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Making music: Let's not be too quick to abandon the byproduct hypothesis

Stewart-Williams S

Behav Brain Sci, 2021 09 30;44:e113.
PMID: 34588037 DOI: 10.1017/S0140525X20001119

It is premature to conclude that music is an adaptation. Given the danger of overextending the adaptationist mode of explanation, the default position should be the byproduct hypothesis, and it should take very strong evidence to drag us into the adaptationist camp. As yet, the evidence isn't strong enough - and the proposed adaptationist explanations have a number of unresolved difficulties.
Sexual History and Present Attractiveness: People Want a Mate With a Bit of a Past, But Not Too Much

Stewart-Williams S, Butler CA, Thomas AG

J Sex Res, 2016 11 02;54(9):1097-1105.
PMID: 27805420 DOI: 10.1080/00224499.2016.1232690

The aim of this study was to explore how people's sexual history affects their attractiveness. Using an Internet survey, 188 participants rated their willingness to engage in a relationship with a hypothetical individual with a specified number of past sexual partners, ranging from 0 to 60+. The effect of past partner number was very large. Average willingness ratings initially rose as past partner number rose, but then fell dramatically. For short-term relationships, men were more willing than women to get involved (although the difference was not large). For long-term relationships, in contrast, there was virtually no sex difference. Thus, contrary to the idea that male promiscuity is tolerated but female promiscuity is not, both sexes expressed equal reluctance to get involved with someone with an overly extensive sexual history. Finally, participants with an unrestricted sociosexual orientation (high SO participants) were more tolerant than low SO participants of prospective mates with higher numbers of past sexual partners but were also less tolerant of prospective mates with low numbers of past sexual partners.
2D:4D digit ratio and religiosity in university student and general population samples

Richards G, Davies W, Stewart-Williams S, Bellin W, Reed P

Transpers Psychol Rev, 2018;20(1):23-36.
PMID: 30283240

The ratio of index to ring finger length (2D:4D) is used as a proxy for prenatal sex hormone exposure. It has been hypothesised to correlate with religiosity, though no published research has explored this possibility. Here, we initially examined 2D:4D in relation to self-reported religious affiliation and questionnaire measures of general religiosity, spirituality, religious fundamentalism, and religious commitment in male (N = 106) and female (N = 105) university students (Study 1). Although no significant correlations were observed between 2D:4D and the questionnaire measures, females who affiliated with organised religions had higher digit ratios compared to agnostic or atheist females. Study 2 attempted to replicate these findings in an adult general population sample (N = 172 males, N = 257 females), but did not observe significant effects in either sex. Overall, these findings suggest that high 2D:4D may be relatively-specifically associated with religious affiliation in young, highly-educated, females.
Fulltext Right-leaning egalitarians are just as susceptible to social justice-induced product patronage! Evidence from the US and Malaysia

Wong RMM, Owuamalam CK, Stewart-Williams S

Acta Psychol (Amst), 2023 Jul;237:103935.
PMID: 37267880 DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2023.103935

We investigated the impact of egalitarianism on consumers' inclination to support fair-trade products and examined whether this effect was observed among individuals with different political affiliations. In four experiments featuring a fictional chocolate brand presented in either a social-justice (fair trade) or quality-focused (control) manner, we examined the product purchase intentions of both left- and right-leaning consumers in the United States and Malaysia (Studies 1a, N = 200; 1b, N = 269; & 2, N = 410). Results revealed that participants expressed a greater willingness to support the product when it was framed as contributing to a social justice cause, but this effect was limited to left- and right-leaning consumers who strongly endorsed egalitarian principles. Study 3 (N = 354) employed a mediated-moderation approach and confirmed that an elevated sensitivity to injustice was the underlying mechanism driving increased intentions to support the product among egalitarians exposed to social justice framing. These results demonstrate that right-leaning consumers can be influenced by social justice framing when their commitment to equity is strong.
Fulltext Current Fertility Status Does Not Predict Sociosexual Attitudes and Desires in Normally Ovulating Women

Thomas AG, Armstrong SL, Stewart-Williams S, Jones BC

Evol Psychol, 2021;19(1):1474704920976318.
PMID: 33412934 DOI: 10.1177/1474704920976318

Previous research has found that women at peak fertility show greater interest in extra-pair sex. However, recent replications have failed to detect this effect. In this study, we add to this ongoing debate by testing whether sociosexuality (the willingness to have sex in the absence of commitment) is higher in women who are at peak fertility. A sample of normally ovulating women (N = 773) completed a measure of sociosexuality and had their current fertility status estimated using the backward counting method. Contrary to our hypothesis, current fertility was unrelated to sociosexual attitudes and desires, even when relationship status was included as a moderator. These findings raise further doubts about the association between fertility and desire for extra-pair sex.
Reactions to male-favouring versus female-favouring sex differences: A pre-registered experiment and Southeast Asian replication

