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Abstract

In order for non-kin altruism to evolve, altruists must receive fitness benefits for their actions that outweigh the costs. Several researchers have suggested that altruism is a costly signal of desirable qualities, such that it could have evolved by sexual selection. In two studies, we show that altruism is broadly linked with mating success. In Study 1, participants who scored higher on a self-report altruism measure reported they were more desirable to the opposite sex, as well as reported having more sex partners, more casual sex partners, and having sex more often within relationships. Sex moderated some of these relationships, such that altruism mattered more for men's number of lifetime and casual sex partners. In Study 2, participants who were willing to donate potential monetary winnings (in a modified dictator dilemma) reported having more lifetime sex partners, more casual sex partners, and more sex partners over the past year. Men who were willing to donate also reported having more lifetime dating partners. Furthermore, these patterns persisted, even when controlling for narcissism, Big Five personality traits, and socially desirable responding. These results suggest that altruists have higher mating success than non-altruists and support the hypothesis that altruism is a sexually selected costly signal of difficult-to-observe qualities.

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... There is no study that directly measured fecundity and its association with altruism. However, since success in attracting and having a partner is a prerequisite for increased fecundity, this is often used as a proxy for ancestral reproductive success (Arnocky et al., 2017). In absence of direct evidence related to fecundity, we review the studies measuring this proxy. ...
... Whereas the rating studies in the psychological evidence already showed that altruism is a desirable trait for a hypothetical long-term relationship, this study provides direct evidence that being altruistic does help an individual with acquiring a partner for a relationship (Stavrova & Ehlebracht, 2015). Similarly, Arnocky et al. (2017) found that Canadian individuals who reported themselves to be more altruistic, also reported having more sexual and dating partners. Altruism had a stronger association with the number of dating partners in men compared to women, matching the expectations from the psychological rating studies. ...
... Waitresses also received more money from tips if they were attractive both in the United States (Lynn, 2009;Lynn & Simons, 2000) and France (Guéguen & Jacob, 2011;Jacob et al., 2010), despite the difference in tipping culture between the two countries. Increased mating success for altruistic individuals was found in Germany (Stavrova & Ehlebracht, 2015), Canada (Arnocky et al., 2017), and Australia (Allen et al., 2023), although it should be noted that in one study in Australia these findings were not replicated (Judd et al., 2022). ...
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Numerous studies in humans have shown that altruism may influence mate choice decisions, highlighting its potential role as a sexual signal. Whether using altruism as a signal is an adaptation, however, remains largely unresolved. In this review, we aim to investigate the adaptive nature of altruism as a sexual signal by constructing a comprehensive nomological network of evidence. Drawing upon interdisciplinary scientific modes of evidence (psychology, medicine, physiology, genetics, phylogenetics, hunter-gatherer studies, cross-cultural studies, and theoretical studies), our analysis reveals an extensive breadth of evidence across the various disciplines supporting the hypothesis that altruism is an adaptive sexual signal. However, only the psychological evidence demonstrates substantial depth. Other fields exhibit a lack of variation in research methods or a minimal amount of studies, limiting the strength of their respective contributions. Despite these limitations, there is still sufficient support for the nomological network. Based on the evidence of the various disciplines, we conclude that there is sufficient support that altruism as a sexual signal is an adaptation. We provide considerations for future research that would expand the scope of the evidentiary depth across the various disciplines, which would strengthen our understanding of the role of sexual selection in human altruism.
... reported that, contrary to Arnocky et al. (2017), there is no link between altruism and indices of mating success. However, a reanalysis of the open-source data revealed coding and analytical errors which, when corrected, provided consistent support for the initial findings of Arnocky et al. that altruism positively predicts self-reported mating success and in-pair copulation controlling for sex, age, and personality dimensions. ...
... To test the sexual selection of altruism hypothesis directly, Arnocky et al. (2017) published an article reporting on two studies, which examined potential links between altruism and mating success. In Study 1, a self-report measure of altruism positively predicted self-reported mating success, lifetime consensual and casual sex partners, and having sex more often within romantic relationships, with participant sex moderating some of these links. ...
... Arnocky et al. described the methodological limitations of this first study and replicated their results with a more rigorous second study involving an in vivo measure of altruism (asking participants whether they wished to keep or donate their potential study winnings), a more comprehensive measure of personality, the 44-item Big-Five Inventory (John & Srivastava, 1999), and a measure of socially desirable responding. These findings aligned with and extended the literature indicating that altruists are preferred as mates (Barclay, 2010;Goldberg, 1995), which has been confirmed in several other studies since Arnocky et al. (2017), particularly regarding long-term mating (Ehlebracht et al., 2018;Farrelly & King, 2019;Margana et al., 2019). Of note, these newer studies were missing from the Judd et al. (2022) article. ...
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Recently, Judd et al. (2022) reported that, contrary to Arnocky et al. (2017), there is no link between altruism and indices of mating success. However, a reanalysis of the open-source data revealed coding and analytical errors which, when corrected, provided consistent support for the initial findings of Arnocky et al. that altruism positively predicts self-reported mating success and in-pair copulation controlling for sex, age, and personality dimensions. Furthermore, in contrast to the initial report by Judd et al., altruism is positively correlated with, and predicts, lifetime number of sex partners and the number of casual sex partners; however, entry of covariates (particularly age and extraversion) attenuates these relations. Judd et al.’s mischaracterization of their research as a direct replication of Arnocky et al., coupled with the statistical errors, data transformation issues, and faulty interpretation of their results, calls into serious question their claim of a failed “replication.”
... In short, Arnocky et al. (2023) ignore effect sizes and issues associated with multiple comparisons, misrepresent problems inherent in Arnocky et al. (2017) as those of Judd et al. (2022), falsely claim that Judd et al. (2022) analyses are inappropriate, mislead readers about the analyses used in Judd et al. (2022), fail to replicate the analyses reported in Arnocky et al. (2017), introduce new moderators not mentioned in the original work, downplay the importance of direct replication, run arbitrary and irrelevant statistical analyses, ignore nonsignificant effects, misunderstand the concepts of direct and conceptual replication, do not mention how data were transformed in their own study, decline to share their data, and (most importantly) misrepresent what the Judd et al. (2022) data are actually showing. In this response article, I will provide readers with an accurate overview of what the data demonstrate. ...
... In short, Arnocky et al. (2023) ignore effect sizes and issues associated with multiple comparisons, misrepresent problems inherent in Arnocky et al. (2017) as those of Judd et al. (2022), falsely claim that Judd et al. (2022) analyses are inappropriate, mislead readers about the analyses used in Judd et al. (2022), fail to replicate the analyses reported in Arnocky et al. (2017), introduce new moderators not mentioned in the original work, downplay the importance of direct replication, run arbitrary and irrelevant statistical analyses, ignore nonsignificant effects, misunderstand the concepts of direct and conceptual replication, do not mention how data were transformed in their own study, decline to share their data, and (most importantly) misrepresent what the Judd et al. (2022) data are actually showing. In this response article, I will provide readers with an accurate overview of what the data demonstrate. ...
... Perhaps, the most important issue raised by Arnocky et al. (2023) relates to the coding that was used for moderation effects across studies. Arnocky et al. (2017) opted to include moderation effects at the same step of analyses as main effects and coded participant sex as −1 (men) and +1 (women) for the computation of moderation terms. Typically, we do not include main and moderation effects at the same step in our research and ran our models using a standard coding of 0 and 1 without double-checking the original article. ...
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Arnocky et al. (2023) have used new methods to further explore the research of Judd et al. (2022). By transforming the data, recoding the data, and/or deleting some of the data, the authors were able to find some significant effects (at p < .05) among the many effects they are using to consider the costly signaling hypothesis supported. A more detailed exploration of the data indicates that the conclusions reached by Judd et al. (2022) are a much more accurate representation of findings. Across the four main effects in Arnocky et al. (2017), there was an average effect size β = .21. A reanalysis of Judd et al. (2022) shows an average effect size β = .06. There were no significant sex moderation effects across any method of data transformation (failure to replicate). Whether statistical analyses directly align with those of Arnocky et al. is unknown as the authors declined to share their data. Our data are available on the Open Science Framework and I encourage researchers to explore the data further and reach their own conclusions about whether findings have indeed been replicated. Further direct replications and alternative assessment methods are needed to help establish whether altruism has a role in mating success in humans. I conclude by providing a more general discussion regarding the importance of considering effect sizes in replication research.
... Previous publications have claimed that altruism operates as a costly signal that provides individuals with fitness benefits (Arnocky et al., 2017). Judd et al. (2022) attempted to directly replicate a previous examination that reported a positive connection between altruism and multiple indicators of human mating success (Arnocky et al., 2017). ...
... Previous publications have claimed that altruism operates as a costly signal that provides individuals with fitness benefits (Arnocky et al., 2017). Judd et al. (2022) attempted to directly replicate a previous examination that reported a positive connection between altruism and multiple indicators of human mating success (Arnocky et al., 2017). Judd and colleagues collected self-reported data on altruism, personality, mating success, lifetime sexual partners, casual sexual partners, and the frequency of copulation from 445 participants. ...
... Moreover, these results remained unaltered after including additional predictors, such as sex, age, and personality. According to Judd et al. (2022), their models failed to directly replicate the findings reported by Arnocky et al. (2017). In response to Judd and collaborators, a recent commentary called into question their methodology, statistical analyses, and conclusions. ...
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The present commentary provides an impartial third-party account and statistical examination of the analyses conducted and published by Judd et al. (2022) Judd and collaborators argued that contrary to the claims made by Arnocky et al., (2017) altruism did not significantly predict multiple indicators of lifetime reproductive success. A group of anonymous researchers wrote a commentary identifying multiple methodological shortcomings with the paper authored by Judd et al., including the inadequate transformation of mating variables (e.g., the frequency of lifetime sex partners and the frequency of casual sex partners). Consequently, the purpose of the present examination was: first, to conduct several statistical models destined to replicate the analyses performed by the authors of the commentary and determine whether their methodological criticisms of the document authored by Judd et al. were valid; and second, to compute several hierarchical general linear models examining the influence of altruism above and beyond the effects of sex, age, and personality traits. The results of the present empirical examination replicated the findings reported by the authors of the original commentary. Furthermore, the statistical models controlling for sex, age, and personality traits identified a significant, albeit small, effect of altruism on mating success.
... Jaeggi 2016; Arnocky et al. 2017;Power and Ready 2018a, b). Therefore, selection has favoured the ability to make reputation-increasing behaviour visible and to recognize peers' reputations (Bereczkei et al. 2007;Barclay 2012;Salahshour 2019;Romano et al. 2021). ...
... Having a good reputation is the subject of sexual selection as well, playing an important role in inter-and intra-sexual competition (Phillips et al. 2008;Arnocky et al. 2017). A good reputation is a desirable trait in a mating partner. ...
... A good reputation is a desirable trait in a mating partner. It is shown that both males and females prefer altruistic mating partners, and regardless of sex, more altruistic people report a higher number of sex partners than less altruistic ones (Farrelly et al. 2007;Phillips et al. 2008;Barclay 2010;Farrelly 2013;Moore et al. 2013;Oda et al. 2014;Arnocky et al. 2017). Similar to the situation in other species where females have a higher parental investment than males and are therefore more choosy about partners than males, human males experience a stronger sexual selection pressure and signal any traits more intensively to attract mates or/and to overcome same sex competitors compared to females (Bateman 1948;Buss and Schmitt 1993;Shackelford et al. 2005), whereas there is a stronger selection pressure on females to recognize altruistic cues in their potential mating partner (Phillips et al. 2008). ...
