Relationship Status Moderates Men’s Conspicuous Consumption of Smartphones

2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 13-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine Hennighausen ◽  
Frank Schwab

By applying the handicap principle, researchers have investigated men’s conspicuous purchases of high-status products as part of sexual signaling systems. Studies have suggested that, as part of short-term mating strategies, men are particularly willing to engage in conspicuous consumption to attract mates. Yet, this research has neglected to examine how relationship status influences conspicuous consumption. In our web-based study involving 352 participants (229 women), men tending towards short-term mating reported greater purchase intentions for a high-status smartphone only when single or in uncommitted relationships, while no association surfaced between mating strategy and conspicuous consumption among men in committed relationships. Results also revealed that, independent of mating strategy and income, single men and men in uncommitted relationships were more willing to purchase a low-status smartphone. Relationship status did not affect women’s conspicuous consumption. With these findings, we argue that relationship status significantly moderates men’s conspicuous consumption, as well as discuss purchases of low-status products as possible signals of men’s interest in long-term mating.

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Arter

Many species employ conditional strategies for reproduction or survival. In other words, each individual “chooses” one of two or more possible phenotypes to maximize survival or reproductive advantage given specific ecological niche conditions (e.g., Moran, 1992). Humans seem to employ at least one conditional reproductive strategy, choosing between a more short-term or a more long-term mating strategy (Gangestad & Simpson, 2000), and as with non-human animals, their choices relate in part to an assessment of their own traits (Belsky, 1997; Schmitt, 2005). However, the selection pressures that individuals of a species can exert on each other are not restricted to mate selection; they can arise from many forms of social interaction (West-Eberhard, 1983; Wolf, Brodie, & Moore, 1999). Evidence suggests that individuals are sensitive to characteristics of the self, friend, and environmental conditions when choosing friends (Fehr, 1996; Rose, 1985; Verbrugge, 1977), and that a person’s economic, social, and environmental circumstances influence how they form and organize their friendships (Adams & Allan, 1998; Feld & Carter, 1998). Thus, in this paper I hypothesize that humans have evolved a coherent range of conditional friendship strategies: that we vary predictably in terms of the friendships we form, based on an assessment of our own traits, others’ traits, and our own current needs. I propose a continuum of individual differences in friendship strategy, anchored on one end by those who use friendships for exploration (e.g., skill-building and networking) and on the other end by those who use friendships for intimate exchange (e.g., emotional support and intimacy). I created a measure assessing this continuum, and found that men tended to report a stronger exploration strategy than women. I also found that people with a stronger exploration strategy also had a more short-term mating strategy and were more extroverted, and that people with a stronger intimate exchange strategy reported themselves to be more kind and generous; these results remained when controlling for gender. However, friendship strategy did not relate to socioeconomic status, age, attachment avoidance, relationship status, or presence of kin relationships. There was some evidence that friendship strategy was related to the number of friends an individual reported having and how close they felt to their friends.


2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Arter

Many species employ conditional strategies for reproduction or survival. In other words, each individual “chooses” one of two or more possible phenotypes to maximize survival or reproductive advantage given specific ecological niche conditions (e.g., Moran, 1992). Humans seem to employ at least one conditional reproductive strategy, choosing between a more short-term or a more long-term mating strategy (Gangestad & Simpson, 2000), and as with non-human animals, their choices relate in part to an assessment of their own traits (Belsky, 1997; Schmitt, 2005). However, the selection pressures that individuals of a species can exert on each other are not restricted to mate selection; they can arise from many forms of social interaction (West-Eberhard, 1983; Wolf, Brodie, & Moore, 1999). Evidence suggests that individuals are sensitive to characteristics of the self, friend, and environmental conditions when choosing friends (Fehr, 1996; Rose, 1985; Verbrugge, 1977), and that a person’s economic, social, and environmental circumstances influence how they form and organize their friendships (Adams & Allan, 1998; Feld & Carter, 1998). Thus, in this paper I hypothesize that humans have evolved a coherent range of conditional friendship strategies: that we vary predictably in terms of the friendships we form, based on an assessment of our own traits, others’ traits, and our own current needs. I propose a continuum of individual differences in friendship strategy, anchored on one end by those who use friendships for exploration (e.g., skill-building and networking) and on the other end by those who use friendships for intimate exchange (e.g., emotional support and intimacy). I created a measure assessing this continuum, and found that men tended to report a stronger exploration strategy than women. I also found that people with a stronger exploration strategy also had a more short-term mating strategy and were more extroverted, and that people with a stronger intimate exchange strategy reported themselves to be more kind and generous; these results remained when controlling for gender. However, friendship strategy did not relate to socioeconomic status, age, attachment avoidance, relationship status, or presence of kin relationships. There was some evidence that friendship strategy was related to the number of friends an individual reported having and how close they felt to their friends.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shahzad Shabbir ◽  
Muhammad Adnan Ayub ◽  
Farman Ali Khan ◽  
Jeffrey Davis

