The authors argue that romantic relationships matter more to men than to women. They attribute this sex difference to men's greater dependence on their relationships for emotional intimacy and support. Although we resonate with their hypothesis and recognize the veracity of the evidence presented, we suggest that their model understates the role of sex differences in sexual motivation.

Dominance and prestige are two strategies people use to attain high social rank in their groups. Dominance relies on the use of coercion and force, whereas prestige relies on sharing expertise and knowledge and serving as a role model. Although we know much about the behavior of dominant and prestigious leaders, we know much less about basic mental representations that guide people’s understanding of dominance and prestige. Two experiments tested predictions regarding spatial representations that may reflect people’s understanding of the two leadership strategies. Both experiments indicated that, compared to avatars representing dominant leaders, avatars representing prestigious male leaders were placed in closer physical proximity to subordinate group members. Findings align with work in proxemics and suggest that people conceptualize prestigious (relative to dominant) male leaders as more embedded within the groups they serve. Broader discussion centers on contributions of the current work to literature on group behavior and social cognition.

We describe a program of research on the links between fundamental social motives and functionally relevant affordances (threats and opportunities related to those motives). The program began with a question about how basic cognitive processes (such as attention, encoding, and memory) might change as a function of motivational context (mating versus self-protection, for example). That question was extended to include the links between functionally relevant motives and a range of psychological processes and behavior, including economic decision-making, conformity, stereotyping, prejudice, and aggression as well as creativity and psychological well-being. It also led to the development of a scale measuring individual differences in fundamental motives, to explorations of commonalities in those motives across 42 different countries around the world, and to a series of studies of what we have termed “affordance management.” The interlinked Fundamental Motives and Affordance Management theories have untapped potential for generating new research questions, and the discussion considers several important but not yet answered questions about how fundamental motives and affordance management processes work.

Throughout history, women have faced numerous threats during pregnancy, some of which can be mitigated by a strong social network. Consequently, women may demonstrate behavioral changes that bolster their social support network during pregnancy and in the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. We examined whether women's explicit desire to affiliate varied across menstrual cycle phases and was associated with within-woman fluctuations in progesterone and estradiol. Supporting our hypotheses, women demonstrated increased desire to affiliate in the luteal phase of the cycle, and this increase was especially pronounced for affiliation with close others. Moreover, desire to affiliate indeed tended to be positively associated with within-woman fluctuations in progesterone, although the negative association between women's desire to affiliate and within-woman fluctuations in estradiol was more robust across analyses. This research links women's explicit desire for social connection to endocrinological processes across the menstrual cycle and, more broadly, to recurrent challenges faced by pregnant women throughout evolutionary history.

What roles do political partisanship and moral beliefs play in people’s support for particular leaders? The current studies suggest that people with politically conservative views may support dominant leaders (those who use assertiveness, formal authority, and intimidation to influence others) because such leaders are viewed as likely to share conservatives’ moral priorities. Compared to liberals, conservatives reported higher prioritization of group-binding moral foundations. Those moral priorities, in turn, statistically mediated conservatives’ support for dominant leaders. Compared to conservatives, liberals reported higher prioritization of individualizing moral foundations, as well as deprioritization of group-binding moral foundations. Those moral priorities, in turn, statistically mediated liberals’ support for prestige-based leaders (those relying on knowledge, skill, and freely conferred deference to influence others). The current work provides new insight into how people’s moral priorities may underlie their preference for particular types of leaders.

Although existing evolutionary psychological research provides insight into the ultimate reproductive functions underlying long-term romantic partner preferences, such research has generally stopped short of identifying the proximate affective and motivational mechanisms that drive those preferences. Findings from three studies comprising four independent samples (total N = 2099) provide evidence that sexual desire is a proximate mechanism underlying prioritization of attractiveness in long-term partners. Sex differences and individual differences in sociosexuality were associated with prioritization of long-term partner attractiveness and those associations were statistically mediated by levels of chronic sexual desire (Study 1). Experimentally activating a state of high sexual desire increased males' and females' prioritization of attractiveness to an equivalent degree (Study 2). Experimentally reducing the relevance of sexual desire in people's mate preferences decreased prioritization of attractiveness in both males and females (Study 3). These studies integrate ultimate and proximate perspectives to provide novel insight into the role situationally activated motivational states play in shaping long-term partner preferences.