Article
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Maintaining a good reputation is crucial for humans. Altruism, e.g. charity, may serve as a costly signal that enhances reputation based on the real or communicated cost. Fundraising via charity running triggers competitive altruism when potential donors donate in reaction to the reputation increase of the fundraiser. Using real-life data of marathonists and half-marathonists (388 runners) and their 9281 donors, the present research focuses on how the communicated cost and goal of a charity run affected the potential donors. We analysed the introductory texts of the runners presented online according to the cost and the social benefit of the fundraising communicated by them. We have shown that emphasizing more the subjective cost of running and the social benefit of the goal, or writing a longer text, attracted more donors and, even though the average amount of donation per donor did not increase, still lead to a greater amount of donations collected overall by the fundraiser. It was also shown that a higher communicated subjective cost resulted in a higher ratio of opposite-sex donors, both in the case of male and female runners, suggesting that the communication of the cost of an altruistic act might be the object of sexual selection. Significance statement A good reputation is crucial for humans, as a reputable person enjoys several benefits. One way to maintain a good reputation is to be altruistic, e.g. doing charity. A seemingly high cost and a socially accepted goal may result in a higher reputation. Using data from a charity running community we demonstrate that fundraisers who emphasize their subjective cost (how difficult to run), and emphasize the good goal of the charity, attract more donors, and even though the average amount of each donation does not increase, a higher number of donors results in a greater amount of donations collected overall. Talking about the difficulties of the charity run results in a higher ratio of opposite-sex donors. Our results may be helpful to plan more successful charity events or to make a human community more altruistic and cooperative in general.
... Altruistic behavior is predicted to be a costly signal that benefits an individual in terms of reproductive success. This study sought to directly replicate a previous investigation that demonstrated a positive association between altruism and indices of mating success (Arnocky et al., 2017). Participants (n = 445; 329 women, 116 men; M age = 22.9 years) completed measures of altruism, personality, self-reported mating success, lifetime sexual partners, lifetime casual sex partners, and frequency of copulation with their current sexual partner. ...
... The costly signaling hypothesis has received support with more altruistic people being rated as more desirable partners than those who are less altruistic (Moore et al., 2013;Oda et al., 2014), with preference for an altruistic partner being somewhat stronger in women than in men (Farrelly et al., 2007;Phillips et al., 2008). One study sought to test the costly signaling hypothesis more directly using targeted measures of mating success (Arnocky et al., 2017). In a sample of 297 unmarried Canadian undergraduate students (192 women), self-reported altruistic behavior was associated with greater selfreported mating success, a higher number of lifetime sex partners, a higher number of casual sex partners, and a greater frequency of copulation with current sexual partner (Arnocky et al., 2017). ...
... One study sought to test the costly signaling hypothesis more directly using targeted measures of mating success (Arnocky et al., 2017). In a sample of 297 unmarried Canadian undergraduate students (192 women), self-reported altruistic behavior was associated with greater selfreported mating success, a higher number of lifetime sex partners, a higher number of casual sex partners, and a greater frequency of copulation with current sexual partner (Arnocky et al., 2017). These associations were all observed in models that both excluded and included the covariates of age and personality. ...
Article
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Altruistic behavior is predicted to be a costly signal that benefits an individual in terms of reproductive success. This study sought to directly replicate a previous investigation that demonstrated a positive association between altruism and indices of mating success (Arnocky et al., 2017). Participants (n = 445; 329 women, 116 men; Mage = 22.9 years) completed measures of altruism, personality, self-reported mating success, lifetime sexual partners, lifetime casual sex partners, and frequency of copulation with their current sexual partner. Linear regression models demonstrated that, across models both including and excluding the covariates of age and personality, altruism was unrelated to self-reported mating success, lifetime sexual partners, casual sexual partners, and frequency of copulation. Findings remained unchanged in sensitivity analyses with nonheterosexual participants removed from the sample and with data transformed to remove skewness. Overall, the findings are inconsistent with those of the original study and provide evidence that altruism does not predict mating success in humans. Further research is needed that tests for cross-cultural variation to determine whether altruism has a role in mating success across world regions.
... Despite this overall interest in signalling one's value as a mate through altruism in men, variability in its engagement may nonetheless be apparent. Individual differences in prosociality nonetheless exist, with highly altruistic men experiencing the most reproductive success (Arnocky et al., 2017). Considering both this signalling function of altruism, and the fact that altruism is associated with socially desirable personality constellations (Oda et al., 2014), it follows that men demonstrating such desirable behavioural repertoires would be especially likely to donate to a crowdsourced fundraiser. ...
... Agreeable men reported greater interest in donating toward normatively funded causes, both anonymously and organizer-funded, compared to agreeable women, who only reported interest in funding anonymously funded causes among the selforganized causes. These effects could reflect a sexually selected basis of altruism among men, given the fact that altruistic behaviour would implicate them as optimal long-term mates willing to be their pair bonds and to give offspring (Arnocky et al., 2017;Barclay & Barker, 2020;Brown et al., 2020). Because such reproductive goals are most relevant to agreeable men who prefer monogamous mating strategies (Schmitt & Shackelford, 2008), it would be advantageous for them to utilize these donations as prosocial strategy to signal their prowess as a long-term mate. ...
... Before such decreases, these individuals could present themselves as socially desirable in appearing interested in causes to reap several benefits. Altruistic individuals report greater reproductive success in numbers of sexual partners (Arnocky et al., 2017). This association may reflect individuals whose prosociality reflects a genuine interest in helping others and those who are merely prosocial for short-term gains and disinterested in connoting prosociality beyond initial meetings. ...
Article
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Given the increasing popularity of crowdsourced fundraisers, understanding how characteristics of funding initiatives and donors influence donations has critical real-world implications. Across two studies, we identified potential situational factors most conducive to successful crowdsourcing while also determining whether individual differences in various personality factors predicted differing levels of donation. Participants in Study 1 (MAge = 19.99; 309 women, 75 men) viewed descriptions that manipulated donation type (organizer donation, anonymous donation, no donation) and type of fundraiser (self-organized, other-organized), and reported their willingness to donate to an individual’s medical treatment and completed inventories assessing Big Five personality traits. In Study 2 participants (MAge = 20.22; 322 women, 102 men) viewed vignettes describing fundraisers for an individual’s vacation fun and completed inventories assessing participantslevels of narcissism using the Pathological Narcissism Inventory. Higher agreeableness in men predicted heightened donation interest, regardless of type of cause, particularly when someone else has already donated (Study 1). Unexpectedly, narcissistic men and women both reported heightened donation interest (Study 2). We frame these findings through a framework assessing the adaptive utility of altruism as a function of personality in modern donation contexts.
... Altruistic traits seem to be a positive factor, related to more sexual activity and varied sex life. These traits can make a person seem more genuine and, simultaneously, can favor frequent sex in the relationship and a higher number of casual sexual partners (Arnocky, Piché, Albert, Ouellette, & Barclay, 2016;Pornpattananangkul, Chowdhury, Feng, & Yu, 2017). Altruistic traits can be particularly important for reducing the negative impact of agerelated factors (e.g., chronic illness, age discrimination) in sexual expression (Arnocky et al., 2016). ...
... These traits can make a person seem more genuine and, simultaneously, can favor frequent sex in the relationship and a higher number of casual sexual partners (Arnocky, Piché, Albert, Ouellette, & Barclay, 2016;Pornpattananangkul, Chowdhury, Feng, & Yu, 2017). Altruistic traits can be particularly important for reducing the negative impact of agerelated factors (e.g., chronic illness, age discrimination) in sexual expression (Arnocky et al., 2016). However, although altruism tends to increase with age (Pornpattananangkul et al., 2017), it seems to be less reciprocated in old age (Arnocky et al., 2016). ...
... Altruistic traits can be particularly important for reducing the negative impact of agerelated factors (e.g., chronic illness, age discrimination) in sexual expression (Arnocky et al., 2016). However, although altruism tends to increase with age (Pornpattananangkul et al., 2017), it seems to be less reciprocated in old age (Arnocky et al., 2016). Individuals with a high sense of gratitude tend to experience more intense feeling, in situations that arouse gratitude. ...
... A sustainable form of conspicuous consumption, which is often referred to as conspicuous conservation (Sexton & Sexton, 2014), can also serve as a costly signal, with potentially multiple communicative functions. Both costly signaling theory (Arnocky, Piché, Albert, Ouellette, & Barclay, 2017;Barclay, 2010;Barclay & Willer, 2007;Bhogal, Farrelly, Galbraith, Manktelow, & Bradley, 2020;Griskevicius et al., 2010) and indirect reciprocity theory (Leimar & Hammerstein, 2001) suggest that particular kinds of pro-social, pro-environmental behaviors serve as costly signals. For instance, buying an expensive hybrid car not only shows that the purchaser can afford such a vehicle, but also that he or she cares about the environment. ...
... In particular, both men and women value kindness and generosity more so in long-term partners than in short-term ones (Stewart-Williams & Thomas, 2013). Indeed, regardless of their sex, people tend to find others that behave in an altruistic fashion more attractive for long-term romantic relationships (Barclay, 2010), and self-reported altruism predicts self-reported mating success of both men and women (Arnocky et al., 2017). Importantly, existing work suggests that conspicuous conservation communicates not only social status (as conspicuous consumption does), but also prosocial qualities. ...
... Research has also shown that people prefer altruistic traits more for potential long-term romantic partners than for short-term partners, and that this difference is larger for women's preferences (Bhogal, Farrelly, & Galbraith, 2019;Bhogal, Galbraith, & Manktelow, 2018). That said, most findings suggests that both sexes have higher standards when selecting a long-term mate relative to a short-term one, and both value altruistic traits in potential mates (Arnocky et al., 2017;Barclay, 2010;Bhogal et al., 2019;Farrelly, 2013;Farrelly & King, 2019;Stewart-Williams & Thomas, 2013). Indeed, recent findings indicate that both men and women are more attracted to potential mates who engage in green conspicuous consumption than they are to potential mates who engage in conventional forms of conspicuous consumption like buying an expensive energy inefficient sports-car (DiDonato & Jakubiak, 2016; but see; Borau, Elgaaied-Gambier, & Barbarossa, 2020). ...
Article
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Conspicuous conservation refers to pro-environmental activities that are intended as signals of some attractive quality of the actor. As some of these qualities are desirable in romantic partners, people may purchase green products or services to impress potential romantic partners. We propose that conspicuous conservation communicates generosity – a trait that is especially valued in long-term romantic partners. Two studies tested whether people’s sustainable product preferences influence how they are perceived as romantic partners (Study 1), and whether actual product preferences are aligned with these perceptions (Study 2). Results from Study 1 suggest that people presented as having purchased green products are perceived as more generous and more attractive as long-term – but also short-term – romantic partners. Results from Study 2 suggest that individuals primed to think about a romantic context are no more likely to prefer sustainable products, suggesting an actor-observer discrepancy that potentially adds to the honesty of the conspicuous conservation signal. The potential communicative value of conspicuous conservation is discussed in relation to the literature on costly signaling, sexual selection, and green marketing.
... Altruistic traits seem to be a positive factor, related to more sexual activity and varied sex life. These traits can make a person seem more genuine and, simultaneously, can favor frequent sex in the relationship and a higher number of casual sexual partners (Arnocky, Piché, Albert, Ouellette, & Barclay, 2016;Pornpattananangkul, Chowdhury, Feng, & Yu, 2017). Altruistic traits can be particularly important for reducing the negative impact of agerelated factors (e.g., chronic illness, age discrimination) in sexual expression (Arnocky et al., 2016). ...
... These traits can make a person seem more genuine and, simultaneously, can favor frequent sex in the relationship and a higher number of casual sexual partners (Arnocky, Piché, Albert, Ouellette, & Barclay, 2016;Pornpattananangkul, Chowdhury, Feng, & Yu, 2017). Altruistic traits can be particularly important for reducing the negative impact of agerelated factors (e.g., chronic illness, age discrimination) in sexual expression (Arnocky et al., 2016). However, although altruism tends to increase with age (Pornpattananangkul et al., 2017), it seems to be less reciprocated in old age (Arnocky et al., 2016). ...
