering the evolutionary roots of consumer preferences (e.g., Griskevicius & Kenrick, 2013;Hantula, 2003;Janssens et al., 2011;. ...
... The present research contributes to four streams of research. First, the study of consumers' systematic appeal to packages shaped after ideal human body figures extends literature testifying to the evolutionary roots of consumer preferences (e.g., Griskevicius & Kenrick, 2013;Hantula, 2003;Janssens et al., 2011;. Recent studies have shown that design preferences are often shaped by deeply embedded mental mechanism Miesler et al., 2011), even though our current environment differs from the ancestral environments where these adaptive mental mechanisms evolved. ...
... On the other extreme from signaling substantial paternal investment in children, men's conspicuous consumption could be predominantly a product of mating effort, elicited by short-term mating opportunities and motivations for brief sexual relationships (Sundie et al., 2011). Single men who interacted with a provocatively dressed female experimenter had higher recall for displays of luxury products than those who interacted with the experimenter when she was plainly dressed (Janssens et al., 2011). If men's conspicuously wealth displays function in both short-term and long-term reproductive strategies (Griskevicius et al., 2007;Sundie et al., 2011), how could cues of mating effort Thanks to Juan David Leongómez for providing the voice stimuli. ...
Two studies advance the understanding of phenotypic mimicry in consumer products. Product features mimicking more prominent male secondary sexual characteristics are associated with men’s behavioral strategies which are higher in mating effort and lower in paternal investment in offspring, in parallel with reproductive strategies across species and within the human population. The first study demonstrated a continuous relationship between the sizes of luxury brand logos and perceptions of the owners’ life histories. Two partial replications reproduced Study 1 results. Study 2 demonstrated that a manipulation of coloration, another fundamental dimension of variation in secondary sex characteristics, generates a similar pattern of results. In both studies, men owning shirts with more prominent sensory characteristics were believed to use authority and intimidation as strategies for advancing social status, whereas men owning shirts with less showy characteristics were believed to demonstrate useful abilities and foster cooperative alliances. Participants also recognized the strategic use of luxury display properties across social contexts.
... Good financial status that aids luxuries and provides necessities affects mate selection decisions [24]. Men with buoyant financial resources pay unswerving attention to the female gender's physical attractiveness and beauty [25][26][27]; while women pay more attention to men's financial resources [28][29][30]. In addition, [31] cited [32] that females prefer financially buoyant males, because of easy access to food, properties and better healthcare. ...
The researcher sought to investigate mate selection for marital purposes during COVID-19 pandemic, which may be tasking for undergraduates in Nigerian universities. Mate selection is a vital aspect in the process leading up to marital relationships and personal mate selection is common practice across societies, except for the very few wherein individuals are given a mate instead of selecting their mates. Given that most marriages result from the relationships that are formed during studies in tertiary institutions, selecting a good mate from the onset determines the quality of the marriage later on in life. The study investigated how the mate selection experience was affected by the adversaries, brought to the fore by the onset of COVID-19 restrictions. The study employed descriptive research of the survey type. The population for this study consisted of all University of Ilorin undergraduates. A simple random sampling technique was used to select 420 respondents who were undergraduates at the University of Ilorin, Kwara-State. A research instrument titled “Factors Determining Mate Selection among Undergraduates (FDMSUQ)” was used to elicit information, needed from the respondents. The face and content validity of the instrument were ensured while a 0.72 reliability coefficient was obtained. Three research questions were raised and four hypotheses were formulated. All the research questions and hypotheses were tested using descriptive and inferential statistics at 0.05 level of significance. It was found that age, religion, ethnic group, and family structure significantly influence mate selection among undergraduates. Based on the findings, it was recommended among others that Professional Counsellors in collaboration with the parents of undergraduates and religious organisations should constantly make programmes available to undergraduates of all age groups on how, when and what it entails to select a mate, that they will live together with till death do them part
... Younger individuals have been observed to be more prone toward greater C/L expenditure (e.g., Sims-Muhammad 2012; Shukla 2008). Janssens et al. (2011) suggest that men have a higher propensity for C/L consumption in the context of attracting prospective partners, whereas Prakash (1992) and Wang and Griskevicius (2014) suggest that women are likely to consume conspicuously to earn higher social status and recognition. ...
Concern about the environmental impacts of consumption has drawn research attention to the drivers of conspicuous and luxury (C/L) consumption. Given the prevailing patterns of overconsumption, most studies to date have focused on countries in the global North. However, an emerging high-consuming middle and upper class in nations such as India and Brazil makes it imperative to extend the study of C/L consumption to these contexts. Research that does exist pertaining to India has predominantly focused only on the role of social identity in driving consumption growth among certain groups. Our study proposes a broader conceptual framework, incorporating a variety of possible factors and applying multivariate statistical analysis to household-expenditure data from the India Human Development Survey. We examine how C/L consumption expenditure is correlated not just with the economic ability to consume (income or wealth) but also with potential socio-psychological drivers and moderators. The results show that while the economic ability to consume (income or its proxy) is an enabling factor, mass-media exposure and social network activity appear to influence C/L consumption positively. Education and caste have more mixed relationships with consumption, and interaction effects between these two variables and economic ability to consume are also significant. The results highlight the importance of socio-psychological factors in shaping consumption decisions beyond the enabling role of income and wealth. Improving understanding of this broader set of factors, as well as their interaction effects, is particularly salient for devising better policies for transitioning toward more sustainable consumption patterns in a large developing country such as India.
... Specifically, we propose materialism as an important driver of consumers' purchase intent and engagement with a sponsored content, given that prior research has suggested that consumers' materialistic values play an important role in consumer behavior and psychology (Belk, 2010;Richins, 2017). For example, Janssens et al. (2011) have shown that materialism is strongly linked to conspicuous consumption, signaling one's wealth and status, and Kasser (2002) has argued that materialism serves as a means to maintain and enhance positive self-image through consumption. We also propose hedonic enjoyment as a mechanism for explaining the positive effect of materialism on the aforementioned focal-dependent variables. ...
Previous studies have mainly demonstrated negative consequences for content labeled as sponsored. Despite this, recent industry findings indicate a growing trend for sponsored content on social media. In addition, an increasing number of users suggest that such paid content would increase their likelihood of purchasing items from social media. Nonetheless, little attention has been paid to what drives consumers’ purchase intention and engagement with sponsored content with a clear disclaimer such as “Paid Partnership.” Therefore, the present research seeks to provide insights into what drives consumer engagement and purchase intention with sponsored content and when and why such effects are observed. Conducted with an online survey, the results showed that individuals with high materialism showed greater purchase intent and higher engagement with sponsored content through hedonic enjoyment. The results also showed that the mediating role of hedonic engagement for the positive effect of materialism on purchase intent was only significant under high influencer trust. Furthermore, the mediating role of hedonic enjoyment was amplified when the need to belong was high.
... Study 4 indicates that status motives do not increase the desire to undergo cosmetic surgeries in general or to do so specifically as a means of signaling status. Importantly, related work on mate acquisition motives (Griskevicius & Kenrick, 2013; has shown that such motives prompt men to pay more attention to luxury goods (Janssens et al., 2011), while women become more motivated to boost their beauty (Hill & Durante, 2011). The findings from Studies 1-3 reveal that publicly announcing having undergone cosmetic surgeries yields benefits associated with luxury consumption and increases perceived attractiveness in the case of women (at least among American participants). ...
