Perceived risk of female infidelity moderates the relationship between objective risk of female infidelity and sexual coercion in humans (Homo sapiens).

Female extrapair copulation (EPC) can be costly to a woman's long-term romantic partner. If a woman has copulated recently with a man other than her long-term partner, her reproductive tract may contain the sperm of both men, initiating sperm competition (whereby sperm from multiple males compete to fertilize an egg). Should the woman become pregnant, her long-term partner is at risk of cuckoldry—investing unwittingly in offspring to whom he is not genetically related. Previous research in humans (Homo sapiens) and in nonhuman animals suggests that males have evolved tactics such as partner-directed sexual coercion that reduce the risk of cuckoldry. The current research provides preliminary evidence that mated men (n = 223) at greater risk of partner EPC, measured as having spent a greater proportion of time apart from their partner since the couple's last in-pair copulation, more frequently perform partner-directed sexually coercive behaviors. This relationship is moderated, however, by men's perceived risk of partner EPC, such that the correlation between the proportion of time spent apart since last in-pair copulation and sexually coercive behaviors remains significant only for those men who perceive themselves to be at some risk of partner EPC. Discussion addresses limitations of this research and highlights directions for future research investigating the relationship between female EPC and men's partner-directed sexual coercion. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Role of olfactory stimuli during copulation in male and female rats.

Describes 3 experiments with a total of 74 gonadally-normal male and 29 ovariectomized female Long-Evans rats. Male and female reactions toward odors from novel and original partners were observed prior to the male's attaining his 1st or 2nd ejaculation. The male's reaction depended upon the sexual condition of the female. Only prior to their initial ejaculation did the males prefer their original partner's odors to those of novel females and only if the odors were collected from the females prior to copulation. This finding corresponded with observations of the male's random choice of partner during copulation. Females responded nonpreferentially if they had copulated prior to testing and showed a marked decrease in responsiveness as copulation continued. Prior to copulation females preferred the odors from males which had not copulated to those of males which had. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Calibrating the sociometer: The relational contingencies of self-esteem.

A longitudinal daily diary study examined how chronic perceptions of a partner's regard for oneself might affect the day-to-day relational contingencies of self-esteem. Married partners each completed a diary for 21 days, and completed measures of satisfaction twice over the year. Multilevel analyses revealed that people who chronically felt more positively regarded compensated for one day's acute self-doubts by perceiving greater acceptance and love from their partner on subsequent days. In contrast, people who chronically felt less positively regarded by their partner internalized acute experiences of rejection, feeling worse about themselves on days after they feared their partner's disaffection. Over the year, such self-esteem sensitivity to rejection predicted declines in the partner' s satisfaction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A graduating medical school class evaluates their educational experience

CONTEXT: Comparatively little is known about how U.S. adult men's attitudes and characteristics influence their decision to use contraceptives to prevent pregnancy and to take actions to protect themselves from infection with sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). METHODS: Attitudinal and background data on 1,595 men from the 1991 and 1993 waves of the National Survey of Men (NSM) were used, through logistic regression techniques, to predict the likelihood of current contraceptive use to prevent pregnancy and recent efforts to avoid STD infection among men in three types of sexual relationship--marriage, cohabitation and dating. RESULTS: At the 1993 interview, 58% of men were using contraceptives to prevent pregnancy and 22% had recently taken actions to protect themselves from STDs. Men's concern about how easy a method was to use reduced the likelihood of STD protection, but had no influence on contraceptive use to prevent pregnancy; however, concerns about a method's risks to the female partner increased the likelihood of both outcomes. Couples in which the man expected his partner to take primary responsibility for contraception were 40% as likely to be protecting themselves against STDs as were couples in which the man believed he shared or had greater responsibility. Married men were the least likely to be protecting themselves against STDs, whereas men who were dating were the most likely to do so. CONCLUSIONS: Men's attitudes and characteristics were important predictors of contraceptive use to prevent pregnancy and of efforts to protect against STDs, even after controls for the female partner's characteristics were entered in the analysis. The findings emphasize the need to include men in interventions aimed at reducing unintended pregnancy and STD transmission.     