... Altruistic traits can be particularly important for reducing the negative impact of agerelated factors (e.g., chronic illness, age discrimination) in sexual expression (Arnocky et al., 2016). However, although altruism tends to increase with age (Pornpattananangkul et al., 2017), it seems to be less reciprocated in old age (Arnocky et al., 2016). Individuals with a high sense of gratitude tend to experience more intense feeling, in situations that arouse gratitude. ...
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Objective: This study aims to analyze how older adults express themselves sexually. For this purpose, a qualitative research was carried out, which analyzes their perspectives at a cross-cultural level. Methods: Four hundred ninety-five older participants, aged 65 to 98 years, were interviewed. Participants were of three different nationalities and lived in the community. All the interviews went through the process of verbatim transcription and subsequent content analysis. Results: A content analysis produced nine themes: tenderness and care (k = .91, p < .01); altruism and gratitude (k = .81, p < .01); attractiveness (k = 94, p < .01); positive communication (k = .89, p < .01); sexual activity (k = .88, p < .01); good health and physical condition (k = .96, p < .01); supportive relationship (k = .84, p < .01); eroticism (k = .94, p < .01); and feeling active and alive (k = .92, p < .01). Conclusions: This study stressed different ways on expressing sexuality in old age and underlined the importance of tenderness and care and eroticism for older adults who are sexually active.
... Altruism is a well-established example of intersexual competition, evolved through sexual selection (Arnocky et al., 2017;Farrelly, 2011). Sexual selection and altruism are observed in heterosexual contexts, with theories being developed, describing how altruism is an evolved trait, used as a mating signal (Miller, 2000). ...
... The evidence for this finding is robust with extensive use of vignettes, a mix of self-report scales (such as Mate Preferences Towards Altruistic Traits [MPAT] scale) and economic games for researchers to study altruism in real-world scenarios (see Bhogal et al., 2019aBhogal et al., , 2019b for a review). Findings show that altruistic actions are desirable and male participants who act altruistically reported having more lifetime partners than those who are non-altruistic (Arnocky et al., 2017). These results have further been supported by a longitudinal study that found those who are single and engage in altruistic behaviour have higher chances of being in a relationship within the following 12 months (see Stavrova & Ehlebracht, 2015). ...
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The role of altruism in mate choice is a well-researched area in evolutionary psychology. Same-sex sexual attraction (SSSA) is an under-researched area and is not covered in research exploring the role of altruism in mate choice. To begin addressing this gap, we explored the effect of sexual orientation on preferences for altruism in mate choice. We recruited heterosexual and homosexual participants (N = 321) to complete two scales assessing attractiveness of a potential partner who completed altruistic actions and secondly, participants were asked to rate how altruistic they are on an individual basis. There was no significant effect of sexual orientation on the desirability of altruism in a potential mate, demonstrating that those who act altruistic are desirable, regardless of sexual orientation. However, gender and self-rated altruism were found to have a statistically significant effect on the desirability of a potential mate. Limitations and future directions of research are also discussed.
... Altruism is a well-established example of intersexual competition, evolved through sexual selection (Farrelly, 2011;Arnocky et al., 2017). Sexual selection and altruism are observed in heterosexual contexts, with theories being developed, describing how altruism is an evolved trait, used as a mating signal (Miller, 2000). ...
... The evidence for this finding is robust with a mix of self-report scales (such as Mate Preferences towards Altruistic Traits scale [MPAT]) being used and economic games for researchers to study altruism in real-world scenarios. Results showed altruistic actions are more desirable and male participants who act more altruistically reported having more lifetime partners than those who are non-altruistic (Arnocky et al., 2017). These results have further been supported by a longitudinal study that found those who are single and engage in altruistic behaviour have higher chances of being in a relationship within the following 12 months, with a large sample size (N=12,775, see Stavrova & Ehlebracht, 2015). ...
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The role of altruism in mate choice is a well-researched area in evolutionary psychology. Same-Sex Sexual Attraction (SSSA) is an under-researched area and is not covered in research exploring the role of altruism in mate choice. This study explored the effect of sexual orientation on preferences for altruism in mate choice. We recruited heterosexual and homosexual participants (N=321) to complete two scales assessing attractiveness of a potential partner who completed altruistic actions and secondly, participants were asked to rate how altruistic they are on an individual basis. There was no significant interaction of sexual orientation on the desirability of altruism in a potential mate, demonstrating that those who act altruistic are desirable, regardless of sexual orientation. However, gender and self-rated altruism were found to have a statistically significant effect on the desirability of a potential mate. Limitations and future directions of research are also discussed.
... However, in a longitudinal study of 12,775 German adults (Stavrova & Ehlebracht, 2015), it was found that for single individuals, engaging in prosocial behavior in a given year was associated with increased odds of finding a partner and entering into a romantic relationship the following year. In a multi-study investigation of 297 and 524 Canadian undergraduate students, it was found that self-reported altruistic behavior was associated with a greater number of lifetime sexual partners, a greater number of casual sexual partners, and a greater frequency of copulation with current sexual partner (Arnocky et al., 2017). However, a direct replication of that study, in 445 Australian undergraduate students, was unable to reproduce any of those findings (Judd et al., 2022). ...
... Personality. Consistent with previous research (Arnocky et al., 2017;Judd et al., 2022), personality traits were also included as a control given the role of personality in both altruism and childbearing (Allen, 2019;Hilbig et al., 2015). Participants completed a 28-item version of the Mini-Markers personality scale (Saucier, 1994). ...
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Previous research has produced inconsistent findings regarding the role of altruism in mating success. This study sought to test whether altruism (charity/volunteer work) relates to number of offspring. A nationally representative sample of Australian adults was separated into those unlikely to have more children (n = 4,296; age ≥ 45 [women], age ≥ 55 [men], Mage = 68.9 ± 11.0 years) and those likely to have more children (n = 4,724; age range = 18–44 [women], 18–54 [men], Mage = 32.8 ± 10.5 years). Measures of altruism and number of children were taken at baseline and 10 years later. In the retrospective analysis of older adults, there was a very small effect size in the predicted direction, indicating that more altruistic adults had more children. In the prospective analysis of younger adults, higher levels of altruism related to a greater number of total children 10 years later, as well as a greater number of children conceived during those 10 years. Increases in altruism over 10 years also related to a greater number of total children and a greater number of children conceived during those 10 years. Effect sizes were small to very small in all instances. There were no sex moderation effects and analyses controlled for personality, medical difficulties in childbearing, and sociodemographic factors. These findings provide evidence that altruism has a role in reproductive success, and indicate that inconsistent findings in previous research might simply reflect the small (real-world) effect size.
... For example, individuals who behave altruistically are viewed as more desirable romantic partners (Barclay, 2010;Ehlebracht et al. 2018;Farrelly, 2011Farrelly, , 2013Farrelly et al., 2016;Farrelly & King, 2019;Moore et al., 2013;Phillips et al., 2008) and altruistic displays are used in mate choice scenarios to attract potential romantic partners Bhogal et al., 2016a, Farrelly et al., 2007Iredale et al., 2008;Raihani & Smith, 2015;Schwarz & Baßfeld, 2019;Tognetti et al., 2012;Tognetti et al., 2016;van Vugt & Iredale, 2013). Furthermore, such positive effects of being altruistic are found in real-life settings, where altruists have greater mating success than non-altruists (Arnocky et al., 2017;Stavrova & Ehlebracht, 2015). ...
... Further investigation of costs associated with altruism and mate choice can concentrate on real-world or applied consequences. Previous findings have shown that altruistic individuals have greater mating success (Arnocky et al., 2017) and are more likely to be in longer term relationships (Stavrova & Ehlebracht, 2015). If, as we suggest, it is relatively moderate levels of altruistic behaviour that are more important in mate choice than higher levels, then similar findings should be found in real human relationships. ...
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There is a large body of research exploring the role of altruism in mate choice, showing altruism is a mating signal. However, it is still unclear whether these traits signal good genetic quality, due to their costly nature, or good partner/parenting qualities. We report the findings of three experiments that aimed to address this, by comparing the desirability of individuals who displayed either moderate or high levels of altruistic behaviour, and non-altruistic behaviour in dictator games and hypothetical social scenarios. These experiments adopted a variety of experimental designs to test our hypotheses. We consistently found that individuals displaying moderate levels of altruism were rated as more desirable than those displaying higher levels (and both more so than non-altruistic individuals). Our findings offer strong evidence for the underlying characteristics displayed by altruistic behaviour, rather than their absolute costs, being more important in mate choice. To our knowledge, this is the first paper to report a suite of experiments providing strong support that the cost of an altruistic act is more important than the act itself in a mate choice context. These findings go beyond and extend previous literature on altruism and mating by unpacking the role of prosociality in mate choice.
... Altruism is defined as acts of generosity which are advantageous to the recipient but costly to the giver (Trivers, 1971). Previous research suggests that altruisn and cooperation are sexually selected traits, increasing our mate value and desirability in the mating market, resulting in higher reproductive success (Arnocky et al., 2017;Gintis et al., 2001). Several studies suggest altruistic targets are considered more desirable than non-altruistic targets, especially for long-term romantic relationships compared with short-term relationships (Barclay, 2010;Bhogal et al., 2020;Farrelly, 2011;Kelly & Dunbar, 2001;Moore et al., 2013;Norman & Fleming, 2019). ...
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From an evolutionary perspective, the significance of altruistic acts in romantic relationships has been extensively studied, as such qualities are desirable in mate choice. Although prior research has been conducted to determine if altruism influences romantic desirability, little research has focused on the role of altruistic costs in human mate choice, particularly using hypothetical online dating profiles and messages. Our study adopted a three-way mixed-design ANOVA to examine if romantic desirability is influenced by a target being highly altruistic, moderately altruistic or non-altruistic, comparing relationship type in the context of online dating. One hundred eighty participants read online dating profiles and messaging scenarios, rating how desirable the individual was for a short-term and long-term relationship. The findings of this study partially supported previous research as males and females rated moderately altruistic targets as more desirable than highly altruistic targets. Our findings add to the literature on the role of altruism in mate choice.
... These results are inconsistent with previous findings whereby a gender difference has been found between males and females when examining the influence of altruism on desirability and comparing the length of the relationship. Various studies have demonstrated that females find altruistic males highly romantically desirable than non-altruistic males for long-term relationships when compared to short-term (Arnocky et al., 2017;Barclay, 2010;Bhogal et al., 2020;Farrelly et al., 2016;Phillips et al., 2008;Margana et al., 2019). ...
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From an evolutionary perspective, the significance of altruistic acts in romantic relationships has been extensively studied, as such qualities represent desirable mate selection characteristics. Even though prior research has been conducted to determine if altruism influences romantic desirability, little research as focused on the role of altruistic costs in human mate choice, particularly using hypothetical online dating profiles. This study adopted a three-way mixed design ANOVA to examine if romantic desirability is influenced by a target being highly altruistic, moderately altruistic or non-altruistic, comparing relationship type in the context of online dating among young male and female adults. One hundred-eighty participants were asked to read online dating profiles and messaging scenarios, rating how desirable the individual was for a long-term relationship and a short-term relationship. The findings of this study partially supported previous research as males and females rated moderate altruistic targets more romantically desirable than high altruistic targets. The findings obtained add to the literature on the role of altruism in mate choice.
... rtners. Showing themselves as charitable has an advantage as people prefer romantic partners having a quality of kindness (Fletcher et al., 2004). Donation not only is an approved social activity but is also advocated in many religions. Research on mating has shown that both men and women tend to prefer altruistic traits in their prospective mates (Arnocky et. al., 2017;Philips et al., 2008). ...