Despite the risks associated with cosmetic procedures, the global cosmetic surgery market is growing rapidly. What motivates consumers to engage in these costly and risky beautification efforts? The existing literature, laypeople, and plastic surgeons point to variables such as thinking styles, social media use, and aesthetics-related reasons. Drawing on evolutionarybased theories, we challenge these assumptions by proposing and providing empirical evidence for the notion that both men and women can increase their inferred social status by disclosing participation in cosmetic procedures (Studies 1–3). In addition, women—but not men—receive a "beauty premium" and hence are perceived as more physically attractive when they disclose such information, leading to an increase in their perceived social status (Study 4). Finally, we show that status seeking, both measured and manipulated, predicts consumers’ willingness to undergo cosmetic procedures (Study 5). Taken together, our results extend previous research by showing that consumers may "go under the knife" to signal social status.
... Two young adult women, one with blonde hair and the other with brunette hair participated as confederates in the experiment. The confederate could either be dressed in a sexualized fashion (sexualized condition) or in a non-sexualized fashion (non-sexualized condition), with the former generally characterised by having more skin revealed and heavier makeup than the latter (see Janssens et al., 2011, for a similar manipulation). The sexualized outfit consisted of a short skirt, stockings, a tight t-shirt, and heels. ...
Extensive experimental research has been conducted to investigate how individuals empathise with others depending on contextual and motivational factors. However, the effect of sexual objectification (i.e. focus on the individual’s physical appearance over his/her mental state) on empathy is scarce at best thus far. The aim of this work is to shed light on whether objectification modulates empathic responses toward humans and human-like objects. In Experiment 1, participants either underwent visuo-tactile stimulation or witnessed another person (a mannequin, a sexualized or a non-sexualized female confederate) being stimulated with pleasant or unpleasant objects. Participants were then asked to report either their own or the other’s emotional experience. Results showed that shared representations (i.e. similarity between self-other emotional ratings) are significantly lower for the mannequin, intermediate for the sexualized woman, and reach the highest values for the non-sexualized woman. In Experiment 2, shared representations were assessed during a ball-tossing game in which the participants or one of the two confederates (sexualized or non-sexualized woman) were excluded from the game. Again, results showed reduced similarity between self-other emotional ratings toward sexualized as compared to non-sexualized women. The findings suggest that interacting with sexually objectified women reduces empathic responses typically observed within human relations.
... Consequently, luxury products are ideal for signaling power, control, and status, particularly when individuals' feelings of efficacy are threatened. For example, men use conspicuous luxury products as a means to attract mates, but women do not (Griskevicius et al. 2007;Janssens et al. 2011;Sundie et al. 2011; for reviews of evolutionary influences on luxury consumption, see Durante and Griskevicius 2018; Chapter 3 in this volume). However, women do use luxury products for other signaling purposes, such as signaling to other women. ...
... Conspicuous consumption is associated with not only men's but also women's mating motivations. For example, it has been shown that merely inducing a romantic mindset can lead men to notice status products more spontaneously (Janssens et al., 2011), prefer prestigious brands and spend more on public wealth-displaying items (Sundie et al., 2011). Parallel to this, economic recession cues trigger the desire for mates with abundant resources and increase women's desire to buy luxury beauty products (Hill et al., 2012). ...
Purpose
This study aims to examine how loneliness, romantic relationship status (single/non-single) and romantic attachment factors (sociosexual orientation index (SOI), satisfaction with current relationship) interactively affect conspicuous consumption.
Design/methodology/approach
Five quasi-experimental studies were conducted with different measures of conspicuous consumption across a variety of samples ( N = 1189).
Findings
Study 1 shows that loneliness increased singles’ but not non-singles’ conspicuous consumption. Study 2A further shows the mediating role of the mating motive amongst singles. Study 2B compared conspicuous and inconspicuous consumption and showed no interaction effect between loneliness and romantic relationship status in the domain of inconspicuous consumption. Studies 3 and 4 tested whether the effects of loneliness on non-singles’ conspicuous consumption were moderated by SOI and satisfaction with current relationship, respectively. Specifically, lonely non-singles with high SOI or low satisfaction with current relationship sought conspicuous consumption, but those with low SOI or high satisfaction with the current relationship avoided conspicuous consumption.
Research limitations/implications
This study did not specifically consider different roots of loneliness (lack of romantic love, friendship or family attachment) between singles and non-singles, which future research should explore.
Practical implications
The findings have implications for both marketers and policymakers regarding marketing campaigns for conspicuous products, support programmes satisfying the specific social attachment needs of different lonely people, etc.
Originality/value
This study identifies a specific social attachment desire of the lonely, namely, romantic motive, by which loneliness influences singles’ and non-singles’ conspicuous consumption in different ways. The findings suggest the value of distinguishing types of loneliness.
... laide) enquêtrice, les femmes affichent, dans leurs réponses, un attachement plus fort à la poursuite de relations sociales harmonieuses, conformément à ce que les hommes recherchent généralement chez une femme. Nous analysons ce résultat en termes de compétition intrasexuelle(Janssens et al., 2011 ;Wang et Griskevicius, 2014), en suggérant qu'une belle enquêtrice active un contexte de compétition intrasexuelle chez les femmes(Durante et al., 2011), qui les incite inconsciemment à signaler leur valeur quand les questions leur en donnent l'opportunité. Pour sa part, un bel enquêteur n'active ni de contexte de séduction chez les femmes, ni de contexte de rivalité chez les hommes puisque la beauté n'informe pas sur la possession de ressources matérielles (ce que les femmes recherchent généralement chez un homme). ...
... Using the same response format, participants then indicated their impulsiveness on a single-item scale ("I am a relatively impulsive person" cf. Krank et al., 2011) and specified their relationship status (1 = I am single; 7 = I am married) on a measure from Janssens et al. (2011). These two items were included because both impulse control and relationship status have been shown to impact people's financial decisions (e.g., Cavanaugh, 2014;Chiou et al., 2015). ...
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 impatience (choosing smaller-sooner over larger-later monetary rewards). In the present study, we examine the moderating roles of participant sex and hunger in the association between sexual stimuli and financial impatience. Results indicate that exposure to sexually arousing (vs. neutral or no) ads makes men more financially impatient than women. Hunger further moderates this effect, such that monetary choices do not differ across conditions for satiated individuals, whereas hungry men (women) become more impatient (patient) in their monetary choices after viewing sexually arousing ads.
... Although there are several different strategies available to men wishing to showcase their resources to prospective mates, one of the most frequently used strategies involves the purchase and display of luxury products ( Griskevicius et al., 2007;Janssens et al., 2011;Saad, 2007Saad, , 2011. This is particularly true in the context of short-term mating, which requires men to advertise their wealth in a way that can be quickly and easily picked up on by multiple female receivers. ...
Guided by insights from evolutionary models of women’s mate preferences, we hypothesized resource scarcity cues will increase women’s desire for men owning luxury products and men’s desire to purchase them. We tested this hypothesis across three studies, using recession (versus control) cues to manipulate resource scarcity. The first study revealed that, after being primed with recession (versus control) cues, women (but not men) rated opposite-sex targets owning luxury brands as more attractive. The second study found recession cues increase men’s, but not women’s, desire for luxury, compared to budget, brand products. Finally, the third study demonstrated desire for luxury products under conditions of resource scarcity is driven by men highly motivated to attract short-term, sexual relationships. By showing how recessions influence women’s mating psychology and men’s consumer preferences, the current research provides a more nuanced understanding of the relationship between resource availability, mating psychology, and the consumption of luxury brands.