When rejection stings: How self-esteem constrains relationship-enhancement processes.

Three experiments examined how needs for acceptance might constrain low versus high self-esteem people's capacity to protect their relationships in the face of difficulties. The authors led participants to believe that their partner perceived a problem in their relationship. They then measured perceptions of the partner's acceptance, partner enhancement, and closeness. Low but not high self-esteem participants read too much into problems, seeing them as a sign that their partner's affections and commitment might be waning. They then derogated their partner and reduced closeness. Being less sensitive to rejection, however, high self-esteem participants affirmed their partner in the face of the threat. Ironically, chronic needs for acceptance may result in low self-esteem people seeing signs of rejection where none exist, needlessly weakening attachments. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Copulation rate and sperm use by female bearded tits, Panurus biarmicus

We examined functional and mechanistic aspects of sperm competition in the bearded tit by determining (1) the variation in copulation rate between birds breeding alone or with other males present, and (2) the number of sperm present in the female reproductive tract estimated from the number of sperm trapped on the perivitelline layers of eggs. Females copulated at a higher rate with their partner when other males were present, but this did not translate into more sperm on eggs, possibly because insemination rates exceeded the female's sperm storage capacity. The rate of sperm loss from the female's reproductive tract, which is an important variable of sperm competition models, was obtained for the first time for a wild bird and was relatively high compared with other birds. This suggests that bearded tits copulate frequently because a single insemination is insufficient to fertilize the whole clutch, and females thus have to copulate during the egg-laying period to avoid infertile eggs. This finding is the first empirical support for the fertility insurance hypothesis. In line with this we discuss the significance of the interspecific variation in rate of sperm loss in relation to mating strategies in general, and the evolution of multiple mating rather than improved sperm storage in bearded tits with particular regard to the pronounced extrapair copulation behaviour of females. Copyright 1998 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.     

"Walking on eggshells": How expressing relationship insecurities perpetuates them.

The authors present a model positing that when people are insecure about a relationship partner's acceptance, they often express emotional vulnerabilities to the partner, which causes them to believe the partner views them as highly vulnerable and insecure. In turn, this belief causes them to doubt the authenticity of the partner's expressions of positive regard, which may perpetuate the experience and expression of insecurity that initiated the process. Prototypes of interactions with interpersonally vulnerable individuals included partners' inauthentic expressions of regard (Study 1). Suggesting that these prototypes are applied to personal relationships when vulnerabilities are expressed, those who claimed to have expressed vulnerabilities doubted the partner's authenticity because they believed that they were viewed as vulnerable (Studies 2A, 2B, and 4). Authenticity doubts in turn predicted perceptions of rejection (Studies 3 and 4), which in turn predicted partner derogation and subsequent expressions of vulnerability (Study 4). An experimental manipulation of reflected appraisals of vulnerability increased doubts about the authenticity of a new acquaintance's expressions of emotion (Study 5). Relational insecurity may be perpetuated via the intrapersonal cognitive consequences of expressing it. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex roles and sexual selection

Sexual selection has been portrayed as acting predominantly on males who compete with each other over copulatory access to females; selection was considered to be driven by females choosing between males at the pre- or postcopulatory level. However, a broader view of sexual selection is now emerging. Examining male discrimination between females and female-female competition has been beneficial in identifying factors influencing the direction and strength of sexual selection. Furthermore, consideration of processes such as sexual coercion or genetic incompatibility, which indirectly influence an individual's set of copulation partners, gamete set or their offspring success, has helped to clarify the ways in which sexual selection may operate. Moreover, there is increasing evidence that not all copulations translate directly to paternity and that paternity does not necessarily translate into successful offspring. Postcopulatory and postfertilization mechanisms that influence not only paternity share but offspring recruitment now require further consideration. The benefits to each sex of copulating with particular partners or with more than one partner remains an area of debate. More carefully designed studies which eliminate alternative possibilities or quantify the relative importance of different selective pressures will also benefit from considering that not all copulations function solely to inseminate or receive sperm. It is also now clear that not all individuals of one sex follow the same strategy. Examining the variation between individuals in reproductive behaviour, fertilization success and offspring success will be important in establishing the selective pressures and mechanisms underlying the operation of sexual selection. (c) 1998 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.     

