Abstract
Individuals solve problems of reproduction by engaging in long-term and short-term mating. Short-term mating strategies have both costs and benefits, but their costs are higher for parents than they are for offspring. On this basis, three hypotheses are formulated: first, individuals consider short-term mating strategies more acceptable for themselves than for their offspring. Second, parents consider short-term mating strategies less acceptable for their daughters than for their sons. Finally, men consider short-term mating strategies more acceptable than women. To test these hypotheses a within-participants design is employed, whereby sexually mature individuals with children are asked to rate the acceptability of a set of short-term mating strategies for themselves and for their offspring. Evidence from a sample of 295 British parents provides support for all three hypotheses.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 895-899 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | Personality and Individual Differences |
Volume | 47 |
Issue number | 8 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Dec 2009 |
Keywords
- Mating behaviour
- Mating strategies
- Parent-offspring conflict
- Parent-offspring conflict over mating
- Parental choice
- Short-term mating