... Such measurement is based on the quality and quantity of possessions (Podoshen and Andrzejewski, 2012). The financial ability, represented in the ownership of expensive and status possessions, is even considered to be a crucial criterion for the valuation of male's potential mating chances (Janssens et al., 2010;Sundie et al., 2011) Possessions are, hence, believed to play a dominant role in identity construction in materialistic cultures (Belk, 1988). According to Woodruffe-Burton and Elliott (2005) as well as Woodruffe-Burton and Wakenshaw (2011), consumption is regarded as a self-construction tool where a person creates all images of what he wants to be. ...
... Such measurement is based on the quality and quantity of possessions (Podoshen and Andrzejewski, 2012). The financial ability, represented in the ownership of expensive and status possessions, is even considered to be a crucial criterion for the valuation of male's potential mating chances (Janssens et al., 2010;Sundie et al., 2011) Possessions are, hence, believed to play a dominant role in identity construction in materialistic cultures (Belk, 1988). According to Woodruffe-Burton and Elliott (2005) as well as Woodruffe-Burton and Wakenshaw (2011), consumption is regarded as a self-construction tool where a person creates all images of what he wants to be. ...
Purpose – The current research aims at conceptualizing the multi-faceted relationship between conspicuous consumption and the associated social and psychological transformation processes. The study aims at expanding the understanding of the compensatory account of conspicuous consumption and the role of self-compassion as a coping mechanism against experiences of insecurities and threats.
Design/methodology/approach – The paper conceptualizes the relationship between conspicuous consumption and associated social and psychological transformation processes. This paper stipulates research propositions depicting the different aspects involved in this relationship.
Findings – The paper puts forth several propositions to guide future research efforts at the overlap between conspicuous consumption and its socio-psychological implications. The paper provides insights about how materialistic tendencies play a compensatory role in responding to self-threats. The paper suggests that promoting self-compassion would act as an antidote against materialistic orientations.
Research limitations/implications –The paper is only conceptualizing relationships. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to empirically test the proposed propositions further.
Practical implications – The paper includes implications to different stakeholders. The research is important for consumers and consumer organizations, marketers, and policy makers.
Originality/value –The research is novel in its approach at linking several social and psychological dimensions, including self-esteem, self-concept clarity, satisfaction with life, susceptibility to normative influence, need for social support and need to belong, to the conspicuous consumption phenomenon and the role of materialism as a mediator in this relationship.
... The study employed a mixed-subjects experimental design, in which both men and women viewed a series of displays. This visual recollection task is based on previous research on conspicuous consumption and status products (Janssens et al., 2011;Lens, Driesmans, Pandelaere, & Janssens, 2012). In total, participants saw a series of 16 visual displays. ...
Many studies on young adults’ motivations for drinking overlook the symbolic aspects of alcohol use. However, research indicates that young adults’ alcohol consumption is also driven by signaling motivations. Although the interest of a receiver is a necessary prerequisite of a signal, no previous studies have verified whether drinking behavior indeed attracts young adults’ attention. Therefore, we conducted two studies. A two-part eye-tracking study (N1 = 135, N2 = 140) showed that both young men and young women pay special visual attention to male and female drinking behavior. Additionally, a recall experiment (N = 321) confirmed that observed male and female drinking is better remembered than observed nonsignaling, functional behavior. Moreover, alcoholic beverages also receive special attention, as they were recalled better than other functional products, and also nonalcoholic drinks similar in color and shape. In summary, the experiments clearly showed that male and female drinking behavior can be used as a signal, as both behaviors clearly function as an attention-attracting cue. Additionally, as alcoholic beverages draw more attention than nonalcoholic drinks, this attention is clearly linked to the alcohol element of the drinking behavior.
... Just as evolutionary pressures are likely to have made women more emotionally expressive than men, men were likely subject to pressures (e.g., competition for resources) that encouraged displays of power and dominance (Dovidio, Brown, Heltman, Ellyson, & Keating, 1988;Dovidio, Ellyson, Keating, Heltman, & Brown, 1988). Such pressures are likely to have made men more statusconscious than women (Alterovitz & Mendelsohn, 2009;Griskevicius et al., 2007;Janssens et al., 2011). At least two mechanisms may encourage men to display markers of status. ...
LinkedIn is the largest professional social network site in the world, designed for professional
networking, job seeking, and recruitment. The current study explores visual self-presentation in LinkedIn
user portraits. LinkedIn portraits serve alongside explicit data posted in users’ profiles as a tool for
professional self-presentation, yet they have hardly been studied. In the absence of scientific recommendations,
non-academic websites offer recommendations for the optimal portrait. In this study, we
aimed, first, to identify the common features of LinkedIn portraits and to determine whether they adhere
to the popular recommendations found on the Internet. Second, we offered grounded hypotheses suggesting
that LinkedIn portraits, and other features of LinkedIn accounts, would show gender and occupational
differences. Using a representative city in the United States, 480 LinkedIn portraits and accounts
were selected and analyzed. Results indicate that LinkedIn portraits display common features and tend to
adhere to popular recommendations. Women were more likely than men to signal emotions, whereas
men were more likely to signal status. No occupational differences were detected. The findings suggest
that two opposing forces shape self-presentation in LinkedIn portraits. Specifically, social norms,
corporate culture, and popular advice drive users to display standard business-like portraits, while
gender-related self-expression inspires users to display their uniqueness and attractiveness. These pioneering
findings can inform scholars and practitioners on impression management processes in professional
online settings.
... Working people have more money and independence, and they invest their time in seeking a perfect mate. Janssens et al. (2011) and Griskevicius et al. (2010) indicate that men's interest in status goods increases in an environment in which mating is a central preoccupation. According to this sexual perspective, men engage more in displaying their success through conspicuous objects and brands. ...
Although luxury goods form a distinct economic sector in many countries, a certain vagueness still remains over the concepts of luxury and the luxury brand. How does the luxury brand differ from the ‘up-market’ brand or the ordinary brand? Are the differences simply those of degree or inherent in the luxury brand’s nature?
... We also tested theeffectsofperceivergenderandrelationshipstatus.Withregard to perceiver gender, we expected that men and women would exhibit different gaze patterns, such that men compared to women would fixate more on sexual cues, including the chest and waisthip region. With regard to relationship status, we expected single people (relative to coupled people) to spend more time looking at potential mates (Janssens et al., 2011;Maner, Gailliot, & Miller, 2009). ...
Eye movements of 105 heterosexual undergraduate students (36 males) were monitored while viewing photographs of men and women identified as a potential mate or a potential friend. Results showed that people looked at the head and chest more when assessing potential mates and looked at the legs and feet more when assessing potential friends. Single people looked at the photographs longer and more frequently than coupled people, especially when evaluating potential mates. In addition, eye gaze was a valid indicator of relationship interest. For women, looking at the head corresponded to greater interest in friendship, whereas for men looking at the head corresponded to less interest in friendship. These findings show that relational goals and gender may affect the way people scan their environment and search for relevant information in line with their goals.
... Such measurement is based on the quality and quantity of possessions (Podoshen and Andrzejewski, 2012). The financial ability, represented in the ownership of expensive and status possessions, is even considered to be a crucial criterion for the valuation of male's potential mating chances (Janssens et al., 2010;Sundie et al., 2011) Possessions are, hence, believed to play a dominant role in identity construction in materialistic cultures (Belk, 1988). According to Woodruffe-Burton and Elliott (2005) as well as Woodruffe-Burton and Wakenshaw (2011), consumption is regarded as a self-construction tool where a person creates all images of what he wants to be. ...