... beautification and alteration to appear more attractive in the eyes of potential romantic partners (Davis & Arnocky, 2022;. Research also demonstrated that people behave more creatively (e.g., Goncalo & Katz, 2020;Griskevicius et al., 2006), humorously (e.g., DiDonato & Jakubiak, 2016;Zeigler-Hill et al., 2013), and altruistically (e.g., Arnocky et al., 2017;Bhogal et al., 2020) in the presence of a mating motivation because these traits signal intelligence and competence, which are highly valued in the mating market. Nonetheless, forming an intimate relationship is not merely about two people "exchanging" and "matching" mate values; it involves more nuanced and interactive back and forth of romantic interests and likings. ...
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Existing research has suggested a predominantly negative view of dependency-oriented help. In contrast, the current research aims to test the positive function of dependency-oriented help in intimate relationships where interpersonal dependency is valued. We hypothesized that dependency-oriented help-seeking could function in communicating liking and romantic interests and, therefore, can be instrumental in attracting mates. Our hypothesis was confirmed across nine studies (N = 2,535). For help-seekers, a mate-seeking motivation could positively predict (Study 1) and lead to (Studies 2A–4) dependency-oriented help-seeking behavior tendencies (Studies 1–2B) and actual behavior (Studies 3 and 4). For help-providers, after activating a mating goal, imagining (Studies 5A and 5B) and actually receiving (Study 6) dependency-oriented (vs. autonomy-oriented) help-seeking requests from a potential mate increased help-providers’ romantic interests in that mate. Study 7 further showed the function of dependency-oriented help from the perspective of romantic competitors. As such, people in romantic relationships were more likely to see a potential competitor as a mate poacher when this person asked for dependency-oriented help from their partner. Theoretical and practical implications have been discussed.
... It is hypothesized that acts of apparent altruism signal underlying quality in people (Barclay, 2006;Iredale & van Vugt, 2012). Consistent with this hypothesis, researchers have documented that apparent altruism is significantly correlated with mating success (Arnocky et al., 2017) and other reputational benefits (Roberts et al., 2021). The person exhibits apparent altruism not because of intrinsic joy from helping others, but because such actions can be a signal of quality that induces others to bestow benefits on the apparent altruist. ...
Article
Neoclassical economics assumes that people care only about themselves and, consequently, argues that people will not incur unrepaid costs to harm or help other people. In contrast, behavioral economics documents that people sometimes incur costs to hurt other people (‘apparent spite’) and in other situations incur costs to help others (‘apparent altruism’). Biology argues that, in ancestral settings, such costly acts towards others were adaptive, and arose by natural selection because of benefits redounding to the selfish genes responsible for the behaviors. In evolutionarily novel settings such as cities, however, people will often incur costs that are not repaid. Ordinary: “With no special or distinctive features; normal. Not interesting or exceptional; commonplace.” -Oxford English dictionary.
... One such situation is the date, as the presence of a prospective romantic partner activates mating motives, making people more motivated to engage in impression management to improve their own attractiveness and hence increase their chances on the mating market (21)(22)(23). For instance, after viewing images of attractive opposite-sex individuals in "first date" setting rather than stimuli devoid of any romantic connotations, women behave more altruistically (20), with these acts of altruism improving others' attractiveness judgments of seemingly altruistic targets (24). Importantly, the strategies of self-presentation to a prospective mate often differ by sex. ...
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Consumers often use their food choices as an impression management strategy to signal desirable aspects about themselves to others, especially in public places like restaurants and cafeterias, where the presence of others can promote certain consumption choices and preference patterns. In mating contexts, people prefer gender-typical traits and characteristics in a potential partner. Food options can also be classified according to their gender typicality, with certain alternatives perceived as feminine (e.g., salad, seafood) and with other options perceived as more masculine (e.g., steak, burger). Drawing on impression management theories from the drinking and dining domain and literature on sex differences in human mate preferences, we present a high-powered experiment investigating whether consumers’ preferences for masculine or feminine foods depend on the social setting in which the food consumption takes place: dining with an attractive date (mating) or meeting and eating with friends (non-mating). Participants (N = 162, 46.9% females, 53.1% males; age M = 41.8 years, SD = 14.5) were randomly assigned to one of the two experimental conditions (mating vs. non-mating) and were asked to indicate their food preferences for 15 dishes that differed markedly in perceived femininity/masculinity. Consistent with our theorizing, females (males) generally had a stronger preference for foods perceived as more feminine (masculine), thereby supporting the gender-typicality thesis at the aggregate level. Furthermore, females in the mating condition—but not females in the non-mating condition—reported significantly stronger preferences for more feminine food alternatives. However, in direct contrast to our theorizing, males preferred more masculine meals in the non-mating condition (i.e., when dining with friends), whereas this gender-typical tendency did not emerge in the mating condition (i.e., when dining with an attractive date). We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these findings and present a set of fruitful avenues for future research.
... Nevertheless, consistent with Foo et al. (2017b), we did not observe links between immunocompetence and reported mating and sexual behavior (lifetime sex partners and current relationship status). Although many studies have considered such sexual histories as good proxies for ancestral mating success (e.g., Arnocky et al., 2013Arnocky et al., , 2017Rhodes et al., 2005), it is possible that cultural confounds muddy the relevance of these variables to actual mate value. First, having multiple sex partners could be an indication of lower mate value, particularly among females who benefit their reproductive success to a lesser degree than males by accessing multiple sex partners. ...
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Immunocompetence can influence an organism’s reproductive fitness, and thus presumably their desirability as a mate (i.e., mate value). In humans, the link between immunocompetence and mate value has found circumstantial support by way of both expressed mate preferences for healthy partners, and via preferences for attractive phenotypes that are ostensibly linked to immune functioning. We examined whether a biological marker of immunocompetence, salivary immunoglobulin A (sIgA), along with self-reported frequency and severity of symptoms of poor health predicted individuals’ reported mate value and mating behavior in a sample of 691 young adults. Our measures of immunocompetence (sIgA and symptoms of poor health) correlated significantly with one another, suggesting sIgA is a viable marker of general immune function in young adults. We then examined the independent contributions of these variables to mate value, controlling for age, sex, and body mass index (BMI). Results showed that sIgA (positively) and poor health (negatively) predicted mate value, but not lifetime number of sex partners or current romantic relationship status. These findings suggest that those with better health and immune function report being more desirable as mating partners but support past research showing null links to reported mating behavior. Together, these findings suggest that more comprehensive work on links between immunocompetence and mating is required.
... Our work contributes to a growing literature that uses insights from game theory to explain puzzling aspects of our moral intuitions and otherwise puzzling social behaviors [4, 36, 43-45, 48, 50-61], as well as the literature that uses laboratory experiments to provide evidence for such models [12,20,43,56,[62][63][64][65][66][67][68][69]. ...
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Why are norms unduly sensitive to categorical distinctions compared to continuous variation? For instance, the norm against the use of chemical weapons considers the type of weapon used, not how much suffering was caused; human rights are conditioned on membership in the species homo spaiens not on an animal's degree of sentience; norms promoting philanthropy emphasize donating, and are relatively insensitive to the impact a donation will have. Here we present a game theoretic model, which explains why it is easier for norms to be conditioned on categorical distinctions rather than on continuous variation. We explore the robustness of our results and present evolutionary simulations. Then, in a series of experiments, we demonstrate that participants’ moral intuitions and willingness to sanction norm violations are influenced by categorical distinctions rather than by continuous variation. We show that the reliance on categorical distinctions weakens when norm enforcement plays less of a role. We discuss various applications, including territoriality, human rights, inefficient altruism, institutionalized racism, and collusion.
... Our intuitive judgements about the feelings behind people's actions even affect who we find attractive. Even in Western industrialised societies, more altruistic men tend to be rated as more physically and sexually attractive and desirable as dates than those who are less altruistic (Jensen-Campbell, Graziano, and West 1995), and more genuinely altruistic people also have higher mating success over the long term (Arnocky et al. 2016). It is not what people do that matters in highly collaborative human groups but the hidden depths of the emotional motivations underlying why they do it. ...
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In Hidden Depths, Professor Penny Spikins explores how our emotional connections have shaped human ancestry. Focusing on three key transitions in human origins, Professor Spikins explains how the emotional capacities of our early ancestors evolved in response to ecological changes, much like similar changes in other social mammals. For each transition, dedicated chapters examine evolutionary pressures, responses in changes in human emotional capacities and the archaeological evidence for human social behaviours. Starting from our earliest origins, in Part One, Professor Spikins explores how after two million years ago, movement of human ancestors into a new ecological niche drove new types of collaboration, including care for vulnerable members of the group. Emotional adaptations lead to cognitive changes, as new connections based on compassion, generosity, trust and inclusion also changed our relationship to material things. Part Two explores a later key transition in human emotional capacities occurring after 300,000 years ago. At this time changes in social tolerance allowed ancestors of our own species to further reach out beyond their local group and care about distant allies, making human communities resilient to environmental changes. An increasingly close relationship to animals, and even to cherished possessions, appeared at this time, and can be explained through new human vulnerabilities and ways of seeking comfort and belonging. Lastly, Part Three focuses on the contrasts in emotional dispositions arising between ourselves and our close cousins, the Neanderthals. Neanderthals are revealed as equally caring yet emotionally different humans, who might, if things had been different, have been in our place today. This new narrative breaks away from traditional views of human evolution as exceptional or as a linear progression towards a more perfect form. Instead, our evolutionary history is situated within similar processes occurring in other mammals, and explained as one in which emotions, rather than ‘intellect’, were key to our evolutionary journey. Moreover, changes in emotional capacities and dispositions are seen as part of differing pathways each bringing strengths, weaknesses and compromises. These hidden depths provide an explanation for many of the emotional sensitivities and vulnerabilities which continue to influence our world today.
... Extensive research indicates altruism may act as the peacock's tail and that women, more than men, place a greater significance on altruistic traits during mate selection. Studies have found that more females than males considered altruistic behaviours as attractive traits (Phillips et al. 2008;Arnocky et al. 2017). Indeed, men reported being more altruistic and cooperative when looking at a physically attractive female photo (Bhogal et al. 2016). ...
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Extensive research in evolutionary psychology has explored the role that altruism plays in mate preference. This research aims to investigate whether altruism is desired for long-term and short term relationships among females and males, as well as to determine potential sex differences within this preference among Thai nationals. To that end, a self-administered online Thai language-based survey was distributed for data collection; 138 Thai respondents (mean age = 22.5, SD = 4.37) completed the survey. The respondents were asked to read nine hypothetical scenarios and rate their preferences for different individuals in the scenarios for long-term and shortterm relationships. In each scenario, if one person displayed high levels of altruism, another person in the same scenario would display a lower level of altruism. A 2 × 2 × 2 mixed ANOVA indicated that both men and women significantly favoured altruistic partners for long-term relationships; whereas, when displays of altruism was low, there was only a slight difference in preference for a short-term or longterm relationship. Moreover, there was no significant difference between men and women’s desirability for altruistic partners. This study provides further support for previous altruism based research which emphasises the importance of altruism regarding long term mate selection.
... Conspicuous conservation entails activities where an individual is willing to spend time, energy, and financial resources towards environmental causes (Palomo-Vélez et al., 2021;Sexton & Sexton, 2014). An example of this would be purchase of a hybrid car which connotes with presence of financial resources and green behaviour (Arnocky et al., 2017;Bhogal et al., 2020;Griskevicius et al., 2010). Conspicuous virtue signaling refers to individuals' effort to enhance their social identity by displaying affiliation and affinity towards virtuous social endeavours as well as prestige personified commodities on online networks (Wallace et al., 2020). ...
