Perceptions of a mismatched couple: The role of attractiveness on mate poaching and copying
Publication Date
2019
Description
This research investigated how a couple’s discrepancy in attractiveness influences men’s decision to mate poach or mate copy. The participants ( N = 97 heterosexual men) were presented with 3 photos of a quasi couple in which the woman was consistent, and the 3 men were unattractive, equally, or more attractive than her. This study used ranking questions to assess heterosexual men’s perception of a couple. Participants were asked to drag and drop the 3 randomized photos in order of preference for 8 randomized questions regarding mate poaching and mate copying. Eight Friedman tests were conducted and revealed a significant difference between the rankings of the photos for each situation. These findings suggest that there are clear differences between the conditional mating strategies men use. Results revealed that when a woman is more attractive than her mate, men desire to mate poach, and if a woman is less attractive than her partner, men desire to mate copy.
Journal
Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences
First Page
1
Last Page
6
Department
Psychology
Second Department
Psychology
Link to Published Version
http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/ebs0000187
DOI
10.1037/ebs0000187
Recommended Citation
Moran, J. B., & Wade, T. J. (2019). Perceptions of a mismatched couple: The role of attractiveness on mate poaching and copying. Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences. DOI:10.1037/ebs0000187