Although many women report being victimized by gossip, fewer report spreading negative gossip. Female gossipers might be unaware they are gossiping if they disclose such statements out of concern for targets. Four studies (N = 1709) investigated whether women believe their gossip is motivated by concern and whether expressing concern for targets insulates female gossipers against social costs, while simultaneously impairing targets' reputations. Study 1 examined sex differences in gossip motivations. Compared to men, women endorsed stronger concern than harm motivations, especially when gossiping about other women, suggesting these motivations characterize female intrasexual gossip. In Study 2, female gossipers who phrased their negative gossip with concern (versus maliciously or neutrally) were evaluated as more trustworthy and desirable as social and romantic partners. Study 3 replicated the favorable evaluations of concerned female gossipers. Female participants especially disliked malicious female gossipers, suggesting professions of concern might help to avoid women's scorn. Male participants reported lower romantic interest in female gossip targets when they learned concern (versus malicious or no) gossip, suggesting concerned gossip can harm female targets' romantic prospects. Study 4 revealed these patterns extend to face-to-face interactions. A female gossiper was preferred as a social partner when she phrased her gossip with concern versus maliciously. Moreover, concerned gossip harmed perceptions of the female target as effectively as malicious gossip. Altogether, findings suggest that negative gossip delivered with concern effectively harms female targets' reputations, while also protecting gossipers' reputations, indicating a viable strategy in female intrasexual competition.

Individual differences in sociosexuality have been conceptualized and operationalized primarily as existing on a single bipolar continuum, with a preference for committed long-term relationships on one end and a preference for casual sex on the other. The current work suggests, however, that motivations for long-term pair-bonding and casual sex might be better conceptualized as two distinct dimensions. With a sample of participants in long-term relationships (N = 320), the current study used one-dimensional versus two-dimensional models of sociosexuality to predict relationship outcomes including satisfaction, commitment, investment, and interest in attractive relationship alternatives. Results demonstrated that the two dimensions (i.e., pair-bonding motivations and casual sex motivations) independently predicted the majority of those outcomes, and for all outcomes except relationship satisfaction, the two-dimensional model accounted for greater variance than did the onedimensional model of sociosexual orientation. The current findings provide support for a two-dimensional reconceptualization of individual differences in sociosexuality.

Consistent with adaptive calibration models, the current study provides evidence that levels of unpredictability in childhood (assessed via disruptive changes in maternal employment, residence, and cohabitation) are associated with autism spectrum traits and borderline personality traits in adulthood. Although both sets of traits reflect vulnerabilities that, in the extreme range, underlie forms of psychopathology, borderline personality traits were associated with higher levels of childhood unpredictability (partial r = .28, p < .001), whereas autism spectrum traits were associated with lower levels of childhood unpredictability (partial r = -.12, p < .01). Findings highlight the fact that not all potentially dysfunctional psychological traits are associated with high levels of child adversity or "fast" life history trajectories. Even developmental trajectories that reflect long-term investment in psychosocial resources can prove dysfunctional in the extreme range. Perceptions of childhood unpredictability statistically mediated associations with both sets of adult traits, suggesting that subjective perceptions of the environment may play a crucial role in translating childhood experiences into long-term developmental outcomes. Models of adaptive calibration provide a valuable theoretical framework for understanding potential developmental roots of adult mental dysfunction.

BACKGROUND:Perceived weight discrimination is associated with increased risk for chronic diseases and reduced life expectancy. Nevertheless, little is known about perceived weight discrimination in racial, ethnic, and sexual minority groups or in individuals at the intersections of those groups. The goal of this study was to identify sociodemographic predictors of perceived weight discrimination. SUBJECTS/METHODS:A diverse sample of adults (37% Black/African American, 36% Latino, 29% sexual minority) with a body mass index (BMI) ≥ 18.5 kg/m2 were recruited from a national US panel to complete an online survey (N = 2454). Perceived weight discrimination was assessed with the Stigmatizing Situations Survey-Brief (SSI-B). Using hierarchical linear regression analysis, SSI-B scores were predicted from the four sociodemographic characteristics of interest (gender, race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation) while controlling for BMI, age, education, and income (Step 1). At Step 2, all two-way interactions between the four sociodemographic characteristics were added to the model. RESULTS:At Step 1, higher SSI-B scores were observed for Latino (vs. non-Latino) adults, sexual minority (vs. heterosexual) adults, younger (vs. older) adults, adults with higher (vs. lower) levels of education, and adults with higher (vs. lower) BMI. At Step 2, race interacted with gender, ethnicity, and sexual orientation to predict SSI-B scores such that relatively higher scores were observed for non-Black women, Black men, adults who identified as Black and Latino, and non-Black sexual minority adults. CONCLUSIONS:Perceived weight discrimination varied across sociodemographic groups, with some subgroups reporting relatively high frequency. Black race appeared to be protective for some subgroups (e.g., Black women), but risk-enhancing for others (e.g., Black men, individuals who identified as Black and Latino). Additional research is needed to identify specific factors that cause certain sociodemographic groups -and indeed, certain individuals-to perceive higher levels of weight discrimination than others.