Article
The primary goal of this research was to develop and validate the conspicuous behaviour orientation scale, a novel measure that captures an individual's propensity to adopt behaviours that signal social prestige. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis in Study 1 (N = 423) identified two primary factors describing conspicuous behaviour orientation: Conspicuous altruism and conspicuous consumption. In a separate sample (N = 203), Study 2 confirmed the factor structure of the conspicuous behaviour orientation scale by demonstrating concurrent validity with measures of conspicuous donation behaviour, altruism, status consumption, and materialism. The construct validity was evaluated in Study 3 by correlating the present scale with the HEXACO model of personality (N = 410). Findings support that the 10‐item conspicuous behaviour orientation scale is a useful instrument to measure susceptibility towards costly signalling behaviour to enhance interpersonal relationships with relevant others. In essence, the results of these studies provide strong initial evidence for the reliability and validity of the conspicuous behaviour orientation scale. We conclude this paper with theoretical and applied implications of the proposed scale.
... Barclay (2010) presented volunteers with descriptions of people with varying traits, including altruism, and found that more altruistic people were considered to be more desired partners by both sexes. Arnocky et al. (2017) showed that more altruistic people (with this trait both self-reported and measured in a modified DG) had more self-reported sexual partners, suggesting the role of sexual selection in human altruistic behavior. ...
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The emergence of altruistic behavior constitutes one of the most widely studied problems in evolutionary biology and behavioral science. Multiple explanations have been proposed, most importantly including kin selection, reciprocity, and costly signaling in sexual selection. In order to test the latter, this study investigated whether people behave more altruistically when primed by photographs of attractive faces and whether more or less altruistic people differ in the number of sexual and romantic partners. Participants in the general population (N = 158, 84 F, 74 M) first rated the attractiveness of photographs of 20 faces of the opposite (sexually preferred) sex and then played the Dictator and Ultimatum Games (DG and UG). The photograph rating acted as priming; half the participants received photographs of people rated as more attractive than average in an earlier study, and the other half received photographs previously rated as less attractive. The attractiveness-primed participants, especially men, were expected to behave more altruistically—signaling that they are desirable, resource-possessing partners. We also expected altruists to self-report more sexual and romantic partners. The observed difference between altruistic behaviors in the attractiveness- and unattractiveness-primed groups occurred in UG offers, however, in the opposite than expected direction in women. The number of sexual partners was positively correlated to minimum acceptable offers (MAOs) in the UG, in line with expectations based on the theory of costly signaling.
... Finally, Arnocky et al. (2017) found that participants who scored higher on selfreported altruism also reported their own greater desirability to the opposite sex, more sex partners, more casual sex partners, and having sex more often within relationships. In their second study, participants who were willing to donate potential monetary winnings (in a hypothetical scenario) reported having more lifetime sex partners, more casual sex partners, and more sex partners in the last year. ...
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Previous research has shown that men perceive nipple erection as signaling more sexually receptive states. This study intended to determine if this perception changed male hypothetical behavior. For example, would men be more willing to assist women with nipple erection as opposed to those without? Participants were asked to rate pictures of women with and without salient nipple erection (faces were obscured to prevent discerning emotional states). Men perceived women with nipple erection as more deserving of altruism, especially if that altruism involved greater interaction with the woman, and they expected these same women to behave more altruistically toward them. They also believed the women with erect nipples should be included in their social groups. Women, on the other hand, did not perceive them as deserving of greater altruistic behaviors, did not expect greater altruistic behaviors from them, and did not want to include them into their social groups.
... Finally, Arnocky et al. (2017) found that participants who scored higher on selfreported altruism also reported their own greater desirability to the opposite sex, more sex partners, more casual sex partners, and having sex more often within relationships. In their second study, participants who were willing to donate potential monetary winnings (in a hypothetical scenario) reported having more lifetime sex partners, more casual sex partners, and more sex partners in the last year. ...
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To determine whether female nipple erection is perceived as a sign of sexual arousal or interest, male and female participants were asked to rate photos of real women with and without salient nipple erection on a series of 16 emotional and physiological states, including positive, negative, and sexually aroused states. Nipple erection salience was rated by independent raters, and faces in photos were obscured to prevent discerning emotional states from facial cues. Men clearly projected more sexy and positive emotions onto the stimuli when the stimuli displayed erect nipples. Whereas women did project more positive emotions with erect nipples, they did not differ in their expression of sexy. We also observed that men’s self-ratings of sexy and positive emotions were the same as their ratings of the stimuli. Women, however, reported significantly less sexy and positive emotions for themselves relative to the stimuli.
... informal volunteering; caregiving) had an increased chance of being in a relationship the next year in a nationally representative longitudinal dataset (Stavrova & Ehlebracht, 2015). There is also experimental evidence that engaging in prosocial behaviors influences the attractiveness of individuals as romantic partners (Arnocky, et al., 2017;Barclay, 2010), and cooperative behavior increases the perceived attractiveness of the cooperator (Farrelly et al, 2017). ...
Article
Evidence exists that beautiful is seen as good: the halo effect wherein more physically attractive people are perceived to be good, and the reverse halo that good is seen as beautiful. Yet research has rarely examined the evidence linking the beautiful with the good, or the reverse, without the halo effect. We examine the relationship between physical attractiveness (beauty) and giving behaviors (good), where ratings of attractiveness are independent of giving behaviors. We use three U.S. datasets: (a) a nationally representative sample of older adults (NSHAP), (b) a nationally representative longitudinal study of adolescents (ADD Health), and (c) the 54-year Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (WLS), to present evidence that these two characteristics (attractiveness and giving) are indeed correlated without the halo effect. We find a ‘good-looking giver’ effect–that more physically attractive people are more likely to engage in giving behaviors, and vice versa. Thus, in ecologically valid real-world samples, people who do good are also likely to look good.
... Furthermore, when observing other men donate money to an attractive online female fundraiser, men compete to increase their donations (Raihani and Smith 2015;Roberts 2015). Arnocky et al. (2017) found that whilst both sexes who scored higher on self-reported altruism measures and who donated more in dictator games claimed to have a higher number of sex partners than those who did not, this was stronger for men than for women. ...
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One of the evolutionary adaptive benefits of altruism may be that it acts as an honest (reliable) signal of men's mate quality. In this study, 285 female participants were shown one of three video scenarios in which a male target took £30 out of a cash machine (ATM) and gave either a lot (£30), a little (£1), or nothing to a homeless man. The participants rated the male target on his attractiveness, their short-and long-term mate preferences towards him, and the degree to which they thought he was likely to possess various parenting qualities. The results showed that, regardless of whether the man was described as rich or poor, participants rated him as being more attractive when he donated money, but only when the donation was costly (£30). In addition, altruism was shown to be important in long-term, but not short-term mate choice, and displays of altruism were associated with positive parenting qualities. It is argued that displays of altruism act as a reliable (honest) mate signal for a potential long-term parental partner.
... Prosocial behaviour has fascinated researchers because of its significance in human's social life and well-being (Aknin et al., 2013;Arnocky, Piché, Albert, Ouellette, & Barclay, 2017;Dunn, Aknin, & Norton, 2008), as well as children's psychosocial development (Carlo, White, Streit, Knight, & Zeiders, 2018;Fabes, Hanish, Martin, Moss, & Reesing, 2012;Flouri & Sarmadi, 2016;Warden & MacKinnon, 2003). Therefore, an increasing number of studies have focused on the social-emotional factors that likely influence the development of prosocial behaviours. ...
Article
This study experimentally investigated how empathy moderated the influence of external emotional stimuli on preschoolers’ subsequent sharing behaviour. Children aged 4–6 (N = 218) were randomly presented with one of the video clips that elicited sad, happy, or neutral emotion, and were then asked to play a dictator game with puppet partners. Results revealed that compared to the neutral condition, children with higher empathy increased sharing after induced happiness but did not change sharing after induced sadness; by contrast, children with lower empathy decreased sharing after induced sadness. It appears that empathy may enhance the positive effect of happiness while reducing the negative effect of sadness on sharing behaviour. These findings provide experimental evidence in early childhood to support approaches that emphasize the role of immediate emotions in moral decision‐making; critically, such emotional effects vary with individual differences in dispositional empathy.
... People typically praise others' altruistic acts and like altruistic individuals (Bereczkei, Birkas, & Kerekes, 2007Hardy & Van Vugt, 2006), while they punish and ostracize those who commit selfish deeds (Fehr & Gächter, 2002;Feinberg, Willer, & Schultz, 2014). Furthermore, generous individuals are preferred as social and romantic partners (e.g., Arnocky, Piche, Albert, Ouellette, & Barclay, 2017;Barclay & Willer, 2007). However, generous behavior does not always lead to a good reputation. ...
Article
Individuals who engage in altruistic behaviors generally acquire a good reputation. However, recent studies have suggested that altruists are not always welcomed by others. We examined the possibility that norm-deviant altruism leads to unfavorable evaluations; distributing quite large amounts of one's resources could be less favored because the behavior deviates from social norms. In four studies, participants rated their feelings (i.e., liking and respect) toward a person who distributed his/her resources to others. We found that altruistic behavior that deviates from social norms was less favorably regarded than modestly altruistic behavior (Study 1–4), specifically in a culture with low tolerance for norm deviation (Japan; Study 3) and especially when the degree of the deviance was high (Study 2). These findings suggest that altruistic behavior is less favored when the behavior deviates from social norms and norm deviation is evaluated negatively.
... Os traços altruístas podem ser particularmente importantes para reduzir o impacto negativo de fatores relacionados à idade (por exemplo, doença crônica, discriminação etária) na expressão sexual (Arnocky et al., 2016). Além disso, a gratidão parece estar associada à expressão sexual; Indivíduos que manifestam altos níveis de gratidão tendem a manifestar consistentemente altos níveis de satisfação e bem-estar, bem como altos níveis de bem-estar sexual (Salces-Cubero, Ramírez-Fernández, & Ortega-Martínez, 2018). ...
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Introduction: This study aims to analyze how older adults express themselves sexually. For this purpose, a cross-national qualitative study was performed. Methods: Two hundred and thirteen non-institutionalized elderly, aged 65 to 98 years, from three different nationalities (Brazilian, Portuguese and English) were interviewed. All interviews were transcribed and later subjected to content analysis. Results: Results of the content analysis indicated eight themes: Affection and attention (k = 0.91, p
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Previous research has shown that altruism is an important trait in romantic relationships, particularly in longer relationships, where it can signal the underlying characteristics (e.g., kindness) that are valued in good partners/parents. Further evidence of this has been observed when comparing the interaction between altruism and other traits (e.g., physical attractiveness) that may signal other qualities (e.g., good genes), where altruism was preferred by heterosexual women in long-term partners. To further explore the role of altruism in relationships and its interaction with other mate choice traits, the current study examined heterosexual women's preferences for altruism and a trait signaling good investment, that of resource potential. Here we found that, as predicted, women preferred altruistic male partners for long-term relationships, and that altruism was a more desired trait than resource potential in potential long-term partners. These findings support the view that altruism is a highly valued trait in relationship formation due to its signaling good partner/parent indicators, and is more important than resource potential when women choose long-term partners.
Article
This chapter focuses on the behaviors employed by men in the service of attracting mates, which we discuss as having emerged to solve specific reproductive problems faced by women. We consider behaviors employed by men to attract mates in short-term mating and long-term mating contexts, given the differential valuation on certain behavioral repertoire that emerge. In short-term mating, we specifically consider behavioral displays of dominance with their dispositional and situational antecedents before discussing men’s pursuit of distinctiveness and humor use, behaviors ostensibly indicative of good genes. In long-term mating, our discussion centers around the desirability of different resource displays and benevolence. We further discuss cues ostensibly diagnostic of paternal investment ability and an interest in monogamy. Our final section addresses how modern mating markets present adaptive problems for men (e.g., online dating, appearance enhancing behaviors) and how men seek to solve the new problems that have emerged.