Stewart-Williams S, Chang CYM, Wong XL, Blackburn JD, Thomas AG

Br J Psychol, 2021 May;112(2):389-411.
PMID: 32701171 DOI: 10.1111/bjop.12463

Two studies investigated (1) how people react to research describing a sex difference, depending on whether that difference favours males or females, and (2) how accurately people can predict how the average man and woman will react. In Study 1, Western participants (N = 492) viewed a fictional popular-science article describing either a male-favouring or a female-favouring sex difference (i.e., men/women draw better; women/men lie more). Both sexes reacted less positively to the male-favouring differences, judging the findings to be less important, less credible, and more offensive, harmful, and upsetting. Participants predicted that the average man and woman would react more positively to sex differences favouring their own sex. This was true of the average woman, although the level of own-sex favouritism was lower than participants predicted. It was not true, however, of the average man, who - like the average woman - reacted more positively to the female-favouring differences. Study 2 replicated these findings in a Southeast Asian sample (N = 336). Our results are consistent with the idea that both sexes are more protective of women than men, but that both exaggerate the level of same-sex favouritism within each sex - a misconception that could potentially harm relations between the sexes.
Fulltext Sex Differences in Voyeuristic and Exhibitionistic Interests: Exploring the Mediating Roles of Sociosexuality and Sexual Compulsivity from an Evolutionary Perspective

Thomas AG, Stone B, Bennett P, Stewart-Williams S, Kennair LEO

Arch Sex Behav, 2021 07;50(5):2151-2162.
PMID: 34231108 DOI: 10.1007/s10508-021-01991-0

Sociosexuality and sexual compulsivity predict sex differences in voyeuristic interest in the population. In this study, we used a sample of 1113 participants from the UK (46% men) to consider whether sociosexuality and sexual compulsivity interacted to explain these sex differences and whether this relationship extended to the related domain of exhibitionism. In doing so, we tested novel predictions derived from an evolutionary perspective which views voyeuristic and exhibitionistic interest as manifestations of a short-term mating strategy. Participants reported their levels of repulsion toward voyeurism and exhibitionism and their interest in performing such acts under different levels of risk. There were clear sex differences in voyeuristic and exhibitionistic repulsion that were partially mediated by the serial combination of sociosexuality and sexual compulsivity. Examining the sexes separately revealed qualitatively different relationships between sociosexuality and sexual compulsivity when predicting exhibitionistic, but not voyeuristic, repulsion. Combined, sociosexuality and sexual compulsivity also mediated the sex difference in willingness to commit acts of voyeurism, but not exhibitionism, which was equally low for both sexes. The results highlight the role sociosexuality plays in voyeuristic and exhibitionistic interest, which coupled with an evolutionary perspective, may have implications for how we view courtship disorders.
The harm hypothesis: How perceived harm to women shapes reactions to research on sex differences

Stewart-Williams S, Leong CXR, Seto SA, Thomas AG, Wong XL

Int J Psychol, 2024 Jun;59(3):495-504.
PMID: 38168745 DOI: 10.1002/ijop.13101

Past research suggests that reactions to research on sex differences are often less positive when the findings put men in a better light than women, especially when the lead researcher is a man. The factors underlying this effect, however, are not yet fully understood. The present study aimed to provide the first experimental test of the hypothesis that the key variable is perceived harm to women. Participants (214 men and 219 women) evaluated a bogus popular-science article reporting fictional research finding either a female- or a male-favouring sex difference in intelligence, attributed to either a female or a male lead researcher. To examine the effects of perceived harm, the introduction to the task highlighted either the potential benefits or potential drawbacks of sex-differences research in general. Consistent with past research, participants reacted less positively to the male-favouring difference, especially for male-led research. Consistent with the harm hypothesis, the effect was stronger after highlighting the potential drawbacks of sex-differences research than after highlighting the potential benefits. Our findings suggest that perceptions of harm to women underpin the aversion to male-favouring findings.
Polygamous Interest in a Mononormative Nation: The Roles of Sex and Sociosexuality in Polygamous Interest in a Heterosexual Sample from the UK

Thomas AG, Harrison S, Mogilski JK, Stewart-Williams S, Workman L

Arch Sex Behav, 2024 Feb;53(2):611-627.
PMID: 38030825 DOI: 10.1007/s10508-023-02749-6