One longitudinal study of married couples and one experiment tested the hypothesis that the experience of sexual desire for an alternative sexual partner might heighten feelings of desire for one's long-term romantic partner, and conversely, sexual desire for one's long-term partner might heighten desire for alternative partners. A daily-diary study of newlywed couples revealed that (a) on days people reported heightened interest in alternative partners, they also reported increased desire to have sex with their partner and (b) on days people reported heightened desire to have sex with their partner, they also reported increased interest in alternative partners. An experimental study of partnered individuals revealed that people primed with sexual desire for an alternative partner reported increased sexual desire for their romantic partner (relative to a control condition). People primed with sexual desire for their romantic partner, however, did not report increased sexual desire for alternatives. Taken together, these findings support evolutionary perspectives on the function of sexual desire. Findings are consistent with the broader hypothesis that sexual desire is not partner-specific.

Although dominance is a common strategy for attaining high social rank, it often entails exploitative behavior, bringing leaders into conflict with followers. Anthropological work suggests that a long evolutionary history of such conflict has set the stage for moral systems designed to reduce exploitation from powerful people. Here we establish links between dominance (and prestige) and moral leadership, reporting three studies (total n = 1246) demonstrating that, in response to dominant leaders, followers band together in collective opposition aimed at resisting, and even toppling, incumbent leaders. These studies also identify specific social psychological pathways through which dominant leaders elicit moral opposition-low levels of trust and gossip both mediated effects of leader dominance on collective opposition by followers. While dominance may allow people to rise through the ranks of a social hierarchy, the long-term durability of dominance as a leadership strategy may be undermined by collective moral opposition from followers.

A correlational pilot study (N = 143) and an integrative data analysis of two experiments (total N = 377) provide evidence linking anger to the psychology of social hierarchy. The experiments demonstrate that the experience of anger increases the psychological accessibility of implicit cognitions related to social hierarchy: compared to participants in a control condition, participants in an anger-priming condition completed word stems with significantly more hierarchy-related words. We found little support for sex differences in the effect of anger on implicit hierarchy-related cognition; effects were equivalent across male and female participants. Findings fit with functionalist evolutionary views of anger suggesting that anger may motivate the use of dominance to strive for high social rank in group hierarchies. Implications for downstream behaviour, including aggression and negotiation, are discussed.

ObjectiveSpiteful behaviors are those aimed at inflicting harm on another person while also incurring a cost to the self. Although spite sometimes reflects destructive and socially undesirable behaviors including aggression, the current work sought to examine a potentially socially beneficial aspect of spite: engagement in costly punishment for selfish behavior.MethodFour studies used a costly third-party punishment task and measured individual differences in spite, narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and motivations for engaging in punishment.ResultsTrait spite was positively associated with costly punishment of selfish behavior. That association was independent of other dark personality traits (narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy) and was statistically mediated by a desire for retribution. One of the studies also provided evidence that trait spite was associated with costly punishment of even generous behavior; however, rather than a desire for retribution, that association was mediated by a desire to threaten the person being punished.ConclusionPunishing selfishness and other forms of wrongdoing plays an essential role in cooperative group living. The current work provides new insight into the role spiteful motivations might play in this crucial social behavior.

BackgroundHuman reproductive dynamics in the post-industrial world are typically explained by economic, technological, and social factors including the prevalence of contraception and increasing numbers of women in higher education and the workforce. These factors have been targeted by multiple world governments as part of family policies, yet those policies have had limited success. The current work adopts a life history perspective from evolutionary biology: like most species, human populations may respond to safer environments marked by lower morbidity and mortality by slowing their reproduction and reducing their number of offspring. We test this association on three levels of analysis using global, local, and individual data from publicly available databases.ResultsData from over 200 world nations, 3,000 U.S. counties and 2,800 individuals confirm an association between human reproductive outcomes and local mortality risk. Lower local mortality risk predicts "slower" reproduction in humans (lower adolescent fertility, lower total fertility rates, later age of childbearing) on all levels of analyses, even while controlling for socioeconomic variables (female employment, education, contraception).ConclusionsThe association between extrinsic mortality risk and reproductive outcomes, suggested by life history theory and previously supported by both animal and human data, is now supported by novel evidence in humans. Social and health policies governing human reproduction, whether they seek to boost or constrain fertility, may benefit from incorporating a focus on mortality risk.