The current research aims at conceptualizing the multi-faceted relationship between
conspicuous consumption and the associated social and psychological transformation processes.
The study aims at expanding the understanding of the compensatory account of conspicuous
consumption and the role of self-compassion as a coping mechanism against experiences of
insecurities and threats.The paper puts forth several propositions to guide future research efforts at the
overlap between conspicuous consumption and its socio-psychological implications. The paper
provides insights about how materialistic tendencies play a compensatory role in responding to
self-threats. The paper suggests that promoting self-compassion would act as an antidote against
materialistic orientations.
... Conspicuous goods can act as such costly signals in a mating context, as they increase intersexual attraction, and they can also spur intrasexual competition. It has been shown that mating goals can lead to a heightened perceptual readiness for status products (Janssens et al., 2011). The signaling mechanisms largely happen subconsciously (Roney, 2003), and differ both by mating goal and sex (Durante, Griskevicius, Hill, Perilloux, & Li, 2011;Griskevicius, Goldstein, Mortensen, Cialdini, & Kenrick, 2006;Griskevicius et al., 2009;M. ...
This paper provides a systematic review of the current state of luxury research by mapping the research landscape to identify key research clusters, publications, and journals that have relevance to the luxury subject across disciplines. Thereby, it contributes to the literature by providing a state-of-the-field review of the broader luxury research field. Using the ISI Web of Knowledge Core collection, this study conducts a document co-citation analysis of 49,139 cited references from 1,315 publications that study luxury. The combination of bibliometric methods and a systematic review allows this study to overcome barriers of traditional literature reviews by integrating a large set of publications across various disciplines and leveraging the insights of the larger scientific community. It identifies ten major research clusters that characterize the different research streams and discusses their intellectual foundations. Moreover, this research develops a conceptual framework that can be a valuable guide for researchers and practitioners.
... It is surprising that the gender specificity (intersex and intrasex) of status signaling and luxury consumption have caught the eye of consumer researchers only very recently. Male-female status signaling through material possessions and luxury products can be viewed as a mate attraction strategy (Sundie et al., 2011) or an expression of mate value (Janssens et al., 2011); women in particular are capable of correctly reading the underlying motives behind this kind of male signaling (Lens, Driesmans, Pandelaere, & Janssens, 2012;Sundie et al., 2011). Females send status signals to other women too in order to improve their social standing in a peer group (Durante, Griskevicius, Cantú, & Simpson, 2014) or to deter them from poaching the signal sender's relationship partner (Wang & Griskevicius, 2014). ...
Even though consumers’ status signaling is a heavily researched topic, empirical contributions from two important research areas—the mundane food context and prosocial status signaling between male consumers—to signaling literature are still scarce. Thus, this study empirically investigates how a male signaling about his status through favoring organic foods is perceived and treated by other males in two different sociocultural settings (urban vs. rural). In an urban area—but not in a rural—the pro-organic signaler was perceived as more respected, altruistic, and affluent than a male who did not signal about this (he also received statistically more money in a charity donation task). This may indicate that signaling about this tendency—because it can be viewed as use of one's own resources for the benefit of others—is not only a way to attain status, but can also make others behave more positively toward the signaler.
Romantic experiences are positive emotional experiences that significantly affect people's lives and consumption behaviors. Extant research merely conceptualizes romantic experiences as intimate relationships between lovers and investigates their impact on the consumption of specific products (e.g., sweets, movies, and tourist destinations). In this study, we extend the concept of romantic experience beyond romantic love and demonstrate how romantic experience influences consumers' preferences for self‐improvement products based on the broaden‐and‐build theory through four experiments. Specifically, we show that romantic experiences (vs. neutral experiences) increase consumers' preference for self‐improvement products, even in areas unrelated to the initial romantic stimuli (Study 1). This greater inclination toward self‐improvement products is mediated by a heightened sense of meaning in life (Studies 2 and 3). Moreover, the focal effect is moderated by self‐construal (Study 4). These findings complement those of previous studies on how romantic experiences influence consumption choices.
Die Nutzung von Medien und der Konsum von medialer Unterhaltung sind aus
unserem Alltag nicht mehr wegzudenken. Im letzten Jahrzehnt ist insbesondere die
Nutzung von Online-Inhalten und Angeboten im Zuge der Digitalisierung und weiterer
Technologisierung noch einmal angestiegen: Während 2012 noch 76 % der
Deutschen angaben, das Internet zu nutzen, sind nur 10 Jahre später bereits 95 %
der Befragten online (Beisch & Koch, 2023). Dabei ist die rezipierende Internetnutzung
die häufigste Nutzungsform und bezieht sich vor allem auf den Konsum
von Video- und Musik-Streamingdiensten, Mediatheken, Live-Radio-Formaten
und auf das Lesen von digitalen Artikeln (Beisch & Koch, 2023). Ebenso liegen die
jährlichen Ausgaben für Kinobesuche im letzten Jahrzehnt konstant bei ca. einer
Milliarde Euro (ausgenommen die „Corona-Jahre“ 2020 und 2021; Statistisches Bundesamt 2022). Auch die Computer- und Videospielbranche hat sich zu einem Multi-Milliarden-Dollar-Business entwickelt (Dillon 2016).
Diese Zahlen machen deutlich, wie viel Zeit und Geld Menschen bereit sind, in Mediennutzung und -rezeption zu investieren. Wie lässt sich dieses enorme menschliche Interesse an Medien und Medieninhalten erklären?
Purpose
The transgenerational influence of inherited family capital on consumers' luxury consumption has been studied recently in the mature luxury market. However, little research explores this topic in the emerging luxury market. In China's Confucian culture, “family face” as part of “family inheritance” has been conceptualized as a factor driving luxury consumption. However, this hypothesis has not been empirically tested. The current research, therefore, seeks to examine the impact of economic and cultural capital on Chinese consumers' luxury consumption within the family inheritance context and the roles that face concern and gender play to reveal the particularities of a specific emerging luxury market.
Design/methodology/approach
A sample of 324 Chinese consumers was recruited in Shanghai. With the full sample, the author first assessed the effects of economic and educational capital (both personal and family sources) and face concern on luxury consumption using regression analyses. Next, the author conducted the regression analyses again by gender.
Findings
Unlike trends in the mature luxury market, Chinese consumers' educational levels do not drive their luxury consumption, and the transgenerational influence of economic and cultural capital functions as a negative factor. Influenced by the patrilineal tradition, higher levels of luxury consumption to compensate for parents' lower income and educational levels and to enhance family face are found only in the male consumer group, but not in the female group.
Originality/value
This research contributes to expanding the current understanding of emerging luxury markets and how the Confucian tradition influences Chinese consumers' luxury consumption through gender role norms.
The purpose of this article is to review studies on the effects of salience of heterosexuality and mating motives on both social cognition and social behaviors and to discuss implications for gender differences in the findings of these studies. First, cultural and evolutional theories that emphasized the role of heterosexuality as a factor causing gender differences are described. Next, I review experimental studies examining the effects of mate seeking motive and mate retention motive on attention, processing style, categorization, self- representation, and social behavior (e.g., strategic self-presentations, risk taking behaviors, and aggressive behaviors). The findings from this review are discussed in terms of context-dependency of gender differences. Finally, I suggest future directions for research in both gender and evolutionary psychology.