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Previous research has shown that altruism is an important trait in romantic relationships, particularly longer relationships were it can signal underlying characteristics (e.g. kindness) that are valued in good partners/parents. Further evidence of this has been observed when comparing the interaction between altruism and other traits (e.g. physical attractiveness) that may signal other qualities (e.g. good genes), where altruism was preferred by heterosexual women in long-term partners. To further explore the role of altruism in relationships and its interaction with other mate choice traits, the current study examined heterosexual women’s preferences for altruism and a trait signalling good investment, that of resource potential. Here we found that, as predicted, women preferred altruistic male partners for long-term relationships, and that altruism was a more desired trait than resource potential in potential long-term partners. These findings support the view that altruism is a high valued trait in relationship formation due to it signalling good partner/parent indicators., and is more important than resource potential when women choose long-term partners.
Chapter
Relative to other species, human females invest considerable effort in attracting and retaining mates. Stroll the aisles of any bookstore and you may come across titles such as “Get the guy: Learn secrets of the male mind to find the man you want and the love you deserve” (Hussey, 2014), and “Texts so good he can't ignore: Sassy texting secrets for attracting high-quality men” (Bryans, 2018). A desire to attract and retain mates underlies diverse facets of women’s psychology and behavior, including displaying or enhancing aspects of one’s personality and physical appearance. Not surprisingly, these efforts correspond with men’s mate preferences. Human males are unique in their relative choosiness surrounding their mates, especially within the context of long-term pair-bonding. Look further in that bookstore aisle and you might come across a title such as “The man's handbook for choosing the right woman” (Daniels, 2009). In this chapter, we examine the theoretical rationale underlying female intersexual selection. We begin with a discussion of the theory underlying human mate choice, highlighting why men’s choosiness has been selected for, and why this compels women to exert effort toward attracting men. We then discuss specific characteristics of men’s short-term and long-term mate choice, and the multitude of tactics women utilize to better embody those traits. We describe preliminary evidence surrounding how intersexual selection may have shaped some phenotypic traits in women as costly signals of underlying fertility or immunocompetence. Finally, we discuss both individual and contextual differences among women in their mating effort and provide suggestions for future research directions aimed at further understanding how intersexual selection has shaped women’s mating psychology.
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When one individual helps another, it benefits the recipient and may also gain a reputation for being cooperative. This may induce others to favour the helper in subsequent interactions, so investing in being seen to help others may be adaptive. The best-known mechanism for this is indirect reciprocity (IR), in which the profit comes from an observer who pays a cost to benefit the original helper. IR has attracted considerable theoretical and empirical interest, but it is not the only way in which cooperative reputations can bring benefits. Signalling theory proposes that paying a cost to benefit others is a strategic investment which benefits the signaller through changing receiver behaviour, in particular by being more likely to choose the signaller as a partner. This reputation-based partner choice can result in competitive helping whereby those who help are favoured as partners. These theories have been confused in the literature. We therefore set out the assumptions, the mechanisms and the predictions of each theory for how developing a cooperative reputation can be adaptive. The benefits of being seen to be cooperative may have been a major driver of sociality, especially in humans. This article is part of the theme issue ‘The language of cooperation: reputation and honest signalling’.
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Children act prosocially already in their first years of life. Research has shown that this early prosociality is mostly motivated by sympathy for others, but that, over the course of development, children’s prosocial behaviors become more varied, more selective, and more motivationally and cognitively complex. Here, we review recent evidence showing that, starting at around age 5, children become gradually capable of strategically using prosocial acts as instrumental means to achieve ulterior goals such as to improve their reputation, to be chosen as social partners, to elicit reciprocity, and to navigate interpersonal obligations. Children’s sympathy-based prosociality is thus being extended and reshaped into a behavioral repertoire that enables individuals to pursue and balance altruistic, mutualistic, and selfish motives.
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Social desirability (SD) scales have been used for decades in psychology and beyond. These scales are sought to measure individuals’ tendencies to present themselves overly positive in self‐reports, thus allowing to control for SD biases. However, research increasingly questions the validity of SD scales, proposing that SD scales measure substantive trait characteristics rather than response bias. To provide a large‐scale empirical test of the validity of SD scales, we conducted a meta‐analysis (k=41; N=8,980) on the relation between SD scale scores and prosocial behavior in economic games (where acting in a prosocial manner is highly socially desirable). If SD scales measure what they are supposed to (namely, SD bias), they should be negatively linked to prosocial behavior; if SD scales measure socially desirable traits, they should be positively linked to prosocial behavior. Unlike both possibilities, the meta‐analytic correlation between SD scores and prosocial behavior was close to zero, suggesting that SD scales neither clearly measure bias nor substantive traits. This conclusion was also supported by moderation analyses considering differences in the implementation of games and the SD scales used. The results further question the validity of SD scales with the implication that scholars and practitioners should refrain from using them.
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Previous research shows that prosocial behaviour such as altruism is important in mate choice. A plethora of research shows that people are attracted to prosocial mates, and in turn, display prosocial behaviours towards those they find attractive. However, most of this research has focused on everyday forms of prosociality. Here, we apply this theoretical framework to pro-environmental behaviours, which are important prosocial behaviours, considering there is a time cost involved in engaging in such behaviours. In addition, encouraging people to engage in pro-environmental behaviours has great implications for the protection of our planet. Here, across two experiments, we successfully show that engaging in pro-environmental behaviours can increase one’s desirability in the mating market (experiment 1, n = 157) and that people display a motivation to engage in pro-environmental behaviours in the presence of attractive, opposite sex targets (experiment 2, n = 307). We therefore show that it could be possible to increase pro-environmental behaviours via mate choice motivation and also demonstrate their positive role in mate evaluation. These findings have implications for marketing and increasing environmental behaviour through the lens of evolutionary theory. Note: data and materials for both experiments are available on the Open Science Framework (https://osf.io/g42bd/?view_only=916a807650ab4f77ae66b3fc56021752).
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Protecting the environment is a social dilemma: environmental protection benefits everyone but is individually costly. We propose that protecting the environment is similar to other types of cooperation, in that environmentalism functions as a signal of one's willingness to cooperate with others. We test several novel predictions from this hypothesis. We used a mathematical model to show that environmentalism can indicate one's valuation of others and thus one's cooperative intent. We found support for this prediction in two online studies, and then conducted two laboratory studies to extend the idea that environmentalism signals one's willingness to cooperate. Participants donated more to an environmental charity when donations were public than when anonymous, but they donated the most when competing to be chosen by an observer for a subsequent cooperative game. In other words, people competed to donate more to the environment. Bigger donors benefited, as they were subsequently chosen more often and received more cooperation from their partners. Partners benefited from choosing environmental donors: bigger donors cooperated more with subsequent partners, such that environmental donations were reliably informative about participants' future cooperativeness. We compare multiple theories about why people behave environmentally (indirect reciprocity, signal of wealth, signal of cooperative intent), and find most support for our proposed theory of signaling cooperative intent. By understanding the function of environmental behaviour and stimulating competitive giving, we can increase people's support for environmental and other charitable causes.
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Mate poaching has long been described as an intrasexually competitive tactic for acquiring new mating opportunities (Buss, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54(4), 616–628, 1988); one that confers increased risk or rejection, retaliation, or reputational damage, and thus should be most successful when implemented by those who are most desirable to members of the opposite sex. From this perspective, mate poaching should be predicted by trait differences in intrasexual competitiveness, and this link should be moderated by one’s own mate value as an index of the ability to succeed in poaching efforts and to bear the burden of the associated risks. Undergraduate men and women (N = 292) completed measures of intrasexual competitiveness, mate value, and mate poaching (successful and unsuccessful). Results showed that intrasexual competitiveness predicted a greater number of both successful and unsuccessful poaching attempts. Mate value moderated this relationship for successful, but not unsuccessful, mate poaching, such that individuals who were both intrasexually competitive and high in mate value reported the greatest success. Results suggest that mate poaching is a profoundly intrasexually competitive mating tactic; the success of which depends in part upon the mate value of the perpetrator.
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Altruism is of great interest to evolutionary psychologists because of the apparent dilemma it presents to Darwin’s theory of natural selection, a dilemma he acknowledged “if it could be proved that any part of the structure of any one species had been formed for the exclusive good of another species, it would annihilate my theory, for such could not have been produced through natural selection” (Darwin, 1859, 189). To overcome this dilemma evolutionary psychologists have engaged in the pursuit of explanations for apparent acts of altruism. From this pursuit a number of possible explanations have been suggested. Two of the most widely accepted explanations are kin selection (Hamilton, 1964) and reciprocal altruism (Trivers 1971). However many other explanations have been proposed from induced altruism (Trivers, 1985), to costly signaling theory (Waynforth, 2011; Zahavi & Zahavi, 1997) to more complex multi-level and group selection models (Boyd & Richerson, 1982; Feldman & Cavalli-Sforna, 1976).
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Altruism plays a role in mate choice, particularly in women’s preferences, and particularly for long-term relationships. The current study analyzed how these preferences interacted with another important mate choice variable, physical attractiveness. Here, female participants were presented with photographs of men of varying levels of physical attractiveness, alongside descriptions of them behaving either altruistically or not in different scenarios. The results showed women preferred altruistic men, particularly in long-term relationships, and that this interacted with physical attractiveness such that being both attractive and altruistic made a man more desirable than just the sum of the two desirable parts. Also, being altruistic made low attractive men more desirable, but only for long-term relationships. Finally, men who were just altruistic were rated more desirable than men who were just attractive, especially for long-term relationships. Overall these findings are discussed in terms of the role of altruism in mate choice, particularly in long-term relationships and directions of future research.
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Brief measures of individual differences are growing in popularity. The Ten Item Personality Inventory (TIPI; Gosling et al., 2003) increases administration efficiency and maintains construct validity, but sacrifices some internal consistency when measuring the Big Five personality traits. In a survey of 360 college students, we attempted to replicate and extend the construct validity of the TIPI by relating it to sociosexuality and self-esteem. We replicated some of the most well documented Big Five correlations: Self-esteem was negatively correlated with neuroticism and positively with extraversion; sociosexuality was positively correlated with extraversion and negatively with agreeableness. Results suggest the TIPI measure is reasonably valid.
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Two studies investigated the extent to which narcissism was associated with volunteer motivation. Study 1 investigated a sample of United Way volunteers and Study 2 examined a sample of college student volunteers. As hypothesized, results found that narcissists tend to volunteer for self-interest rather than for humanitarian values. Results remained significant even while controlling for self-esteem (Studies 1 and 2) and empathic concern (Study 2). Discussion involves the current climate for volunteerism, which includes mandated volunteering as part of high school graduation and other requirements.
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In a classic study, Haley and Fessler showed that displaying subtle eye-like stimuli caused participants to behave more generously in the Dictator Game. Since their paper was published, there have been both successful replications and null results reported in the literature. However, it is important to clarify that two logically separable effects were found in their original experiment: watching eyes made the mean donation higher, and also increased the probability of donating something rather than nothing. Here, we report a replication study with 118 participants, in which we found that watching eyes significantly increased the probability of donating something, but did not increase the mean donation. Results did not depend on the sex of the participants or the sex of the eyes. We also present a meta-analysis of the seven studies of watching eye effects in the Dictator Game published to date. Combined, these studies total 887 participants, and show that although watching eyes do not reliably increase mean donations, they do reliably increase the probability of donating something rather than nothing (combined odds ratio 1.39). We conclude that the watching eyes effect in the Dictator Game is robust, but its interpretation may require refinement. Rather than making people directionally more generous, it may be that watching eyes reduce variation in social behavior.