Postvasectomy residual sperm pregnancy

A pregnancy occuring within a few months after a successful vasectomy is sometimes attributed by a skeptical physician to sexual involvement by the spouse with a nonvasectomized man. This assumption may be unjustified because of the fact that after a vasectomy, some residual sperm which are viable enough to cause pregnancy could remain stored distal to the site of occlusion. The Maternal and Child Health Center of Taiwan documented a case history of a 32-year-old father of 2 who impregnated his wife approximately 38 days, and at least 9 ejaculations, after a successful vasectomy. The patient had no urogenital abnormalities and had an uneventful vasectomy procedure. He resumed intercourse with his wife 8 days after vasectomy and returned for 5 semen tests during the year after vasectomy. The patient's 28-year-old wife had her last menses 24 days after the vasectomy, and pregnancy test 57 days after the vasectomy confirmed the suspicion of pregnancy. Vacuum aspiration terminated the pregnancy 2 days later. There was no doubt or question at all that the patient was his wife's only sexual partner. The authors concluded that based on examination of several thousand postvasectomy semen specimens, the distribution of the biologic limits for residual sperm viability is an asymmetrical distribution skewed to the right, suggesting that the limits may even exceed 38 days for some individuals. Thus physicians should be careful in evaluating a pregnancy which occurs a few months after a successful vasectomy.     

Differences in the sexual conditioned behavior of male and female Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica).

The conditioned responses of male and female Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) were compared in a Pavlovian conditioning procedure in which presentation of a brief conditioned stimulus was immediately followed by the release of a copulation partner. Male quail vigorously approached the conditioned stimulus and were much more likely to enter the compartment housing their copulation partner than were female birds (Experiment 1). In females, sexual conditioning resulted in increased squatting (Experiment 2). This response was the reflection of sexual behavior rather than more general social behavior (Experiment 3). These findings provide the first definitive evidence of sexual learning in female quail and are consistent with the interpretation that sexual conditioning increases sexual arousal or receptivity in both sexes but the increase has different behavioral manifestations in male and female quail. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Putting the Partner Within Reach: A Dyadic Perspective on Felt Security in Close Relationships.

The authors argue that felt insecurity in a partner's positive regard and caring stems from a specifically dyadic perception--the perception that a partner is out of one's league. A cross-sectional sample of dating couples revealed that people with low self-esteem feel inferior to their partner and that such feelings of relative inferiority undermine felt security in the partner's regard. Three experiments examined the consequences of reducing such perceived discrepancies by pointing to either strengths in the self or flaws in the partner. Low, but not high, self-esteem participants reacted to new strengths in the self or faults in the partner by reporting greater felt security in their specific partner's positive regard and commitment and more positive, general feelings about their own interpersonal worth. Thus, putting the partner more within the psychological grasp of low self-esteem people may effectively increase felt security in the partner's regard. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reciprocation ideology.