Background: A pandemic is a very stressful event, especially for highly vulnerable people (e.g., older adults). The purpose of the current study was to investigate the main and interactive relationships of social support and resilience on individual mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic across three age groups: emerging adults, adults, and older adults.
Methods: A survey was conducted with 23,192 participants aged 18–85. Respondents completed a questionnaire, including items on the COVID-19-related support they perceived from different sources, the abbreviated version of the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, and the Mental Health Inventory.
Results: Latent profile analysis identified five profiles of social support, and the patterns of potential profiles were similar in all groups. However, category distribution in the five profiles was significantly different among the age groups. Furthermore, analysis using the BCH command showed significant differences in mental health among these profiles. Lastly, interactive analyses indicated resilience had a positive relationship with mental health, and social support served as a buffer against the negative impact of low resilience on mental health.
Conclusions: This study provides quantitative evidence for socioemotional selectivity theory (SST) and enables several practical implications for helping different age groups protecting mental health during pandemic.
Purpose
Drawing on an evolutionary perspective, prior studies have revealed that conspicuous consumption by men has signaling functions (i.e. signaling the consumer’s positive mate qualities such as status and ability to acquire resources) for mate attraction. However, it is unclear whether conspicuous consumption of luxury products by women has a function in mate attraction. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of mate attraction goal on women’s interest in conspicuous consumption and the possible mediating effect of the attractiveness enhancement need in this effect.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey and two experimental studies were conducted in which 354 Chinese female undergraduates participated. In the survey, the respondents’ desire to have a romantic partner was measured; in the two experiments, the participants’ mate attraction goals were primed. The authors followed the literature to measure dependent variables (i.e. consumption measures), but the specific consumption items were adapted to meet the purpose of the current research. The authors analyzed the data from the three studies through analysis of variance, regression analysis and bootstrapping.
Findings
Young women with a strong (vs weak) desire for a romantic partner reported a high level of attractiveness enhancement needs, thereby indicating a higher willingness to pay (WTP ) for conspicuous items that can enhance their attractiveness (Studies 1 and 3). Furthermore, activating young women’s mate attraction goal can also increase their WTP for conspicuous items (Studies 2 and 3) and attractiveness enhancement items (Study 3) but not inconspicuous luxury product (e.g. underclothes) (Study 3). These findings suggested that young women consider conspicuous consumption of certain products as a means of enhancing attractiveness to acquire a desired mate.
Originality/value
This research identifies a novel function of conspicuous consumption: young women, especially those who do not have a romantic partner, may use conspicuous consumption of certain products to satisfy their attractiveness enhancement needs and, ultimately, to attract an ideal mate.
The marketing function extends beyond the realm of goods and services. Scientific ideas must also be properly marketed using appropriate persuasion strategies. Evolutionary psychology suffers from an image problem amongst marketing scholars, many of whom remain uninterested at best and hostile at worst in applying the evolutionary lens within their research programs. This is in part due to a poor understanding of key tenets of evolutionary psychology coupled with an animus toward the framework rooted in several recurring cognitive and affective hindrances. The reality is that innumerable theoretical, epistemological, methodological, and applied benefits would accrue to marketing academics and practitioners alike by adopting the evolutionary framework within the science and practice of marketing.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of key demographics (i.e. gender, age, education and income) on the rich Muslim consumers’ Domains of Living (DoL). DoL were broken down into being, belonging and becoming domains. Relationship between the DoL and luxury consumption behavior (LCB) was analyzed as well. Being domain included elements that indicated who one is and how one defines the self; belonging domain linked an individual to his/her environment; and becoming domain referred to the set of social activities that an individual performed.
Design/methodology/approach
A questionnaire-based survey was conducted to get insights into the LCB of affluent Muslim consumers and how these insights related to key demographics and DoL. The researched population was Qatari consumers who were buying luxury products and belonged to a high-income bracket. Stratified sampling method was considered appropriate because the key objective of the study was to generalize the results across the affluent Qatari population. Stratification of the population was primarily done through the selected demographic variables. This research survey, conducted in Qatar, resulted in the collection of 213 usable questionnaires. General Linear Model Multivariate Analysis and Multiple Regression Analysis were used to establish the goodness of fit and to test the proposed hypotheses.
Findings
Results indicated that there were significant LCB differences between the genders, age groups, income levels and educational background. Furthermore, there was a significant association between the three DOLs and LCB. There were indications that for affluent Qatari Muslims, consumption of luxury products had become a socially accepted norm. Fulfillment of luxury needs did not isolate rich Muslims from their family and friends or made them unhappy about luxury consumption. This behavior could be related to high levels of affluence among Qataris that makes acquisition of luxury products easy and not effort or time intensive.
Practical implications
Islamic luxury markets need to adopt an appropriate balance of global (considering global luxury trends) and local (based on cultural, social and religious forces) marketing strategies to engage rich Muslim consumers.
Originality/value
This paper presents LCB from the perspective of affluent Muslim consumers within the context of DoL and through the lens of key demographic variables.
Mating motives, informed by an evolutionary perspective, are central to marketing and consumer behavior. Humans have an evolved menu of mating strategies that vary along a temporal continuum anchored by long-term committed mating (e.g., marriage) and short-term mating (e.g., one-night stands, brief affairs). Men and women, although similar in some ways, differ in their psychology of short-term and long-term mating in some respects. The proposed framework yields a four-quadrant matrix useful for more gender-specific and mating strategy-specific marketing—women's long-term, men's long-term, women's short-term, and men's short-term. Mating psychology within these quadrants include mate choice copying, error management, the sexual over-perception bias, cues to sexual exploitation, good-dad mate preferences, temporal discounting, and the psychology of opportunity costs. Discussion focuses on gender-specific marketing, market segmentation, implicit versus explicit mating cues, the importance of context, consumer's long-term interests, and the power of attention-grabbing mating cues for non-mating related products and consumer behavior.
The manuscript identifies how anthropomorphized packages elicit aesthetic appeal. Specifically, we shed light on the effectiveness of applying evolutionary relevant shapes, which are figures of attractive female (i.e. hourglass-shaped) and male (i.e. V-shaped) bodies, to consumer goods’ package design. Results of two lexical decision tasks (Study 1a and 1b) show that when consumers observe a package shaped after an ideal body figure, the mental schema of the human body spontaneously becomes activated. In turn, accessible knowledge of the activated schema influences consumer responses. Two studies (Studies 2a and 2b) demonstrate that packages of gender-neutral consumer goods shaped after an ideal body figure generate aesthetic appeal and favourable product evaluations. A final study (Study 3) reveals that when the package of a gender-specific consumer good is being anthropomorphized, a gender-schema congruity effect occurs: aesthetic appeal is elicited when the package shape is congruent with the target user's ideal body figure.
The consumer realm offers a window into our evolved human nature. Many consumer choices, preferences, and behaviors are rooted in one of four key Darwinian clusters: (1) survival (e.g., gustatory penchant for highly caloric foods); (2) mating (e.g., employing products as sexual signals); (3) kin selection (e.g., the effects of genetic relatedness and genetic assuredness on gift giving); and (4) reciprocal altruism (gift-giving rituals among nonkin). The evolutionary lens provides consumer researchers important benefits including the ability to identify novel research questions, and greater interdisciplinarity, methodological pluralism, theoretical parsimony, and consilience. Homo consumericus cannot be entirely understood without acknowledging the evolutionary forces that have forged our minds and bodies.
