(Pretty) Lady First: Effects of Mate-Related Motives on the Item-Selection Orders of Faces With Varying Attractiveness

Abstract

Evolutionary theories suggest that fundamental mating-related motives might exert specific effects on human cognition and behaviors. Based on the evolutionary perspective, our prior research illustrated that the activation of mating-related motives leads to a study-time allocation bias toward highly attractive female faces. While study-time allocation is one of the aspects of the self-regulated learning process, it is unclear whether mating motives affect study decision behaviors (as measured by item-selection orders) during the learning process. Therefore, the present study followed the logic of previous research and aimed to examine the effects of matingrelated motives on item-selection orders for face-name associations among faces with varying attractiveness. In two experiments, after an imagery procedure, participants in mating-related priming conditions (Experiment 1: mate search, Experiment 2: mate guarding) or control conditions performed an item-selection task. Participants were shown 16 female faces with varying attractiveness on a computer screen and were instructed to decide the order for studying the faces and corresponding names. Experiment 1 showed that activating mate-search motives led male participants to prioritize the choice of highly attractive rather than less attractive faces for studying. In Experiment 2, compared to the participants in the control condition, female participants in the mate-guarding priming condition were more likely to prioritize the choice of highly attractive rather than less attractive faces for studying. The present findings clarify that mating-related motives affect the item-selection prioritization of faces with varying attractiveness.

The Silver Lining in the Dark Cloud of Social Status Insecurity: The Mediating Role of Popularity Goals in the Association Between Social Status Insecurity and Chinese Adolescents’ Bullying Bystander Behaviors

“…As a result, the mediating effects diminished. As previous evolutionary psychology research has focused on the fundamental motive effects on cognitive processes (e.g., attention and metacognition; Maner et al, 2007;Zhang et al, 20 ), the findings of our study expand the explanatory scope of evolutionary theory by revealing the mediating effects of popularity goals on the relationship between social cognition factors and social behaviors (active defending behaviors). Our findings are not consistent with those of previous studies.…”

“…Evolutionary psychology claims that individuals develop domain-specific cognition or behavioral outcomes to attain their goals (Kenrick et al, 2010;Zhang et al, 20 ). According to resource control theory, popularity is an important social resource in individuals' social life; individuals adopt prosocial (e.g., stopping the bullies, comforting the victim) or coercive (e.g., 20 20 aggressive, bullying, or delinquency) behavioral strategies to achieve their social goals (to access or protect their popularity in peer groups; Hartl et al, 2020;Hawley, 1999;Hawley, 2014;Kiefer & Wang, 2016;Ranney & Troop-Gordon, 2020).…”

Romantic Love and Attentional Biases Toward Attractive Alternatives and Rivals: Long-Term Relationship Maintenance Among Female Chinese College Students

“…Identification of potential rivals could facilitate the use of mate-guarding tactics (Maner, Gailliot, & DeWall, 2007). Indeed, previous studies found that women pay more attention to attractive rivals when mate-guarding was activated (W. Li et al, 2015;Y. Zhang et al, 2019).…”

“…Indeed, previous studies found that women pay more attention to attractive rivals when mate-guarding was activated (W. Li et al, 2015; Y. Zhang et al, 2019).…”