Risk-taking as a Situationally Sensitive Male Mating Strategy

Article by: Michael D. Baker Jr, Jon K. Maner (2008)Made intelligible by: Spencer and Taylor

Introduction: Background

• What guides risk?• When and in whom• Past research focused on goals and emotions• What about ultimate adaptive functions?

• Daly & Wilson (1985); Ackerman et al. (2006); Griskevicius et al. (2007)• Affective influence a product of adaptive functions• Emotions/goals motivate cognitive and behavioral

tendencies that increases reproductive success

Introduction: Background

• Evolutionary hypotheses• Intersexual: show desirable traits• Intrasexual: show value / formidability• Benefit versus cost, must be selective• Situations will influence risk-taking behavior

• Fessler, Pillsworth, and Flamson (2004)• Anger increases risk-taking in men, not women• Male intrasexual competition

• Disgust decreases risk-taking in women, not men• Female selection foraging, protection of offspring

Introduction: Background

• Daly & Wilson (2001): Men, not women, increase risk in presence of others

• Kenrick & Keefe (1992); Singh (1993); Symons (1979): Attractiveness in women indicative of reproductive success

• Wilson & Daly (2004): Attractive faces increases “future discounting,” a type of risk

Introduction: Hypothesis

• Prediction 1: Interest in procuring a mate will be positively associated with increased risk-taking among men

• Prediction 2: Exposure to attractive women increases the effect of mating motives on risk-taking• Enhanced processing of attractive faces• Memory

Methods

• 139 (78 Females / 61 Males) undergraduate psych students

• Procedure• Greeted by female experimenter• View 10 attractive or unattractive faces for five seconds• Take a measure of mating motivation• Blackjack task (DV), choose to hit or stay• 11 hands: 3 “stay,” 3 “hit,” 5 “ambiguous” (target)

• Facial recognition test of faces + foils

Results

Mean Levels of Risk Taking• Men who viewed attractive faces (mean=3.04, SD=1.68)• Men who viewed unattractive faces (mean=3.09, SD=1.63)• Women who viewed attractive faces (mean=3.50, SD=1.88)• Women who viewed unattractive faces (mean=3.32,

SD=1.74)• 2 x 2 ANCOVA• No main effects or two-way interactions

Results: Significant Findings

Significant Findings• Mating motivation• r(24) = .55, p < 0.01 • Z = 2.36, p < 0.05

• Memory for faces• r(24) = .62, p < 0.01• Z = 2.54, p < 0.05

Results

Discussion

Significant Findings• Mating motivation positively associated with risky

decision-making• Only in men• When physical attractiveness cues indicate desirable mating

opportunity• Positive association between memory for attractive female

faces and risk-taking• Risk-taking: associated with heightened processing of

attractive female faces

Discussion

Non-Significant Findings• No associations between mating motivation, memory for

faces, and risk-taking• Men who viewed unattractive faces• Women

• No main effects of exposure to attractive faces

Discussion

• Decision making is influenced by mating-related motives to increase fitness

• Reproductive differences: Men vs. Women• Men’s higher degree of intrasexual competition• Physiological mechanism: heightened processing of

attractive female faces

Discussion

• Risk-taking among men signals particular traits to other men and women

• Women: audience for men to signal their desirability as a mate

• Men: risk-taking is a signal of formidability / value• Competition over resources (females with attractive faces)

Limitations

• Confound of gender• No main effects or interactions found• Possible Type II error from weak variables

• Static pictures on a screen• Low ecological validity• Alternatives: experimenters, real people, video

• Young, risky boys• Can we generalize male risk to an older population?

• Predictor of mating motivation• Somewhat weak, variable predictor

Conclusion

Future Studies• What about women and risk?• What situations do women show greater risk-taking propensity

(e.g., offspring in danger)• Field study in a casino or sport• Experimenter gender• Control: attractiveness of faces• Personality• Chronic interest in mate seeking• Chronic risk-taking

Conclusion

• Why is this important?• Role of motivation• Situationally sensitive• Not just a blanket personality trait

• Risk-taking and decision-making affect a broad domain of behavior

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