A questionnaire was used to assess college students' ideologies concerning the use of reciprocation for self-gain. Two independent dimensions were found involving beliefs that (a) returning greater help than previously received will result in generous repayments (creditor ideology) and (b) caution in returning help is required to avoid being taken advantage of (reciprocation wariness). The students subsequently took part in a bargaining situation with a partner who possessed low resources or high resources and who was programmed to give a small proportion or a large proportion of those resources. Students who possessed a strong creditor ideology returned greater resources to two kinds of partners: a partner with high resources who acted stingily and a partner with low resources who acted generously. Students with high reciprocation wariness showed reduced responsiveness to their partner's generosity, returning relatively less to a generous partner and more to a stingy partner. The results indicate that individuals differ systematically in their ideology and behavior involving the use of reciprocation for self-gain. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Accuracy in perceptions of interpersonal interactions: Effects of dysphoria, friendship, and similarity.

Addressed conflicting views of depressives' interpersonal accuracy in an investigation of the accuracy of mild depressives (dysphorics) across differing social contexts. Women who were either friends or strangers and who were either similar or dissimilar in level of dysphoria conversed about 3 topics: a neutral topic, their own disclosure of a personal problem, and their partner's disclosure. Dysphorics were not more accurate in general than nondysphorics. After self-disclosure, all women more accurately detected sympathy from a similar stranger. After the partner's disclosure, women also better detected the mood of a similar partner. When interacting with nondysphoric strangers, however, dysphorics underestimated their partner's sympathy toward them. Implications for cognitive and interpersonal theories of depression and for depressives' relationships are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Safer sex knowledge, behavior, and attitudes of inner-city women.

Sexual behavior, knowledge of HIV transmission and prevention, perceived risk of AIDS, and safer sex behavior were studied in a sample of 289 single, pregnant, inner-city women. African-American and European-American women were equally represented. Women had poor AIDS knowledge. Sexual behavior placed women at risk for HIV infection due to the lack of condom or spermicide use. Women did not perceive themselves at risk for the AIDS virus, although they did recognize that heterosexuals were at risk. Their lack of risk perception was partly based on their having a single sexual partner. They did not regard their partner's current or past behavior as placing them at risk. Recommendations for intervention and cultural differences are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of acute alcohol intoxication, partner risk level, and general intention to have unprotected sex on women's sexual decision making with a new partner.

Women account for a quarter of all new HIV/AIDS cases, with approximately 65% having contracted the infection via heterosexual contact. Few experimental studies have examined interactions among background, partner, and situational characteristics in predicting women's sexual decisions. The Cognitive Mediation Model provides a useful theoretical framework for assessing likelihood of unprotected sex. Female social drinkers (n = 230) who had answered questions related to their general intention to have unprotected sex were randomly assigned to an experimental condition based on partner risk level (unknown, low, high) and beverage (control, placebo, low dose, high dose). Participants projected themselves into a story depicting a sexual situation with a man and answered questions about their cognitive appraisals, assertive condom request, and likelihood of unprotected sex. Alcohol effects on appraisal of sexual potential differed by partner risk condition. In the unknown and low risk conditions, placebo and alcohol participants appraised the situation as having greater sexual potential than controls whereas in the high risk condition, only those who consumed alcohol did so. Sexual potential appraisals in turn predicted impelling cognitions about having sex, which in turn predicted assertive condom request and unprotected sex intentions. General intention for unprotected sex independently predicted cognitive appraisals and outcomes. These findings highlight the need for prevention programs that focus on teaching women how to pay attention and consider sexual risk cues presented by potential partners, particularly when under the influence of alcohol. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceived Partner Reactions to Diagnosis and Treatment of Breast Cancer: Impact on Psychosocial and Psychosexual Adjustment.