Polygamy is a form of "one-sided" consensually non-monogamous relationship where one person has multiple committed partners, each of whom is only involved with that one person. It was likely a reoccurring feature of ancestral mating that posed adaptive problems for our ancestors. Yet polygamy, and multi-partnering more generally, is understudied in Western cultures, raising questions about the existence of polygamous interest and whether this is calibrated adaptively to personal conditions. In two studies, we examined polygamous interest in two heterosexual online samples from the UK. In Study 1 (N = 393), modest interest was found for polygamous relationships overall. Men were six times more open to polygyny than women, but there was little sex difference in openness to polyandry. Further analysis revealed that all forms of multi-partnering were undesirable relative to singlehood and monogamy; however, consensual multi-partner relationships were less undesirable than non-consensual ones. Sex differences were largest for polygyny and arrangements where men had agreed access to a casual partner alongside a committed one, yet these were two of the most acceptable forms of multi-partnering when men and women's responses were combined. Sociosexuality positively predicted interest in most forms of multi-partnering. Study 2 (N = 735) focused on polygyny and added status-linked traits as predictors. The results of Study 1 were broadly replicated, though the status-linked traits did not predict polygynous interest specifically. Instead, sociosexuality and male intrasexual competitiveness uniquely predicted general interest in multi-partner relationships. Overall, interest in polygamy appears to emerge despite social discouragement and sex differences in interest track the relative costs and benefits associated with it. However, there is no strong evidence that polygamous interest is uniquely calibrated to personal conditions when compared to other forms of multi-partnering.
Mate preference priorities in the East and West: A cross-cultural test of the mate preference priority model

Thomas AG, Jonason PK, Blackburn JD, Kennair LEO, Lowe R, Malouff J, et al.

J Pers, 2020 06;88(3):606-620.
PMID: 31494937 DOI: 10.1111/jopy.12514

OBJECTIVE: Mate choice involves trading-off several preferences. Research on this process tends to examine mate preference prioritization in homogenous samples using a small number of traits and thus provide little insight into whether prioritization patterns reflect a universal human nature. This study examined whether prioritization patterns, and their accompanying sex differences, are consistent across Eastern and Western cultures.
METHOD: In the largest test of the mate preference priority model to date, we asked an international sample of participants (N = 2,477) to design an ideal long-term partner by allocating mate dollars to eight traits using three budgets. Unlike previous versions of the task, we included traits known to vary in importance by culture (e.g., religiosity and chastity).
RESULTS: Under low budget conditions, Eastern and Western participants differed in their mate dollar allocation for almost every trait (average d = 0.42), indicating that culture influences prioritization. Despite these differences, traits fundamental for the reproductive success of each sex in the ancestral environment were prioritized by both Eastern and Western participants.
CONCLUSION: The tendency to prioritize reproductively fundamental traits is present in both Eastern and Western cultures. The psychological mechanisms responsible for this process produce similar prioritization patterns despite cross-cultural variation.
Reply to Darlow and Gray: Censorship is exclusion

Clark CJ, Al-Gharbi M, Baumeister RF, Bleske-Rechek A, Buss D, Ceci S, et al.

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 2024 May 21;121(21):e2404156121.
PMID: 38739797 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2404156121
Fulltext Prosocial motives underlie scientific censorship by scientists: A perspective and research agenda

Clark CJ, Jussim L, Frey K, Stevens ST, Al-Gharbi M, Aquino K, et al.

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 2023 Nov 28;120(48):e2301642120.
PMID: 37983511 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2301642120

Science is among humanity's greatest achievements, yet scientific censorship is rarely studied empirically. We explore the social, psychological, and institutional causes and consequences of scientific censorship (defined as actions aimed at obstructing particular scientific ideas from reaching an audience for reasons other than low scientific quality). Popular narratives suggest that scientific censorship is driven by authoritarian officials with dark motives, such as dogmatism and intolerance. Our analysis suggests that scientific censorship is often driven by scientists, who are primarily motivated by self-protection, benevolence toward peer scholars, and prosocial concerns for the well-being of human social groups. This perspective helps explain both recent findings on scientific censorship and recent changes to scientific institutions, such as the use of harm-based criteria to evaluate research. We discuss unknowns surrounding the consequences of censorship and provide recommendations for improving transparency and accountability in scientific decision-making to enable the exploration of these unknowns. The benefits of censorship may sometimes outweigh costs. However, until costs and benefits are examined empirically, scholars on opposing sides of ongoing debates are left to quarrel based on competing values, assumptions, and intuitions.