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Men's altruism may have evolved, via female choice, as a signal of either their genetic quality or their willingness to allocate resources to offspring. The possibility that men display altruism to signal their genetic quality may be tested by examining women's preference for men's altruism across the stages of the menstrual cycle. Because women can maximize reproductive benefits by mating with men who have "good genes" on high-fertility versus low-fertility days, women should show a heightened preference for male altruism on high-fertility days compared to low-fertility days, and this heightened preference should be more apparent when women evaluate men for short-term sexual relationships than for long-term committed relationships. The possibility that men display altruism to signal their willingness to provision, as opposed to their genetic quality, may be tested by examining women's preference for men's altruism toward different recipients. More specifically, altruistic behavior toward family members may reflect a willingness to provide resources for kin and, hence, willingness to provision, whereas altruistic behavior toward strangers may function as an honest signal of genetic quality. In two samples of young women (Ns = 131 and 481), we found no differences between high- and low-fertility participants in preference for men's altruism, and women preferred men's altruism more in long-term than short-term relationships. The findings suggest that men's altruistic behavior functions as a signal of willingness to provide resources rather than genetic quality.
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Mate availability has been shown to influence intrasexual competition and mate guarding behavior across a variety of species. Nevertheless, little is known about how perceived mate scarcity affects such behavior in humans. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of experimentally induced perceptions of mate availability upon intrasexual competition, jealousy and aggressive mate guarding behavior. Heterosexual undergraduate students (N = 124, 60 women, 64 men) were primed with perceptions of either mate scarcity or mate abundance and subsequently completed measures of intrasexually competitive attitude, jealousy and willingness to aggress against a mate-poacher (either directly or indirectly). For both men and women, results showed that individuals who were exposed to the mate scarcity condition reported significantly more intrasexual competition, jealousy and willingness to aggress indirectly against a mate poacher compared to those exposed to the mate abundance condition. Results provide evidence of an attitudinal and behavioral shift toward sexual conflict when individuals perceive mates to be a scarce resource.
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Cooperative behaviour and generosity towards nonkin represent costly and risky behaviour that could be used as a signal of mate quality. Therefore, cooperative traits could serve as criteria in mate choice, leading to assortative mating for those traits. There is evidence of similarity in couples for altruistic traits. However, the literature is based on self-reports and does not provide conclusive proof of either a convergence across time or mating preferences. Here, we report a field experiment, conducted in rural villages in Senegal, showing that husbands and wives are similar with respect to their contributions to a public good and their charity donations. Further analyses suggest that this similarity is due to initial assortment rather than convergence of phenotypes.
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It has been suggested that mate-poaching behavior is an evolutionarily-adaptive mating tactic. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between lifetime number of mate-poaching attempts and mating success in a sample of 271 (147 women and124 men) heterosexual undergraduate students. Results indicated that for both men and women, the number of mate-poaching attempts predicted having more lifetime sex partners, more lifetime casual sex partners, and more lifetime dating partners. Mate poaching attempts did not however, predict differences in the attractiveness and social dominance of one’s most recent partner. These results provide evidence of the efficacy of mate-poaching in predicting mating success.
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Despite its short-term costs, behaviour that appears altruistic can increase an individual's inclusive fitness by earning direct (selfish) and/or indirect (kin-selected) benefits. An evolved preference for other-regarding or helping behaviour in potential mates has been proposed as an additional mechanism by which these behaviours can yield direct fitness benefits in humans. We asked 32 heterosexual women and 35 heterosexual men to rate the attractiveness of members of the opposite sex in the presence and the absence of information about helping behaviours. Reports of helping behaviour were associated with a significant increase in the attractiveness of both men and women as potential long-term sexual partners. Altruism also increased the attractiveness of men as potential partners for short-term flings, but to a lesser extent than when the same men were being considered for long-term relationships. Altruism did not affect the attractiveness of women as partners for short-term flings. Our results unite two important areas of evolutionary theory -- social evolution and sexual selection -- and extend the list of means by which helping behaviours, which appear at first glance to be costly to the actor, can in fact earn direct fitness benefits. Helping behaviours may be attractive because they signal 'good genes' and/or because they are perceived as a signal of likely provision of non-genetic benefits (e.g. parental care). Exactly why helping behaviours in a non-mating context might be attractive to potential mates, and whether they are honest signals of mate quality, remains to be elucidated.
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Costly signaling theory (CST) offers an explanation of generosity and collective action that contrasts sharply with explanations based on conditional reciprocity. This makes it particularly relevant to situations involving widespread unconditional provisioning of collective goods. We provide a preliminary application of CST to ethnographic data on turtle hunting and public feasting among the Meriam of Torres Strait, Australia. Turtle hunting appears to meet the key conditions specified in CST: it is (1) an honest signal of underlying abilities such as strength, risk-taking, skill, and leadership; (2) costly in ways not subject to reciprocation; (3) an effective means of broadcasting signals, since the collective good (a feast) attracts a large audience; and (4) seems to provide benefits to signalers (turtle hunters) as well as recipients (audience). We conclude with some suggestions as to the broader implications of this research, and the costly signaling paradigm in general, for understanding collective action and generosity in human social groups.
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We conduct a real-effort task experiment where subjects’ performance translates into a donation to a charity. In a within-subjects design we vary the visibility of the donation (no/private/public feedback). Confirming previous studies, we find that subjects’ performance increases, that is, they donate more to charity, when their relative performance is made public. In line with the competitive altruism hypothesis, a biology-based explanation for status-seeking behavior, especially male subjects increase performance in the public setting.
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The mating mind' revives and extends Darwin's suggestion that sexual selection through mate choice was important in human mental evolution - especially the more 'self-expressive' aspects of human behavior, such as art, morality, language, and creativity. Their 'survival value' has proven elusive, but their adaptive design features suggest they evolved through mutual mate choice, in both sexes, to advertise intelligence, creativity, moral character, and heritable fitness. The supporting evidence includes human mate preferences, courtship behavior, behavior genetics, psychometrics, and life history patterns. The theory makes many testable predictions, and sheds new light on human cognition, motivation, communication, sexuality, and culture.
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Insights from sexual selection and costly signalling theory suggest that competition for females underlies men's public good contributions. We conducted two public good experiments to test this hypothesis. First, we found that men contributed more in the presence of an opposite sex audience, but there was no parallel effect for the women. In addition, men's public good contributions went up as they rated the female observer more attractive. In the second experiment, all male groups played a five round public good game and their contributions significantly increased over time with a female audience only. In this condition men also volunteered more time for various charitable causes. These findings support the idea that men compete with each other by creating public goods to impress women. Thus, a public good is the human equivalent of a peacock's tail.
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Explaining human cooperation continues to present a challenge because it goes beyond what is predicted by established theories of kinship and reciprocal altruism. Little attention has been paid to the sexual selection hypothesis that proposes that cooperation can act as a display that attracts mates. The costs of cooperating are then offset not by kinship or reciprocation but by increased mating success. Here we present results from a series of experiments which show that, as predicted by the sexual selection hypothesis, people preferentially direct cooperative behavior towards more attractive members of the opposite sex. Furthermore, cooperative behavior increases the perceived attractiveness of the cooperator. Economically costly behaviors can therefore bring benefits through mate choice and sexual selection should be regarded as an evolutionary mechanism capable of promoting cooperation.
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Men may gauge their own status by comparing themselves to other men in terms of how many sexual partners they have had. In so doing, men who have had more sexual partners appear to have higher status than a man with fewer past sexual partners. In Study 1, men were more likely than women to use their perceived amount of sexual success as a means of assessing status: accounting for the sex difference in reported number of sex partners. In Study 2, men viewed sexual success as more prestigious than women, as demonstrated experimentally. Men may be more likely to boost reports about their sex life both in real-life and in surveys as functions of (1) their perception that with more sex comes more prestige and (2) the desire to enhance their perceived status among others.
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We examined people's charity contributions while in the presence of an observer of the same sex, opposite sex, or no observer. Inspired by costly signaling theory, we hypothesized that men would be more generous in the presence of a potential mate. Men and women played a number of experimental games in which they could earn money. On completion of these games participants were asked what percentage of their earned money they would be willing to donate to charity. Our results show that men contribute more to charity when observed by a member of the opposite sex than by a member of the same sex or no observer. Conversely, female charity donations did not significantly vary across the three observer conditions. Findings support the notion that men's generosity might have evolved as a mating signal. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
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Human cooperation in large groups and between non-kin individuals remains a Darwinian puzzle. Investigations into whether and how sexual selection is involved in the evolution of cooperation represent a new and important research direction. Here, 69 groups of four men or four women recruited from a rural population in Senegal played a sequential public-good game in the presence of out-group observers, either of the same sex or of the opposite sex. At the end of the game, participants could donate part of their gain to the village school in the presence of the same observers. Both contributions to the public good and donations to the school, which reflect different components of cooperativeness, were influenced by the sex of the observers. The results suggest that in this non-Western population, sexual selection acts mainly on men's cooperative behaviour with non-kin, whereas women's cooperativeness is mainly influenced by nonsexual social selection.
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A model is presented to account for the natural selection of what is termed reciprocally altruistic behavior. The model shows how selection can operate against the cheater (non-reciprocator) in the system. Three instances of altruistic behavior are discussed, the evolution of which the model can explain: (1) behavior involved in cleaning symbioses; (2) warning cries in birds; and (3) human reciprocal altruism. Regarding human reciprocal altruism, it is shown that the details of the psychological system that regulates this altruism can be explained by the model. Specifically, friendship, dislike, moralistic aggression, gratitude, sympathy, trust, suspicion, trustworthiness, aspects of guilt, and some forms of dishonesty and hypocrisy can be explained as important adaptations to regulate the altruistic system. Each individual human is seen as possessing altruistic and cheating tendencies, the expression of which is sensitive to developmental variables that were selected to set the tendencies at a balance ap...
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This survey (N = 224) found that characteristics collectively known as the Dark Triad (i.e. narcissism, psychopathy and Machiavellianism) were correlated with various dimensions of short-term mating but not long-term mating. The link between the Dark Triad and short-term mating was stronger for men than for women. The Dark Triad partially mediated the sex difference in short-term mating behaviour. Findings are consistent with a view that the Dark Triad facilitates an exploitative, short-term mating strategy in men. Possible implications, including that Dark Triad traits represent a bundle of individual differences that promote a reproductively adaptive strategy are discussed. Findings are discussed in the broad context of how an evolutionary approach to personality psychology can enhance our understanding of individual differences. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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Anecdotal evidence from many hunter-gatherer societies suggests that successful hunters experience higher prestige and greater reproductive success. Detailed quantitative data on these patterns are now available for five widely dispersed cases (Ache, Hadza, !Kung, Lamalera, and Meriam) and indicate that better hunters exhibit higher age-corrected reproductive success than other men in their social group. Leading explanations to account for this pattern are: (1) direct provisioning of hunters’ wives and offspring, (2) dyadic reciprocity, (3) indirect reciprocity, (4) costly signaling, and (5) phenotypic correlation. I examine the qualitative and quantitative evidence bearing on these explanations and conclude that although none can be definitively rejected, extensive and apparently unconditional sharing of large game somewhat weakens the first three explanations. The costly signaling explanation has support in some cases, although the exact nature of the benefits gained from mating or allying with or deferring to better hunters needs further study.
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Although human behaviour abounds with reciprocal altruism, few examples exist documenting reciprocal altruism in animals. Recent non-experimental evidence suggests that reciprocal altruism may be more common in nature than previously documented. Here we present experimental evidence of mobbing behaviour, the joint assault on a predator in an attempt to drive it away, as reciprocal altruism in the breeding pied flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca). Given a choice, pied flycatchers assisted in mobbing initiated by co-operating neighbours and did not join in mobbing when initiated by conspecific neighbours which had defected from necessary assistance 1h before. The results suggest the birds followed a ‘tit-for-tat’-like strategy and that mobbing behaviour of breeding birds may be explained in terms of reciprocal altruism.
