Journal
JOURNAL OF PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
Volume 93, Issue 1, Pages 85-102Publisher
AMER PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOC
DOI: 10.1037/0022-3514.93.1.85
Keywords
costly signaling; altruism; conspicuous consumption; mating goals; self-presentation
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Funding
- NIMH NIH HHS [5R01MH64734] Funding Source: Medline
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Conspicuous displays of consumption and benevolence might serve as costly signals of desirable mate qualities. If so, they should vary strategically with manipulations of mating-related motives. The authors examined this possibility in 4 experiments. Inducing mating goals in men increased their willingness to spend on conspicuous luxuries but not on basic necessities. In women, mating goals boosted public - but not private - helping. Although mating motivation did not generally inspire helping in men, it did induce more helpfulness in contexts in which they could display heroism or dominance. Conversely, although mating motivation did not lead women to conspicuously consume, it did lead women to spend more publicly on helpful causes. Overall, romantic motives seem to produce highly strategic and sex-specific self-presentations best understood within a costly signaling framework.
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