Purpose Short-term motivation encompasses specific, challenging and attainable goals that develop in the limited timespan. On the other hand, long-term motivation indicates a sort of continuing commitment that is required to complete assigned task. As short-term motivational problems span for a limited period of time, such as a session, therefore, they need to be addressed in real time to keep the learner engaged in the learning process. Similarly, long-term learners’ motivation plays an equally important role to retain the learner in the long run and minimize the risk of dropout. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to incorporate a comprehensive learner motivation model that is based on short-term and long-term aspects of the learners' motivation. This approach enables Web-based educational systems to identify the real-time motivational state of the learner and provide personalized interventions to keep the learners engaged in learning process. Design/methodology/approach Recent research regarding personalized Web-based educational systems demonstrates learner’s motivation to be an essential component of the learning model. This is because of the fact that low motivation results in either students’ less engagement or complete drop out from the learning activities. A learner motivation model is considered to be a set of perceptions and beliefs that the system has developed about a learner. This includes both short-term and long-term motivations of leaners. Findings This study proposed a framework of a domain independent learners’ motivation model based on firm educational theories. The proposed framework consists of two modules. The primary module deals with real-time identification of motivation and logging off activities such as login, forum participation and adherence to assessment deadline. Secondary module maintains the profile of leaners associated with both short-term and long-term motivation. A study was conducted to verify the impact of learners’ motivation model and personalized interventional strategies based on proposed model, using Systematical Information Education Method assessment standards. The results show an increase in motivational index and the characteristics associated with motivation during the conducted study. Originality/value Motivational diagnosis is important for both traditional classrooms and Web-based education systems. It is one of the major elements that contribute in the success of the learning process. However, dropout rate among online students is very high, which leads to incorporate motivational elements in more personalized way because motivated students will retain the course until they successfully complete it. Hence, identifying learner’s motivation, updating learners’ motivation model based on this identification and providing personalized interventions are the key for the success of Web-based educational systems.


2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eugene Taeha Paik ◽  
Timothy G. Pollock ◽  
Steven Boivie ◽  
Donald Lange ◽  
Peggy M. Lee

We investigate how the relationship between status and performance decouples over time by addressing two questions: (1) how performance affects the likelihood that an actor achieves high status and (2) how achieving high status affects the actor’s subsequent performance. In doing so, we focus on the role repeated certification contests play, where evaluators assess actors’ performance along particular dimensions and confer high status on the contest winners. Using the context of sell-side (brokerage) equity analysts and the “All-Star” list from Institutional Investor magazine, we first investigate whether analysts who make the All-Star list are more likely to produce accurate and/or independent forecasts. Then, we investigate analyst performance after recent and multiple wins. Our results demonstrate the decoupling of status and performance over time and the roles played by both the high-status actor and the social evaluators conferring their status. Whereas analyst performance increases the likelihood of being designated an All-Star, recent and multiple All-Star designations differentially affect both how subsequent performance is assessed, and how the All-Star analysts subsequently perform. In the short term, achieving high status can increase performance and solidify an analyst’s status position; however, in the long term, it can lead to lower performance and eventually result in status loss, which further erodes performance.


2000 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 590-591 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Beckerman

Human mating strategies are contingent on individual prospects. Gangestad & Simpson provide a useful framework to explore these differing prospects, but do not take sufficient account of what is known ethnographically about mating decisions. Women often do not select their own long term mates. Men often have two or more long term mates, and can invest in the offspring of short term matings also.


2016 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 125-138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emanuel Jauk ◽  
Aljoscha C. Neubauer ◽  
Thomas Mairunteregger ◽  
Stephanie Pemp ◽  
Katharina P. Sieber ◽  
...  

Dark Triad traits (narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism) are linked to the pursuit of short–term mating strategies, but they may have differential effects on actual mating success in naturalistic scenarios: Narcissism may be a facilitator for men's short–term mating success, while Machiavellianism and psychopathy may be detrimental. To date, little is known about the attractiveness of Dark Triad traits in women. In a speed–dating study, we assessed participants‘ Dark Triad traits, Big Five personality traits, and physical attractiveness in N = 90 heterosexual individuals (46 women and 44 men). Each participant rated each partner's mate appeal for short– and long–term relationships. Across both sexes, narcissism was positively associated with mate appeal for short– and long–term relationships. Further analyses indicated that these associations were due to the shared variance among narcissism and extraversion in men and narcissism and physical attractiveness in women, respectively. In women, psychopathy was also positively associated with mate appeal for short–term relationships. Regarding mating preferences, narcissism was found to involve greater choosiness in the rating of others‘ mate appeal (but not actual choices) in men, while psychopathy was associated with greater openness towards short–term relationships in women. Copyright © 2016 European Association of Personality Psychology