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This study explored the basis of self-sacrificial prosocial behavior in small groups. Seventy-eight undergraduates (39M, 39F) filled out a thirty-item personality scale and then participated in a "group problem-solving study" in which the monetary success of a three-person group depended upon one of its members volunteering to endure pain (a cold stressor test) and inconvenience (being soaked in a dunk tank). There were 13 groups consisting of two females and one male, and 13 groups consisting of two males and one female. Across groups, the behavior of the altruist was judged to be more costly, challenging, and important and he/she was liked better, rewarded with more money, and preferred as a future experimental partner. Groups containing two males showed more evidence of competition to become altruists than groups containing two females, and personality traits were more effective predictors of altruistic behavior in males than in females. We conclude that competition between males and "showing off" are key factors in triggering self-sacrificial altruistic behavior.
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Honest signalling assumes a correlation between an observable signal and a nonobservable quality. There are many mutually nonexclusive mechanisms that can achieve such a correlation; however, for a long time the handicap principle has been identified as the main solution to this problem. In short, it claims that signals need to be costly to be honest and that honest signallers have to pay this extra cost at the equilibrium (i.e. signals have to be handicaps). Honesty, however, is not maintained by the realized cost paid by honest signallers at the equilibrium but by the potential cost of cheating. Whether this potential cost implies a realized cost for honest signallers depends on the biological details of the system and thus this cost cannot be predicted a priori without knowledge of these details. Accordingly, depending on these details, signals need not be costly to be honest, even under conflict of interest. In other words, handicapping equilibrium signals are not the only way to create a high potential cost of cheating. Here I first review the theoretical models supporting the above conclusion, and then I list mechanisms that can maintain a high potential cost of cheating without imposing extra realized cost (i.e. a handicap) on honest signallers at the equilibrium. Identifying and describing those constraints or the lack of them that might create a connection between these two types of cost should be a major research agenda.
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Cooperation is crucial to our survival and social success. People typically choose their social partners (e.g., friends, allies, mates), which allows us to avoid bad partners and preferentially interact with better ones. This creates a biological market where people prefer to associate with others who are willing and able to confer benefits upon partners. In such a market, it pays to compete to be (or appear to be) more willing and able to help than competitors are, causing an arms race over any behaviour that signals these traits — including generosity. Biological markets help us understand why we choose the partners we do, when and why people are cooperative and fair (and to what extent), and why individuals differ on these traits.
Article
Unconditional generosity in humans is a puzzle. One possibility is that individuals benefit from being seen as generous if there is competition for access to partners and if generosity is a costly-and therefore reliable-signal of partner quality [1-3]. The "competitive helping" hypothesis predicts that people will compete to be the most generous, particularly in the presence of attractive potential partners [1]. However, this key prediction has not been directly tested. Using data from online fundraising pages, we demonstrate competitive helping in the real world. Donations to fundraising pages are public and made sequentially. Donors can therefore respond to the behavior of previous donors, creating a potential generosity tournament. Our test of the competitive helping hypothesis focuses on the response to large, visible donations. We show that male donors show significantly stronger responses (by donating more) when they are donating to an attractive female fundraiser and responding to a large donation made by another male donor. The responses for this condition are around four times greater than when males give to less-attractive female (or male) fundraisers or when they respond to a large donation made by a female donor. Unlike males, females do not compete in donations when giving to attractive male fundraisers. These data suggest that males use competitive helping displays in the presence of attractive females and suggest a role for sexual selection in explaining unconditional generosity. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Article
Individuals of different quality often differ in their helping behavior, but sometimes it is the high-quality individuals who help most (e.g., human meat sharing, vigilance) and other times it is the low-quality individuals (e.g., reproductive queues, primate grooming). We argue that these differences depend on individual differences in the performance costs of actually helping, the opportunity costs from forsaking alternative activities, and the fitness benefits for engaging the help. If helping is more difficult for some individuals to do (quality-dependent help), it will usually be done by high-quality individuals, whereas help that all individuals could do equally well (quality-independent help) will be done by whoever pays lower opportunity costs. Our model makes novel predictions about many kinds of helping, allows us to categorize different types of helping by their relationship with individual quality, and is general enough to apply to many situations. Furthermore, it can be generalized to any other type of (nonhelping) behavior where there are individual differences in benefits, performance costs, or opportunity costs.
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The evolution of altruism by natural selection has been called the central theoretical problem of sociobiology (Wilson 1975:3); it is problematic because altruism seems to imply the unfavorable reduction in the personal reproductive fitness of the altruist. Darwin (1871) related altruism to the moral sense, which he saw as a distinctively human attribute, and evolutionists ever since have been intrigued by the subject. The study of the evolution of social behavior - sociobiology - is founded on Hamilton's quantitative analysis of the type of altruistic behavior that is specifically directed at one's kin (1964a, b). In many cases an increase in the overall reproductive fitness of the genes responsible for the behavior can be clearly seen to occur if all the individuals that carry a proportion of the altruist's genes are included in the calculations (inclusive fitness). Altruistic behavior that is not directed at one's relatives can also be advantageous if it elicits reciprocal behavior (Darwin 1871:163, Trivers 1971). An explanation is needed, however, for ordinary types of human altruistic behavior for which (1) the target is not the altruist's kin and (2) there is no reciprocal altruism. For some such seemingly selfless, and characteristically human, behavior I will offer an explanation in terms of sexual selection. In ordinary language, altruism means a concern for the welfare of others. An evolutionary definition of altruism, which is consistent with the ordinary one, is behavior that increases the reproductive fitness of others at the apparent expense of the altruist. The tactical inclusion of the word "apparent" conveniently allows us to continue describing a trait as altruistic, as in ordinary usage, even if we should eventually discover that the trait can actually increase, rather than decrease, the reproductive fitness of the altruist, that is, even if the behavior is selfish. I suggest that altruism can be viewed as a courtship display designed as an honest advertisement of the capacity and the intention of the altruist to be a reliable mate
Book
The handicap principle, first proposed by Zahavi about 17 years ago, has in the past several years become widely accepted as a central unifying theory explaining many previously baffling aspects of animal signalling and communication. It is arguably the most important theoretical advance in animal behaviour in recent years. Basically, the theory states that to be effective, signals must be reliable, and to be reliable, they must be costly to the signaller. This fundamental insight is then developed to explain and illuminate much of animal and human behaviour - why the peacock’s tail is so ornate, and why antelope will spend energy stetting or leaping into the air, when they see a predator, instead of running away, but also how humans test each others’ commitment by imposing burdens during courtship. Signals are paid attention to only if the signal itself imposes a handicap on the signaller that would make cheating impossible or unprofitable, This book explores the very wide-ranging implications of the handicap principle, for predator-prey relations, sexual selection, parent-offspring relations, coalitions and alliances, and the persistence of altruism, in animals and also in human societies and intercellular signalling within multicellular organisms.
Article
When organisms can choose whom to interact with, it can create a biological market where individuals need to outbid their rivals for access to cooperative relationships. Each individual's market value is determined by the benefits it can confer (and is willing to confer) upon others, which selects for tendencies to actively confer benefits on others. In this article, I introduce the basics of biological markets and how they relate to traditional models of cooperation, and then elucidate their impact on human cooperation, especially in the tasks of choosing partners, competing over partners, and keeping partners. Since “generosity” is necessarily rated relative to one's rivals, this can result in tendencies to compete over relative generosity, commit to partners, help when help is unnecessary, give strategically, and attack or suppress others' helpfulness. Biological markets explain and make novel predictions about why we desire to associate with particular individuals and how we attract them, and are therefore a useful incorporation into models of cooperation.
Article
This paper is divided into two parts. In the first, the rank order stability of individual differences in altruism across situations is examined and it is found that substantial consistency occurs when due regard is given to the principle of aggregation. In the second, a self-report altruism scale, on which respondents rate the frequency with which they have engaged in some 20 specific behaviors, is found to predict such criteria as peer-ratings of altruism, completing an organ-donor card, and paper-and-pencil measures of prosocial orientation. These data suggest there is a broad-based trait of altruism.
Article
The study of cooperation is rich with theoretical models and laboratory experiments that have greatly advanced our knowledge of human uniqueness, but have sometimes lacked ecological validity. We therefore emphasize the need to tie discussions of human cooperation to the natural history of our species and its closest relatives, focusing on behavioral contexts best suited to reveal underlying selection pressures and evolved decision rules. Food sharing is a fundamental form of cooperation that is well-studied across primates and is particularly noteworthy because of its central role in shaping evolved human life history, social organization, and cooperative psychology. Here we synthesize available evidence on food sharing in humans and other primates, tracing the origins of offspring provisioning, mutualism, trade, and reciprocity throughout the primate order. While primates may gain some benefits from sharing, humans, faced with more collective action problems in a risky foraging niche, expanded on primate patterns to buffer risk and recruit mates and allies through reciprocity and signaling, and established co-evolving social norms of production and sharing. Differences in the necessity for sharing are reflected in differences in sharing psychology across species, thus helping to explain unique aspects of our evolved cooperative psychology.
Article
If attractiveness is an important cue for mate choice, as proposed by evolutionary psychologists, then attractive individuals should have greater mating success than their peers. We tested this hypothesis in a large sample of adults. Facial attractiveness correlated with the number of short-term, but not long-term, sexual partners, for males, and with the number of long-term, but not short-term, sexual partners and age of first sex, for females. Body attractiveness also correlated significantly with the number of short-term, but not long-term, sexual partners, for males, and attractive males became sexually active earlier than their peers. Body attractiveness did not correlate with any sexual behavior variable for females. To determine which aspects of attractiveness were important, we examined associations between sexual behaviors and three components of attractiveness: sexual dimorphism, averageness, and symmetry. Sexual dimorphism showed the clearest associations with sexual behaviors. Masculine males (bodies, similar trend for faces) had more short-term sexual partners, and feminine females (faces) had more long-term sexual partners than their peers. Feminine females (faces) also became sexually active earlier than their peers. Average males (faces and bodies) had more short-term sexual partners and more extra-pair copulations (EPC) than their peers. Symmetric women (faces) became sexually active earlier than their peers. Given that male reproductive success depends more on short-term mating opportunities than does female reproductive success, these findings suggest that individuals of high phenotypic quality have higher mating success than their lower quality counterparts.
Article
The Ache, whose life history the authors recounts, are a small indigenous population of hunters and gatherers living in the neotropical rainforest of eastern Paraguay. This is part exemplary ethnography of the Ache and in larger part uses this population to make a signal contribution to human evolutionary ecology.
Article
We describe the development and psychometric properties of a 56 item self report altruism scale. Subjects reported on the frequency with which they gave help and received help (for items with a direct reciprocal to giving) and on the rated importance of the helping behavior described in each item. The scale was administered to university student subjects in Australia, Egypt, Korea, the Republic of China (Taiwan), the United States (Hawaii and Missouri) and Yugoslavia. We obtained measures of guilt, shame, psychoticism, extraversion, neuroticism, lying, and intrinsic and extrinsic religiosity from subjects; not all measures were obtained from all subjects in all samples. The scale had good psychometric properties. Mean scores on the three altruism measures differed significantly across samples; the differences were not associated with national or regional income level in any consistent fashion. Sex differences, when significant, indicated that males gave more help and, for two of three significant differences, received more help as well. Differences across samples and sexes were almost always consistent across categories of altruism. For most samples, measures of altruism were positively correlated with guilt, extraversion, and intrinsic religiosity while shame was negatively correlated with giving and receiving help but positively correlated with the rated importance of helping. Lie scale scores generally yielded low negative correlations with altruism scores. Amounts of giving and receiving help and the rated importance of helping were very highly correlated both within and across samples. While it is probable that giving help would be regarded as socially desirable, it seems improbable that receiving help is regarded as highly desirable. The very high correlations between giving and receiving help, like the lack of association between lie scores and altruism measures, suggest that social desirability response sets did not greatly influence our results. The very high correlations across measures of giving and receiving support the existence of reciprocal altruism.
Article
Purpose – This paper aims to address the issue of survey distortion caused by one of the most common and pervasive sources of bias, namely social desirability bias (SDB). Despite 50 years of research, there are still many unanswered questions about its conceptualis