Fighting Assessment

Třebický, Vít; Stirrat, Michael; Havlı́ček, Jan

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_2738-1

Cited by 5 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 70 publications

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“…There is mounting evidence that intrasexual contest competition such as fighting has been a key component of sexual selection on human males [11]. Modern males may possess adaptations to assist them in fighting and assessing opponents’ fighting ability [12]. Handedness could therefore be considered a sexually selected trait in males, and may be expressed in females a by-product [9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Left-handedness is associated with greater fighting success in humans

Richardson

Gilman

2019

Preprint

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14Left-handedness is a costly, sexually dimorphic trait found in all human populations. How the 15 handedness polymorphism is maintained is unclear. The fighting hypothesis argues that left-16 handed men have a negative frequency-dependent advantage in fighting giving them a selective 17 advantage. In support of this, many studies have found that left-handed men are overrepresented 18 in combat sports, but studies typically find no difference in fighting success between left and right-19 handed fighters. We studied over 9800 professional boxers and mixed martial arts fighters of 20 varying abilities in three of the largest samples to test this hypothesis to date, finding robust 21 evidence that left-handed fighters have greater fighting success. This held for both male and 22 female fighters and when considering percentage of fights won, and objective measures of fighting 23 ability. We replicated previous results showing the left-handed fighters are strongly 24 overrepresented in professional combat sports, but left-handed fighters did not show greater 25 variance in fighting ability, a hypothesis suggested in previous studies. Overall we find strong 26 evidence consistent with the fighting hypothesis. 27 30 population is left-handed [6] and though exact numbers vary with culture, [7] left-handers are 31 always a minority. Since left-handedness is under direct negative selection, its persistence in 32 humans is an evolutionary puzzle. 34One explanation for the persistence of left-handedness is the fighting hypothesis [8]. This argues 35 that the polymorphism in human handedness is maintained due to a negative frequency-dependent 36 advantage that left-handedness confers to males in combat (see [9] for theoretical support, and [10] 37 for a review of empirical evidence as well as alternatives). According to this theory right-handed 38 males often lack experience fighting rare left-handed males, while left-handed males accumulate 39 plenty of experience fighting right-handed males, putting them at a selective advantage. Combined 40 with the intrinsic fitness costs of left-handedness, this would explain the universal pattern of low but 41 stable levels of left-handers in all studied populations. There is mounting evidence that intrasexual 42 contest competition such as fighting has been a key component of sexual selection on human 43 males [11]. Modern males may possess adaptations to assist them in fighting and assessing 44 opponents' fighting ability [12]. Handedness could therefore be considered a sexually selected trait 45 in males, and may be expressed in females a by-product [9].48 overrepresented in combat sports. Sports are particularly relevant systems for testing theories 49 based on intrasexual competition, as they are thought to have evolved culturally as a display for 50 males to advertise fighting and competitive ability [13]. Overrepresentation of left-handers has 51 been seen in boxing (where is it referred to among coaches and fans as 'Southpaw Advantage': 52 [14-16], mixed martial arts or MMA ...

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Left-handedness is associated with greater fighting success in humans

Richardson

Gilman

2019

Preprint

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“…It has long been thought in combat sports that having longer arms (or “reach advantage”) is a critical factor in fighting success. Growing evidence suggests that human males have been intrasexually selected for violent contest competition (Hill, Bailey, & Puts, 2017; Puts, 2010), and may possess adaptations specifically for fighting (Carrier, 2011; Carrier & Morgan, 2015; Třebický, Stirrat, & Havlíček, 2019). If having longer arms played a similar role in the fighting success of our male ancestors, this raises the possibility that longer arm length may also be an intrasexually selected trait in modern males.…”

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Is arm length a sexually selected trait in humans? Evidence from mixed martial arts.

Richardson¹

2021

Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences

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Growing evidence suggests that human males have been sexually selected for violent contest competition. I propose the hypothesis that increased arm length is an intrasexually selected adaptation for fighting in males. Longer arms may have provided several advantages to our male ancestors during conflict. However previous research on the effects of arm span on fighting success have shown mixed results and may not have fully accounted for allometric scaling of arm span with size. In a sample of 1,660 modern mixed martial arts fighters, I find that arm span is sexually dimorphic and associated with fighting success, even when controlling for body size. However, effects of arm span on fighting success were very small, suggesting that selection may have been weak. I review evidence for alternative explanations for men’s longer arm span and propose future directions to further test this hypothesis.

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“…Formidability and resource holding potential, i.e. an individual's willingness to engage in conflict over resources stemming from his/her ability to obtain or withdraw resources from a rival (see Třebický et al, 2019) are also cued by masculinity (Boothroyd et al, 2007;Carre & McCormick, 2008;Stirrat & Perrett, 2010;Swaddle & Reierson, 2002;Třebický et al, 2015). A woman living in an environment with higher income inequality may prefer masculine men because they are more likely to obtain more resources for their families (Brooks et al, 2011;Little et al, 2013).…”

Section: Measured and Perceived Sex Dimorphismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cues for facial attractiveness and preference of sexual dimorphism: A comparison across five cultures

Fiala¹,

Třebický²,

Jd³

et al. 2020

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It has been hypothesised that the strength of association between sex typicality and attractiveness follows an adaptive pattern across cultures. Such pattern allows for adjustment of individual preferences for facial cues associated with direct (parenting) and indirect (biological quality) benefits from mating with a potential mate according to environmental conditions. To test this hypothesis, we examined associations among intra-culturally perceived sex typicality, attractiveness, measured skin lightness, measured averageness, and sexual dimorphism of shape from facial images, while controlling for age, body mass, and facial width, in five distinct cultures with different environmental and socioeconomic conditions (Cameroon, N of facial stimuli = 200, 100 women; Colombia, N = 138, 66 women; Czechia, N = 100, 50 women; Iran, N = 87, 43 women; and Turkey, N = 185, 93 women). Our results suggest that measured sexual shape dimorphism and averageness are not significantly associated with neither perceived sex typicality nor attractiveness across the cultures. In all samples of female faces, however, perceived sex typicality was positively related to facial attractiveness. Women found perceived sex typicality in men as more attractive only in the Czech environment, with its relatively abundant resources, and in Colombia, which is a highly socioeconomically heterogeneous and competitive culture. Lighter skin raised the ratings of both attractiveness and sex typicality only in Cameroonian women. Darker men were perceived significantly more sex-typical but not more attractive in Cameroonian, Colombian, and Iranian samples. Altogether, our results highlight the need to control for which measure of sexual dimorphism is used (perceived or measured) and make a detailed description of the local environment. It is the perceived, rather than measured, sexual dimorphism that is associated with perceived attractiveness, and wealth distribution, rather than public, health that seems to affect masculinity preferences.

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Fighting Assessment

Cited by 5 publications

References 70 publications

Left-handedness is associated with greater fighting success in humans

Left-handedness is associated with greater fighting success in humans

Is arm length a sexually selected trait in humans? Evidence from mixed martial arts.

Cues for facial attractiveness and preference of sexual dimorphism: A comparison across five cultures

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