Two studies examined breast cancer patients' perceptions of their partners' reactions to their diagnosis and treatment as influences on 3 aspects of patients' well-being: psychosexual adjustment, emotional distress, and marital satisfaction. Study 1, cross-sectional, indicated that partner initiation of sex, frequency of sex, a positive 1st sexual experience after treatment, and especially perception of the partner's emotional involvement in the relationship, were relevant to these outcomes. Study 2, longitudinal, confirmed many of these findings in prospective tests across 1 year of recovery after surgery. Partner involvement prospectively predicted all 3 outcomes. Partner initiation of sex predicted greater marital satisfaction; partner adverse reaction to the scar predicted less marital satisfaction. Rated quality of the 1st sexual experience after treatment predicted less distress. The pattern suggests that women's impressions of their partners' emotional involvement after surgery for breast cancer forecast their adjustment in sexual, marital, and emotional arenas over the following year. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sexual selection as a side-effect of sexual conflict in the seaweed fly, Coelopa ursina (Diptera: Coelopidae)

The mating system of the seaweed fly involves a premating struggle. When mounted, females violently try to remove the male. In this study 48% of premating struggles resulted in successful rejection of the male, 46% in copulation and 6% were terminated by the male. Large males had a mating advantage. However, contrary to what would be predicted if this sexual selection occurred as a result of active female mate choice, we found a positive association between the duration of premating struggles and male size. A positive association was also found between the duration of premating struggles and male mating success, suggesting that large males may benefit through their superior ability to withstand female rejection. Large females rejected males more easily than small females, suggesting that the premating struggle has not evolved to allow mate assessment by females. We conclude that sexual selection is occurring as a side-effect of the female rejection response, which has probably evolved in order to avoid costs associated with copulation. Nevertheless, a sexual size dimorphism has evolved with males being larger and much more variable in size than females. (c) 1998 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.     

Perceiving outgroup members as unresponsive: Implications for approach-related emotions, intentions, and behavior.

In 2 studies, the authors investigated the determinants of anger and approach-related intentions and behavior toward outgroup members in interracial interactions. In Study 1, White and Black participants who were led to believe that their interracial interaction partner was not open to an upcoming interaction reported heightened anger and approach-related intentions concerning the interaction, including viewing their partner as hostile, intending to ask sensitive race-relevant questions during the interaction, and planning to blame the partner if the interaction went poorly. Results of Study 2 showed that White participants who received negative feedback about their Black partner's openness to interracial interactions behaved in a hostile manner toward their interaction partner. The findings are discussed in terms of their implications for the quality of interracial interactions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

The function of Barbary macaque copulation calls

In a wide variety of animal species, females produce vocalizations specific to mating contexts. It has been proposed that these copulation calls function to incite males to compete for access to the calling female. Two separate advantages of inciting male-male competition in this way have been put forward. The first suggests that as a result of calling, females are only mated by the highest ranking male in the vicinity (indirect mate choice hypothesis). The second proposes that copulation calling results in a female being mated by many males, thus promoting competition at the level of sperm (sperm competition hypothesis). In this paper, I give results from the first experimental study to test these hypotheses. Playback was used to examine the function of copulation calls of female Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus) in Gibraltar. Although rank did not affect lone males' likelihood of approaching copulation calls, when playbacks were given to pairs of males only the higher ranking individual approached. Moreover, females were mated significantly sooner after playback of their copulation call than after playback of a control stimulus. These results suggest that the copulation calls of female Barbary macaques play a key role in affecting patterns of male reproductive behaviour, not only providing an indirect mechanism of female choice, but also promoting sperm competition by reducing the interval between copulations. Potential fitness benefits of inciting male-male competition at these two levels are discussed.     

Childhood Sexual Abuse, Relationship Satisfaction, and Sexual Risk Taking in a Community Sample of Women.

Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) has been proposed to influence both women's adult sexual risk behaviors and the quality of their intimate relationships. Among a household sample of women (n = 732), good fit was obtained for a model in which CSA predicted Wave 1 male partner sexual risk and aggression characteristics, resulting in lower relationship satisfaction, and ultimately in higher numbers of Wave 2 sexual partners. The model was generally replicated among women who entered new relationships at Waves 2 and 3. Partner sexual risk characteristics also were associated with women's risk of sexually transmitted infection from current partner. Elevated sexual risk behaviors among CSA survivors reflect difficulty in establishing stable and safe relationships and may be reduced by interventions aimed at improving intimate relationships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)