What are the major vulnerabilities in people with social anxiety? What are the most promising directions for translational research pertaining to this condition? The present paper provides an integrative summary of basic and applied translational research on social anxiety, emphasizing vulnerability factors. It is divided into two subsections: intrapersonal and interpersonal. The intrapersonal section synthesizes research relating to (a) self-representations and self-referential processes; (b) emotions and their regulation; and (c) cognitive biases: attention, interpretation and judgment, and memory. The interpersonal section summarizes findings regarding the systems of (a) approach and avoidance, (b) affiliation and social rank, and their implications for interpersonal impairments. Our review suggests that the science of social anxiety and, more generally, psychopathology may be advanced by examining processes and their underlying content within broad psychological systems. Increased interaction between basic and applied researchers to diversify and elaborate different perspectives on social anxiety is necessary for progress.

Abortion policy is conventionally viewed as a political matter with religious overtones. This article offers a different view. From the perspective of evolutionary biology, abortion at a young age can represent prioritization of long-term development over immediate reproduction, a pattern established in other animal species as resulting from stable ecologies with low mortality risk. We examine whether laws and moral beliefs about abortions are linked to local mortality rates. Data from 50 U.S. states, 202 world societies, 2,596 adult individuals in 363 U.S. counties, and 147,260 respondents across the globe suggest that lower levels of mortality risk are associated with more permissive laws and attitudes toward abortion. Those associations were observed when we controlled for religiosity, political ideology, wealth, education, and industrialization. Integrating evolutionary and cultural perspectives offers an explanation as to why moral beliefs and legal norms about reproduction may be sensitive to levels of ecological adversity.

One longitudinal study of married couples and one experiment tested the hypothesis that the experience of sexual desire for an alternative sexual partner might heighten feelings of desire for one’s long-term romantic partner, and conversely, sexual desire for one’s long-term partner might heighten desire for alternative partners. A daily-diary study of newlywed couples revealed that (a) on days people reported heightened interest in alternative partners, they also reported increased desire to have sex with their partner and (b) on days people reported heightened desire to have sex with their partner, they also reported increased interest in alternative partners. An experimental study of partnered individuals revealed that people primed with sexual desire for an alternative partner reported increased sexual desire for their romantic partner (relative to a control condition). People primed with sexual desire for their romantic partner, however, did not report increased sexual desire for alternatives. Taken together, these findings support evolutionary perspectives on the function of sexual desire. Findings are consistent with the broader hypothesis that sexual desire is not partner-specific.

Internalized weight stigma (IWS) is determinantal to psychological and physical health, yet little is known about IWS in racial, ethnic, and sexual minority groups or individuals at the intersections of those groups. This study identified demographic predictors of IWS in a diverse sample of adults (N = 2,632; 36% Black or African American, 36% Latino, 29% sexual minority) who were recruited from a national U.S. panel and represented the full range of body mass index (BMI) values. IWS was assessed with the modified Weight Bias Internalization Scale (WBIS-M). Using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), WBIS-M scores were first predicted from four demographic predictors of interest (gender, race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation), controlling for age, education, income, and BMI. A second ANCOVA then included all two- and three-way interactions among the four demographic predictors. Respondents with higher BMI values reported significantly higher levels of IWS. Significantly higher WBIS-M scores were observed among women (vs. men), non-Black (vs. Black), Latino (vs. non-Latino), and sexual minority (vs. heterosexual) respondents. These findings, however, were qualified by significant interactions between race and gender and between race and ethnicity. Black women reported significantly lower WBIS-M scores than non-Black women, while scores were similar for Black and non-Black men. Among non-Latino respondents, Black respondents reported significantly lower WBIS-M scores than non-Black respondents; however, scores were similar for Black and non-Black respondents who identified as Latino. More research is needed to assess whether lower IWS translates into protective health effects for certain subgroups of Black adults.