Conspicuous consumption is the means by which individuals signal their social standing via a wide range of ostentatious products, services, and pursuits. Consumers scholars have explored many issues dealing with conspicuous consumption such as the development of a scale to capture one's proclivity to engage in the behavior and situational variables that might accentuate one's desire to be showy. On the other hand, evolutionary-minded researchers recognize that conspicuous consumption is rooted in a biological imperative, namely sexual signaling in the mating arena. Deleterious outcomes of conspicuous consumption include deceptive signaling via counterfeit products, as well as the ecological harm caused by the dogged pursuit of the high life (e.g., the hunting of nearly extinct species as a high-status badge of honor).
Parental investment theory addresses sex differences that result from the trade-off between parenting effort and mating effort. For example, relative to men, women spend more time caring for offspring, are more selective in assenting to sexual intercourse, are more upset by a partner's emotional infidelity than by a partner's sexual infidelity, and are better able to inhibit their behaviors in certain situations. These and other sex differences are attributable to evolved mechanisms that work in interaction with the physical and social environments.
Examined the consequences of mate preferences for the processes of assortative mating and sexual selection. In Study 1, 92 married couples (aged 18–40 yrs) completed measures such as the California Psychological Inventory, Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, and Personal Attributes Questionnaire. Data were used to identify (a) the mate characteristics that were consensually more and less desired, (b) the mate characteristics that showed strong sex differences in their preferred value, (c) the degree to which married couples were correlated in selection preferences, and (d) the relations between expressed preferences and the personality and background characteristics of obtained spouses. Marital preference factors included Religious, Kind/Considerate, Artistic/Intelligent, and Easygoing/Adaptable. Study 2, with 100 unmarried undergraduates, replicated the sex differences and consensual ordering of mate preferences found in Study 1, using a different methodology. Alternative hypotheses are presented to account for the replicated sex differences in preferences for attractiveness and earning potential. (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Firms spend considerable sums of money on marketing, and they continue to do so because marketing works. However, marketing can only work if marketers have a reasonably accurate view of human nature. It is argued that many consumer products and advertisements reflect an accurate view of human nature, a view that is compatible with the tenets of evolutionary psychology. Implicit theories of human nature that are out of synch with reality sell few products. An overview of an evolutionary perspective on marketing is provided here, and connections between marketing practices and evolved adaptations, including kin selection, prestige seeking, preferences for salt, sweets, and fat, and savanna-like landscapes are examined. Adaptations that differ by sex and how they are mirrored in marketing are also examined. Finally, some marketing practices that reflect evolutionary principles of variation are discussed. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Findings from 3 experiments suggest that participants who were actively engaged in goal pursuit, compared with those who were not pursuing the goal, automatically evaluated goal-relevant objects as relatively more positive than goal-irrelevant objects. In Experiment 3, participants' automatic evaluations also predicted their behavioral intentions toward goal-relevant objects. These results suggest the functional nature of automatic evaluation and are in harmony with the classic conceptualization of thinking and feeling as being in the service of "doing" (e.g., S. T. Fiske, 1992; W. James, 1890; K. Lewin, 1926) as well as with more recent work on the cognitive mechanics of goal pursuit (e.g., G. B. Moskowitz, 2002; J. Y. Shah & A.W. Kruglanski, 2002).
Conspicuous consumption is a form of economic behavior in which self-presentational concerns override desires to obtain goods at bargain prices. Showy spending may be a social signal directed at potential mates. We investigated such signals by examining (a) which individuals send them, (b) which contexts trigger them, and (c) how observers interpret them. Three experiments demonstrated that conspicuous consumption is driven by men who are following a lower investment (vs. higher investment) mating strategy and is triggered specifically by short-term (vs. long-term) mating motives. A fourth experiment showed that observers interpret such signals accurately, with women perceiving men who conspicuously consume as being interested in short-term mating. Furthermore, conspicuous purchasing enhanced men's desirability as a short-term (but not as a long-term) mate. Overall, these findings suggest that flaunting status-linked goods to potential mates is not simply about displaying economic resources. Instead, conspicuous consumption appears to be part of a more precise signaling system focused on short-term mating. These findings contribute to an emerging literature on human life-history strategies.
People are often exposed to actionable food temptations (i.e., an immediate opportunity to consume, like when friends offer cookies) and nonactionable food temptations (i.e., no immediate consumption opportunity, like ads for chocolate). The results of three experiments suggest that prior exposure to nonactionable food temptations does not prevent the activation of an eating goal, given a subsequent consumption opportunity, while prior exposure to actionable food temptations prevents such activation. As a consequence, prior exposure to actionable food temptations enhances self-control on a current consumption occasion, while prior exposure to nonactionable food temptations reduces it. (c) 2008 by JOURNAL OF CONSUMER RESEARCH, Inc..
Markman and Brendl have demonstrated that individuals tend to regard as more valuable those objects that are able to satisfy an active desire. Building on their framework, we predicted that desire would enlarge the consideration set and, hence, affect variety-seeking tendencies in a product category. Our first study shows that hunger and visual food cues enhance variety seeking in food items. Further, by means of mediation analyses and a suppression manipulation (exposing participants to stale foods), we are able to show that this increase in variety-seeking results from an increased attractiveness in the food items. Our second study, where we generalize these findings by applying them to nonphysiological goals, produces evidence that the effect-the increase in variety seeking-is domain specific. (c) 2007 by JOURNAL OF CONSUMER RESEARCH, Inc..
Findings showed that the nonconscious activation of a goal in memory led to increased positive implicit attitudes toward stimuli that could facilitate the goal. This evaluative readiness to pursue the nonconscious goal emerged even when participants were consciously unaware of the goal-relevant stimuli. The effect emerged the most strongly for those with some skill at the goal and for those for whom the goal was most currently important. The effect of implicit goal activation on implicit attitudes emerged in both an immediate condition as well as a delay condition, suggesting that a goal rather than a nonmotivational construct was activated. Participants' implicit attitudes toward a nonconscious goal also predicted their goal-relevant behavior. These findings suggest that people can become evaluatively ready to pursue a goal whenever it has been activated--a readiness that apparently does not require conscious awareness or deliberation about either the goal or the goal-relevant stimuli. Theoretical implications of this type of implicit goal readiness are discussed.
Evolutionary-related hypotheses about gender differences in mate selection preferences were derived from Triver's parental investment model, which contends that women are more likely than men to seek a mate who possesses nonphysical characteristics that maximize the survival or reproductive prospects of their offspring, and were examined in a meta-analysis of mate selection research (questionnaire studies, analyses of personal advertisements). As predicted, women accorded more weight than men to socioeconomic status, ambitiousness, character, and intelligence, and the largest gender differences were observed for cues to resource acquisition (status, ambitiousness). Also as predicted, gender differences were not found in preferences for characteristics unrelated to progeny survival (sense of humor, "personality"). Where valid comparisons could be made, the findings were generally invariant across generations, cultures, and research paradigms.
Four experiments tested the hypothesis that objects toward which individuals hold attitudes that are highly accessible from memory (i.e., attitude-evoking objects) are more likely to attract attention when presented in a visual display than objects involving less accessible attitudes. In Experiments 1 and 2, Ss were more likely to notice and report such attitude-evoking objects. Experiment 3 yielded evidence of incidental attention; Ss noticed attitude-evoking objects even when the task made it beneficial to ignore the objects. Experiment 4 demonstrated that inclusion of attitude-evoking objects as distractor items interfered with Ss' performance of a visual search task. Apparently, attitude-evoking stimuli attract attention automatically. Thus, accessible attitudes provide the functional benefit of orienting an individual's visual attention toward objects with potential hedonic consequences.
