A1 Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä lehdessä
Psychological flexibility and sociosexual orientation mediate the association between self-perceived attractiveness and mating effort
Tekijät: Borráz‑León Javier I., Krams Indrikis A., Cerda-Molina Ana Lilia, Rantala Markus J.
Kustantaja: SPRINGER
Julkaisuvuosi: 2023
Journal: Current Psychology
Tietokannassa oleva lehden nimi: CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY
Lehden akronyymi: CURR PSYCHOL
Sivujen määrä: 10
ISSN: 1046-1310
eISSN: 1936-4733
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-022-04155-y
Verkko-osoite: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12144-022-04155-y
Evolutionary approaches to human mating strategies have associated facial and physical attractiveness with cues of health, fertility, and personality traits both in men and women. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that these associations may be mediated by psychological flexibility (an indicator of mental health) and/or sociosexual orientation (an indicator of mating strategy). Study aims were: (1) to examine potential correlations between self-perceived attractiveness, self-reported health, minor ailments, mating effort, sociosexual orientation, and psychological flexibility, (2) to test whether psychological flexibility and sociosexual orientation mediate these associations, and (3) to explore potential directional relationships between the study variables. A mixed-sex sample of 211 young adults completed an online battery of questionnaires that gathered demographic, personality, and behavioral data. We found low-to-moderate positive partial correlations (controlling for age, sex, and BMI) between self-perceived attractiveness, self-reported health, mating effort, sociosexual orientation, and psychological flexibility. In contrast, minor ailments were negatively correlated with self-reported health and psychological flexibility. Psychological flexibility and sociosexual orientation independently and partially mediated the association between self-perceived attractiveness and mating effort. Potential causal effects between all the study variables were also discussed. This study contributes to our understanding of the evolutionary aspects of human attractiveness and mating strategies. Further studies are needed to test causality and covariation between these variables to disentangle their potential bidirectional impact on mental health and psychological wellbeing.