Dolling-up under disease threats: Do pathogen threats motivate attractiveness signaling?

StatusVoR
Simple item page
cris.lastimport.scopus2024-12-19T04:12:53Z
dc.abstract.enUnder high pathogen threat, it is adaptive for humans to find mates with high immunocompetence. Supporting this, research shows that pathogen cues increase humans’ preference for physical attractiveness—an indicator of a well-functioning immune system—among their potential mates. Building on this literature, we examined whether exposure to videos depicting pathogens (vs. a control video of nature scenery) triggers the desire to signal one’s physical attractiveness. We tested this prediction in four experiments, including two well-powered preregistered ones. In Experiment 1, we examined how pathogen cues influenced the desire for cosmetic surgery and the amount of time and money participants are willing to spend on improving their attractiveness. In Experiment 2, we measured willingness to exercise to improve attractiveness and the importance of appearing attractive to the opposite sex. In Experiment 3, participants were asked to write a self-introduction for a hypothetical dating app, which was coded in terms of the extent to which they highlighted their physical attractiveness. Finally, in Experiment 4, we examined how participants prioritized the signaling of their physical attractiveness to a potential date relative to other traits in a budget allocation task. Contrary to our hypothesis, pathogen threats did not increase the motivation to signal attractiveness across all measures, except in terms of willingness to exercise for aesthetic reasons. In summary, while pathogen threats promote a preference for attractiveness in mate-seeking, they do not immediately increase the motivation to signal attractiveness to potential mates
dc.affiliationInstytut Psychologii
dc.affiliationWydział Psychologii we Wrocławiu
dc.contributor.authorTan, Lynn K. L.
dc.contributor.authorFolwarczny, Michał
dc.contributor.authorGąsiorowska, Agata
dc.contributor.authorLi, Norman P.
dc.date.accessioned2024-10-14T06:59:51Z
dc.date.available2024-10-14T06:59:51Z
dc.date.created2023-03-29
dc.date.issued2024-07
dc.description.issue3
dc.description.physical224–241
dc.description.versionfinal_published
dc.description.volume18
dc.identifier.doi10.1037/ebs0000327
dc.identifier.eissn2330-2933
dc.identifier.issn2330-2925
dc.identifier.urihttps://share.swps.edu.pl/handle/swps/882
dc.identifier.weblinkhttps://psycnet.apa.org/record/2023-70237-001?doi=1
dc.languageen
dc.pbn.affiliationpsychologia
dc.rights.questionNo_rights
dc.subject.enpathogen salience
dc.subject.enphysical attractiveness
dc.subject.enmating strategy
dc.subject.enmate preferences
dc.swps.sciencecloudnosend
dc.titleDolling-up under disease threats: Do pathogen threats motivate attractiveness signaling?
dc.title.journalEvolutionary Behavioral Sciences
dc.typeJournalArticle
dspace.entity.typeArticle