This article proposes a contextual-evolutionary theory of human mating strategies. Both men and women are hypothesized to have evolved distinct psychological mechanisms that underlie short-term and long-term strategies. Men and women confront different adaptive problems in short-term as opposed to long-term mating contexts. Consequently, different mate preferences become activated from their strategic repertoires. Nine key hypotheses and 22 predictions from Sexual Strategies Theory are outlined and tested empirically. Adaptive problems sensitive to context include sexual accessibility, fertility assessment, commitment seeking and avoidance, immediate and enduring resource procurement, paternity certainty, assessment of mate value, and parental investment. Discussion summarizes 6 additional sources of behavioral data, outlines adaptive problems common to both sexes, and suggests additional contexts likely to cause shifts in mating strategy.
Social exchange and evolutionary models of mate selection incorporate economic assumptions but have not considered a key distinction between necessities and luxuries. This distinction can clarify an apparent paradox: Status and attractiveness, though emphasized by many researchers, are not typically rated highly by research participants. Three studies supported the hypothesis that women and men first ensure sufficient levels of necessities in potential mates before considering many other characteristics rated as more important in prior surveys. In Studies 1 and 2, participants designed ideal long-term mates, purchasing various characteristics with 3 different budgets. Study 3 used a mate-screening paradigm and showed that people inquire 1st about hypothesized necessities. Physical attractiveness was a necessity to men, status and resources were necessities to women, and kindness and intelligence were necessities to both.
Readiness depends on how accessible categories are to the stimulated organism. Accessibility is a function of the likehood of occurrence of previously learned events, and one's need states and habits of daily living. Lack of perceptual readiness can be rectified by relearning the categories, or by constant close inspection of events and objects. Sensory stimuli are "sorted" to appropriate categories by searching for and using cues. 4 mechanisms are proposed: "grouping and integration, access ordering, match-mismatch signal utilization, and gating." Failure of perceptual readiness may occur because of inability to learn appropriate categories or through interference of accessible categories. These ideas may shed light on "perceptual defense." 88 references.
Conspicuous displays of consumption and benevolence might serve as "costly signals" of desirable mate qualities. If so, they should vary strategically with manipulations of mating-related motives. The authors examined this possibility in 4 experiments. Inducing mating goals in men increased their willingness to spend on conspicuous luxuries but not on basic necessities. In women, mating goals boosted public--but not private--helping. Although mating motivation did not generally inspire helping in men, it did induce more helpfulness in contexts in which they could display heroism or dominance. Conversely, although mating motivation did not lead women to conspicuously consume, it did lead women to spend more publicly on helpful causes. Overall, romantic motives seem to produce highly strategic and sex-specific self-presentations best understood within a costly signaling framework.
In 3 experiments, mating primes interacted with functionally relevant individual differences to guide basic, lower order social perception. A visual cuing method assessed biases in attentional adhesion--a tendency to have one's attention captured by particular social stimuli. Mate-search primes increased attentional adhesion to physically attractive members of the opposite sex (potential mates) among participants with an unrestricted sociosexual orientation but not among sexually restricted participants (Studies 1 and 2). A mate-guarding prime increased attentional adhesion to physically attractive members of one's own sex (potential rivals) among participants who were concerned with threats posed by intrasexual competitors but not among those less concerned about such threats (Study 3). Findings are consistent with a functionalist approach to motivation and social cognition and highlight the utility of integrating evolutionary and social cognitive perspectives.
Across 5 experimental studies, the authors explore selective processing biases for physically attractive others. The findings suggest that (a). both male and female observers selectively attend to physically attractive female targets, (b). limiting the attentional capacity of either gender results in biased frequency estimates of attractive females, (c). although females selectively attend to attractive males, limiting females' attentional capacity does not lead to biased estimates of attractive males, (d). observers of both genders exhibit enhanced recognition memory for attractive females but attenuated recognition for attractive males. Results suggest that different mating-related motives may guide the selective processing of attractive men and women.
Men's and women's mate preferences impose on each a unique set of adaptive problems that must be solved when judging the desirability of prospective mates. One potentially revealing source of information about an individual's desirability as a romantic partner is contained in the decisions made by same-sex others. The present studies predicted that men's and women's desirability assessments would be affected in opposite ways when target persons were depicted with members of the target's opposite sex. Study 1 (N = 847) documented that women rated men more desirable when shown surrounded by women than when shown alone or with other men (a desirability enhancement effect). In sharp contrast, men rated women less desirable when shown surrounded by men than when shown alone or with women (a desirability diminution effect) . Study 2 (N = 627) demonstrated similar sexually divergent effects for estimates of the desirability of same-sex competitors.
The Evolutionary Bases of Consumption by Gad Saad applies Darwinian principles in understanding our consumption patterns and the products of popular culture that most appeal to individuals. The first and only scholarly work to do so, this is a captivating study of the adaptive reasons behind our behaviors, cognitions, emotions, and perceptions. This lens of analysis suggests how we come to make selections such as choosing a mate, the foods we eat, the gifts that we offer, and more. It also highlights how numerous forms of dark side consumption, including pathological gambling, compulsive buying, pornographic addiction, and eating disorders, possess a Darwinian etiology.
Males of many animal taxa allocate resourceslargely to mate acquisition and defence, con-tributing little more than gametes to embryoproduction. In many insects, however, malestransfer large spermatophores or ejaculates tofemales during mating, and extragametic sub-stancesderivedfromthesepackagesareusedforsomaticmaintenanceandeggproductionbytherecipient females (e.g. Boggs 1981). Femalesreceiving multiple male contributions lay more(Ridley1988)andoftenlargereggs(Fox1993a)than do once-mated females, indicating largeeVectsofmale-derivednutrientsonfemalerepro-duction.Furthermore,largemalesproducelargerejaculates or spermatophores than small males(Fox et al. 1995), and females of some insectspreferentiallymatewithlargemales(ThornhillA but see Gwynne 1988). Here, weprovideevidencethatvariationamongmalesinbodysizehasadirecteVectonfemalereproductivesuccess(lifetimefecundityandeggsize)inaseedbeetle,
Reviewing the major stratification theories that involve prestige as a concept, this chapter suggests that these theories differ in that they base prestige either on achievement, esteem, honor, or charisma. None of these theories is able to solve the problem of how theoretically to merge the idea of social closure with that of a hierarchy of positions. Empirically, research on prestige and prestige measurement has for some time been confronted with findings that demonstrate the inferior role of prestige in status attainment models. Dissensus in prestige judgments, regarding prestige of women in particular, is another recent concern. While the “dominant view” of prestige measurement, arguing for prestige consensus in society, is defended, emphasis is placed on studies that detect systematic interindividual variation of prestige judgments. The review concludes that empirically, prestige research has diversified and deals now with two different concept of prestige, one linked to the idea of a social hierarch...
The present research tested the prediction that mixed-sex interactions may temporarily impair cognitive functioning. Two studies, in which participants interacted either with a same-sex or opposite-sex other, demonstrated that men’s (but not women’s) cognitive performance declined following a mixed-sex encounter. In line with our theoretical reasoning, this effect occurred more strongly to the extent that the opposite-sex other was perceived as more attractive (Study 1), and to the extent that participants reported higher levels of impression management motivation (Study 2). Implications for the general role of interpersonal processes in cognitive functioning, and some practical implications, are discussed.
