Partner Meeting
Patterns of Panethnic Intermarriage in the United States, 1980-2018
Aaron Gullickson
Demography, forthcoming
Abstract:
Intermarriage among ethnic groups belonging to the same panethnic category (e.g., Asian, Latino) is an important indicator of the strength of panethnicity. Yet, most of the research on panethnic intermarriage uses older samples with significant data limitations. In this article, I use data on recently married couples from the 2014-2018 American Community Surveys and the 1980 U.S. Census to analyze the likelihood of ethnic exogamy within the panethnic categories of Latino, East/Southeast Asian, and South Asian. I utilize a counterfactual marriage model that accounts for group size within local marriage markets, eliminates immigrants married abroad from analysis, and controls for birthplace and language endogamy. The results show that birthplace and language diversity are significant barriers to ethnic exogamy among Asians but not Latinos. Once birthplace and language endogamy are held constant, panethnic intermarriage is far more likely among Asians than among Latinos. East/Southeast Asian ethnic exogamy has increased over time, while Latino ethnic exogamy has not. Furthermore, East/Southeast Asian and South Asian intermarriage remains rare, suggesting that panethnic intermarriage among Asians occurs within two separate melting pots.
Effects of gender inequality and wealth inequality on within-sex mating competition under hypergyny
Robert Brooks, Khandis Blake & Lutz Fromhage
Evolution and Human Behavior, forthcoming
Abstract:
Resources are often central to the formation and persistence of human consortships, and to the evolutionary fitness consequences of those consortships. As a result, the distribution of resources within a society should influence the number and quality of mating opportunities an individual of given status/wealth experiences. In particular, in a wide variety of societies, both contemporary and historic, women have been shown to prefer mates of higher rather than lower status and wealth, a pattern known as 'hypergyny'. Such status-dependent within-sex competition is influenced not only by the preferences individuals express but also by the distribution of resources within and between sexes. Empirical studies show that economic inequality within a sex can amplify mating competition, and that inequalities between women and men also influence behaviours related to mating competition, but the links between resource distribution and mating competition have attracted limited systematic attention. We present simulation models of hypergynous preferences and the effects on mating competition among men and among women within a heterosexual mating market. Our modelling shows that the lower mating success of poorer men and richer women (when compared with richer men and poorer women) is worsened when resource gender gaps are relatively small or when women out-earn men on average. Likewise, high economic inequality, especially among men, amplifies the competition experienced by these groups. We consider the political implications in terms of sex- and status-dependent attitudes to gender equity, wealth inequality, and hypergynous mating norms.
What guy wouldn't want it? Male victimization experiences with female-perpetrated stranger sexual harassment
Caroline Erentzen, Alisha Salerno-Ferraro & Regina Schuller
Journal of Social Issues, forthcoming
Abstract:
The present research explored female-perpetrated stranger sexual harassment of young male victims. Across two studies, male participants aged 16-23 reported that they had experienced a range of unwanted sexual attention from unknown female perpetrators, including both in-person harassment (e.g., seductive behavior and catcalls, unwanted sexual touching) and online harassment (e.g., unsolicited sexual text messages and images, requests for nude self photos). Participants reported that in-person sexual harassment started as early as 9-12 years of age and online harassment began between 12-14 years of age. Open-ended descriptions of these early events revealed troubling narratives of non-consensual sexual touching, forcibly removed clothing, groping, aggression, and being followed, with much of it committed by adult women. Participants recounted being asked, in adolescence, to send nude photos and receiving persistent sexual demands, often from older women. In addition, participants reported uncertainty with gender role expectations, believing that they were supposed to enjoy sexual attention but in reality finding it disturbing and unpleasant. Practical implications, policy recommendations, and future directions are discussed.
Exogeneous testosterone increases sexual impulsivity in heterosexual men
Yin Wu et al.
Psychoneuroendocrinology, forthcoming
Abstract:
Testosterone has been hypothesized to promote sexual motivation and behavior. However, experimental evidence in healthy humans is sparse and rarely establishes causality. The present study investigated how testosterone affects delay of gratification for sexual rewards. We administered a single dose of testosterone to healthy young males in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, between-participant design (N = 140). Participants underwent a sexual delay discounting task, in which they made a choice between a variable larger-later option (i.e., waiting longer to view a sexual picture for a longer duration) and a smaller-sooner option (i.e., waiting for a fixed shorter period of time to view the same picture for a shorter duration). We found that testosterone administration increased preference for the smaller-sooner option and induced steeper discounting for the delayed option. These findings provide direct experimental evidence that rapid testosterone elevations increase impulsivity for sexual rewards and represent an important step towards a better understanding of the neuroendocrine basis of sexual motivation in humans.
Menstrual cycle and hormonal contraception effects on self-efficacy, assertiveness, regulatory focus, optimism, impulsiveness, and risk-taking
Khandis Blake, Meg McCartney & Ruben Arslan
Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, forthcoming
Abstract:
The Fertility-Assertiveness Hypothesis posits that women affect their environment and assert their desires more so during the fertile compared to non-fertile phase of their menstrual cycle. No research to date has examined whether this increase is evident in other psychological outcomes loosely related to assertiveness or whether it is attenuated by hormonal contraception. To address these gaps we implemented The Daily Cycle Diary, a worldwide daily diary study examining menstrual cycle and hormonal contraception induced shifts in assertiveness, self-efficacy, optimism, regulatory focus, impulsivity and risk-taking. In a fully pre-registered, quasi-experimental within-subject investigation, participants from 23 countries (939 menstrual cycles) provided daily data on their menstrual cycle characteristics and answered self-report questions on each day of their menstrual cycle. Self-efficacy robustly increased alongside fertility probability for naturally cycling women but not hormonal contraceptive users. Prevention-focus (a regulatory strategy that avoids negative outcomes) also increased with fertility probability but the effect was not robust. Menstruation was associated with lowered assertiveness as well as changes in three facets of impulsivity for all women, irrespective of contraceptive use. Exploratory plots showed that contraceptive users and naturally cycling women exhibit a variety of menstrual cycle induced psychological differences unrelated to cycling fertility. Given the prevalence of hormonal contraception use worldwide, future investigation of the menstrual cycle and hormonal contraceptive use on female psychology is of utmost importance.