Abstract
Two studies tested the hypothesis that the degree to which individuals are selective in a location is influenced by the perceived probability that others within a given location can support reproductive goals. In Study 1 (n = 72), participants were asked to imagine themselves in various locations and asked their minimum criteria for a one-night stand. Both male and female participants were less selective in locations that were perceived to support their reproductive goals and became more selective in non-supportive locations. Study 2 (n = 300) extended and replicated the findings in a field study in which experimenters collected criteria in six locations. Limitations and implications of the current research are discussed.
Acknowledgements
I am grateful to Candy Lynn Ducheneaux, Eli Finkel, Robert Horton, Brad Pinter, and the SCAR Group for their comments on this research, and to Andrew Rowell, Elisha Wiggins, Kristy Kent, Jeffrey Yau, Rebecca Denton, Anne Lentz, and Jennifer Mayer for their assistance with data collection.
Notes
To test the hypothesis that the sex of the experimenter may have interacted with sex of the participant and the location to account for the findings of Study 2 (e.g., women may be more likely to express high preferences to a male experimenter in a bar compared with a library), a 2 (sex of participant) × 2 (sex of experimenter) × 3 (location) × 8 (trait) MANOVA was conducted. The included factor did not influence, solely or interactively, any other independent variable.
A MANCOVA analysis with alcohol consumption as the covariate produced identical results.
An additional 2 (location: library versus supermarket) × 2 (sex) ANOVA with intelligence as the dependent variable and a 2 (location: gym versus café) × 2 (sex) × 3 (trait: extraversion, physical attractiveness, dominance) MANOVA failed to support this alternative hypothesis. The intelligence ANOVA failed to detect an interaction between sex and location, F(1, 102) = 0.04, p = 0.84, whereas the extraversion MANOVA failed to detect the critical location × sex interaction, F(3, 97) = 1.37, p = 0.25.