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mitch Brown ◽  
Kaitlyn Boykin ◽  
Donald F. Sacco

Identifying reproductive opportunities and intrasexual rivals has necessitated the evolution of sensitivity to features diagnostic of mate value. In determining the presence of good genes through physical features, individuals may additionally infer targets’ short- and long-term mating motives. This study tested how individuals perceive men and women’s mating intentions through physical features conducive to reproductive goals. Participants evaluated preferred mating strategies of male and female targets varying in size of sex-typical features (i.e., muscles or breasts) and adiposity. Greater adiposity connoted long-term mating interest. Large muscles and breasts connoted short-term mating interests. We frame results from an affordance management framework with respect to inferences regarding parental investment and intrasexual competition.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mitch Brown

Human facial structures communicate personality from which one can infer another’s behavioral intentions, forming a basis for mate selection. One particularly detectable trait through facial structures is extraversion. Extraversion is a trait associated with heightened interest in promiscuous mating strategies and preferred among individuals similarly interested in short-term mating, implicating extraverted mates as ideal trait for short-term mating. Nonetheless, behavioral repertoires associated with extraversion may also pose risks, particularly in long-term mating, as their increased promiscuity may undermine their fidelity to a specific partner, thereby potentially reducing biparental investment in any offspring produced. Thus, a preference for introversion (i.e., low extraversion) may be desirable in long-term mating. This dissertation sought to determine the extent to which differential mating contexts, as elicited through activating context-specific motives, influence preferences for facially communicated extraversion versus introversion. Men and women were experimentally primed with mating motives, either long-or short-term, or a control state before indicating the extent to which various mating-related motivational states were activated (i.e., arousal, intrasexual competition, infidelity concerns, sociosexually unrestricted attitudes). Finally, I tasked them with indicating their preferences among male and female face pairs manipulated to communicate high and low levels of extraversion. Consistent with previous research, participants reported a preference for extraverted female faces and aversion to extraverted male faces. However, and contrary to hypotheses, differential mating contexts influenced neither men’s nor women’s preferences for extraversion. Furthermore, no motivational states provided the predicted mediation pathways. I frame these results based on various methodological limitations that could inform future research and posit future directions.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Spencer Fox ◽  
Tanner Reeb ◽  
Ella ingram

Popular songs contain more references to evolutionarily-relevant reproductive themes than their unpopular counterparts. If these patterns result from preference adaptation, then popular song content should reflect human preferences. We compared two Sexual Strategies Theory (SST) predictions to popular song content: (1) that males will have higher interest in short-term mating compared with females, and (2) that individuals will increase long-term mating interest with age. We selected a random sample of popular genre songs from a single year and popular songs from artists whose careers spanned at least two decades (e.g. Aretha Franklin and Elton John), and tallied reproductive references in the lyrics using two complementary song frameworks to compare artist and genre reproductive strategies: classifying songs into short- and long-term mating strategies, and classifying lyrics into committal and non-committal references. Contrary to our expectation from SST, genders in both song samples used the same types and quantities of reproductive references, though male song choice significantly favored short-term interests. We found a significant age by gender interaction in song and content usage: male references and songs became more commitment-focused as the age of the artist increased, while reproductive references used by females remained focused on commitment regardless of age, though the relationship had little explanatory power. Surprisingly, we found that song popularity was predicted best by age, not song content, suggesting that artist demographics are an important predictor for song popularity. Our analysis revealed some consistency with SST, but we found that song lyrical classification frameworks need further improvement before being able to provide a temporally and culturally flexible framework for testing hypotheses regarding mating strategies and preferences.


2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 147470492097962
Author(s):  
Mehmet Mehmetoglu ◽  
Ilmari Määttänen

Previous research has provided evidence that females are generally the more selective sex in humans. Moreover, both sexes have been found to be more selective in long-term mating compared to short-term mating. In this study, we have examined the effects of sex, mating strategy (preferred relationship length) and their interaction on mate preferences (i.e., mate selection criteria) in an egalitarian Nordic society, namely Norway. The study sample consisted of 1,000 individuals, 417 of whom were male and 583 female respondents. According to our findings, men were more selective in physical appearance, whereas women were more selective in all the other mate preferences (e.g., understanding, dominant, kind, intellectual etc.). The respondents that were seeking short-term relationships had higher preference for physical appearance, humorousness and sociability. On the other hand, the respondents that were seeking long-term relationships were more selective in most of the other mate preferences (i.e., understanding, kind, cultivated, domestic, reliable, and similar). Interestingly, no interaction effect was found between sex and mating strategy in that differences between long-term and short-term seekers in mate preferences did not change depending on sex. This suggests that men and women value the same traits in short-term relationships.


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