Substantial evidence suggests that physical attractiveness plays an important role in shaping overt mating preferences, judgments, and choices. Relatively few studies, however, have investigated the hypothesis that perceivers are attuned to signs of attractiveness at early, lower-order stages of social perception. In the current research, a visual cueing task was used to assess biases in attentional disengagement— the extent to which people's attention becomes bstuckQ on particular social stimuli. Findings indicate that, consistent with some evolutionary theories, perceivers of both sexes exhibited attentional attunement to attractive women, but not attractive men. Additional findings suggest that this bias was pronounced in sexually unrestricted men and in women who felt insecure about a current romantic relationship. This research provides novel evidence for adaptive, lower-order perceptual attunements in the domain of human mating.
The temptation of alternative mating partners can threaten satisfaction with and commitment to an existing romantic relationship. Consequently, people exhibit cognitive processes that help protect their relationship when faced with desirable relationship alternatives. Previous studies have focused primarily on processes that involve explicit, higher-order cognitive mechanisms such as overt judgments and choices (e.g., judging the alternative as less attractive). The current studies, in contrast, examined automatic, early-stage attentional processes that may help protect against threats posed by exposure to alternative mating partners. Whereas single participants responded to implicit mating primes by increasing early-stage attention to physically attractive opposite sex targets, participants in a committed romantic relationship were inattentive to those attractive alternatives. This research provides a novel approach for studying implicit cognitive mechanisms involved in maintaining close relationships.
A number of studies have found a disjunction between women's attention to, and memory for, handsome men. Although women pay initial attention to handsome men, they do not remember those men later. The present study examines how ovulation might differentially affect these attentional and memory processes. We found that women near ovulation increased their visual attention to attractive men. However, this increased visual attention did not translate into better memory. Discussion focuses on possible explanations, in the context of an emerging body of findings on disjunctions between attention to, and memory for, other people.
Using evolutionary psychology as a theoretical framework, it is argued that conspicuous consumption serves as a means by which men communicate their social status to prospective mates. Accordingly, men's endocrinological responses, particularly their testosterone levels, are responsive to fluctuations in their status as triggered by acts of conspicuous consumption. Study 1 reports that men's testosterone levels increased and decreased partially (directionally), after driving an expensive sports car and an old family sedan, respectively. Additionally, the location of the drive, either a busy downtown area or a semi-deserted highway, partially moderated this response. Study 2 demonstrates that when men's social status was threatened by the wealth displays of a male confederate in the presence of a female moderator, their testosterone levels increased. This is suggestive of an evolved mechanism for responding to intra-sexual challenges. Collectively, these constitute the first set of studies to measure hormonal outcomes in consumer behavior.
Self-regulation is a complex process that involves consumers’ persistence, strength, motivation, and commitment in order to be able to override short-term impulses. In order to be able to pursue their long-term goals, consumers typically need to forgo immediate pleasurable experiences that are detrimental to reach their overarching goals. Although this sometimes involves resisting to simple and small temptations, it is not always easy, since the lure of momentary temptations is pervasive. In addition, consumers’ beliefs play an important role determining strategies and behaviors that consumers consider acceptable to engage in, affecting how they act and plan actions to attain their goals. This dissertation investigates adequacy of some beliefs typically shared by consumers about the appropriate behaviors to exert self-regulation, analyzing to what extent these indeed contribute to the enhancement of consumers’ ability to exert self-regulation.
In more than 95% of mammalian species, males provide little direct investment in the well-being of their offspring. Humans are one notable exception to this pattern and, to date, the factors that contributed to the evolution and the proximate expression of human paternal care are unexplained (T. H. Clutton-Brock, 1989). The nature, extent, and influence of human paternal investment on the physical and social well-being of children are reviewed in light of the social and ecological factors that are associated with paternal investment in other species. On the basis of this review, discussion of the evolution and proximate expression of human paternal investment is provided.
The present research is concerned with cognitive effects of habitually regulated primary motives. Specifically, two experiments tested the idea that feelings of thirst enhance the cognitive accessibility of, or readiness to perceive, action-relevant stimuli. In a task allegedly designed to assess mouth-detection skills, some participants were made to feel thirsty, whereas others were not. Results showed that participants who were made thirsty responded faster to drinking-related items in a lexical decision task, and performed better on an incidental recall task of drinking-related items, relative to no-thirst control participants. These results suggest that basic needs and motives, such as thirst, causes a heightened perceptual readiness to environmental cues that are instrumental in satisfying these needs.
Organisms 'discount the future' when they value imminent goods over future goods. Optimal discounting varies: selection should favour allocations of effort that effectively discount the future relatively steeply in response to cues promising relatively good returns on present efforts. However, research on human discounting has hitherto focused on stable individual differences rather than situational effects. In two experiments, discounting was assessed on the basis of choices between a smaller sum of money tomorrow and a larger sum at a later date, both before and after subjects rated the 'appeal' of 12 photographs. In experiment 1, men and women saw either attractive or unattractive opposite-sex faces; in experiment 2, participants saw more or less appealing cars. As predicted, discounting increased significantly in men who viewed attractive women, but not in men who viewed unattractive women or women who viewed men; viewing cars produced a different pattern of results.
This research is an investigation into the cognitive aspects of mate attraction in human males. Two experiments demonstrate that visual exposure to women (in person or within photographs) can prime large changes in the attitudes, mood states, and personality trait descriptions of male participants. These changes, furthermore, are such that participants show greater conformity to female mate preferences as described in the extant literature: In particular, men exposed to potential mates reported higher valuations of material wealth, greater momentary feelings of ambition, higher valuations of other indicators of social status, and personality trait descriptions indicative of high surgency/extraversion. All such effects occurred without participants' awareness that their responses had been affected by the experimental manipulations. These findings suggest a model of mate attraction mechanisms in which input cues from potential mates can prime those psychological representations that facilitate the behavioral expression of courtship tactics.
Liking is for doing: the effects of goal pursuit on automatic evaluation Evolution and proximate expression of human paternal investment
- M J Ferguson
- J A Bargh
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Parental investment and sexual selection Sexual selection and the descent of man Bikinis instigate generalized impatience in intertemporal choice
- R L B Trivers
- S Dewitte
- L Warlop
Trivers, R. L. (1972). Parental investment and sexual selection. In B. G. Campbell (Ed.), Sexual selection and the descent of man (pp. 136−179). Chicago: Aldine. Van den Bergh, B., Dewitte, S., & Warlop, L. (2008). Bikinis instigate generalized impatience in intertemporal choice. Journal of Consumer Research, 35, 85−97.
The effect of conspicuous consumption on men's testosterone levels. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes Peacocks, Porsches, and Thorsten Veblen: Conspicuous consumption as a sexual signaling system
- G Saad
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- J M Sundie
- D T Kenrick
- V Griskevicius
- J M Tybur
- K D Vohs
- D J Beal
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Differences in parental investment contribute to important differences between men and women On perceptual readiness Preferences in human mate selection Sexual strategies theory: an evolutionary perspective on human mating
- D F Bjorklund
- T K Shackelford
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- D M Buss
- M Barnes
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Bikinis instigate generalized impatience in intertemporal choice
- R L Trivers
Trivers, R. L. (1972). Parental investment and sexual selection. In B. G. Campbell (Ed.),
Sexual selection and the descent of man (pp. 136−179). Chicago: Aldine.
Van den Bergh, B., Dewitte, S., & Warlop, L. (2008). Bikinis instigate generalized
impatience in intertemporal choice. Journal of Consumer Research, 35, 85−97.