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A meta‐analysis of sex differences in romantic attraction: Do rating contexts moderate tactic effectiveness judgments?
Author(s) -
Schmitt David P.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
british journal of social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.855
H-Index - 98
eISSN - 2044-8309
pISSN - 0144-6665
DOI - 10.1348/014466602760344278
Subject(s) - attraction , derogation , psychology , context (archaeology) , social psychology , interpersonal attraction , promotion (chess) , romance , developmental psychology , perception , paleontology , philosophy , linguistics , neuroscience , politics , political science , psychoanalysis , law , biology
Although a number of studies have explored perceived sex differences in romantic attraction effectiveness, no research has systematically examined whether different rating contexts might moderate effectiveness judgments. In a meta‐analytic review of romantic attraction research, four potential moderating variables were examined: temporal context (unspecified, long‐term, short‐term), manipulation form (self‐promotion, competitor derogation), attraction type (general, retention, poaching), and sex of rater (mixed, same, opposite). Although perceived sex differences in physical appearance and resource‐related tactics remained stable across most moderating variables, sex differences did vary across some rating contexts. For example, perceptions of sex differences in the effectiveness of appearance‐related attraction tactics were much stronger in the context of self‐promotion ( d = ‐.77) compared with the competitor derogation context ( d = ‐.17). Resource‐related tactics of attraction displayed the opposite pattern, with significantly larger perceived sex differences in the context of competitor derogation ( d = .93) than in self‐promotion ( d = .68). Discussion focused on the implications of sex difference variability and stability across rating contexts for evolutionary theories of romantic attraction.