UNDERSTANDING FEMALE AGGRESSION AND MALE VICTIMIZATION FROM AN EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE

I examine female aggression as a competitive strategy for achieving reproductive success. In Chapter 1 an evolutionary theory of female aggression is presented. In Chapter 2 intrasexual competition for mates is considered by examining longitudinal links between aggression and dating behaviour among male and female adolescents. Results indicated that indirectly aggressive boys and girls were significantly more likely to have a dating partner at 1-year follow-up. Adolescents who reported being victimized by their peers were significantly less likely to have a dating partner at follow-up. In Chapter 3 I examine female mate-guarding behaviour. Results demonstrated that aggression toward peers and partners was greater among heterosexual females who perceived intrasexual competitors as being more attractive than them. These links were mediated by romantic jealousy. Females perceiving themselves as more attractive than peers frequently reported being targets of females’ peer-aggression. The findings of chapters 2 and 3 suggest that females actively compete to attain and retain mates. Chapter 4 examines implications for male victims of female aggression. We found that male victims of female partner violence were lower in testosterone than were non-victimized males. Participants held more negative attitudes toward male versus female victims. Males were less likely to seek-help and were more likely to minimize their perceived victimization. These findings suggest threats to male dominance and greater stigma likely reinforce males’ minimization and concealment of victimization. This dissertation contributes to the field of aggression by empirically demonstrating evolutionary-based motives and functions of female aggression as a strategy for bolstering reproductive fitness.Doctor of Psychology (PsyD

Some Get Mad, Others Get Sad: the Mediating Role of Jealousy in Female Undergraduate Students' Experiences with Romantic Relational Aggression

Title: Some Get Mad, Others Get Sad: the Mediating Role of Jealousy in Female Undergraduate Students' Experiences with Romantic Relational Aggression, Author: Steven Arnocky, Location: ThodeRomantic relational aggression is a form of psychological abuse that is meant to purposefully incite or induce insecurity about the relationship. It has been shown to be associated with emotional problems such as increased anxiety and depression symptoms as well as aggression, all of which may be manifestations of jealousy. The goal of this study was to propose and test a theoretical model explaining the fundamental role that jealousy plays in mutual romantic relational aggression in intimate partnerships using structural equation modeling. Results indicated that romantic relational victimization is predictive of possessiveness (an indicator of jealousy), which in tum was predictive of aggression use and anxious and depressive symptoms. Model fit indices supported our theory that in this manner, relational victimization serves as a form of jealousy induction, and that the resulting jealousy experienced by the victim can manifest as reciprocal relational aggression, depressive, or anxious symptoms.ThesisMaster of Science (MS

Do lifestyle and hormonal variables explain links between health and facial attractiveness?

IntroductionFacial attractiveness has recently been considered an indicator of underlying immunocompetence. However, studies examining this relationship have yielded mixed findings. Previous research suggested that these discrepant findings could be due to the common influence of lifestyle factors upon both rated facial attractiveness and health.MethodsYoung men (N = 162) provided standardized facial photos with a neutral expression subsequently rated by eight women for overall attractiveness. Saliva was assayed for immunoglobulin A, testosterone (T) and cortisol (C), and body fat was measured using a skinfold caliper. Self-reports of poor health, and lifestyle factors that could influence health status (age, sleep habits, smoking, drinking alcohol, family stress, and exercising) were collected.ResultsResults showed that symptoms of poor health and skinfold negatively predicted facial attractiveness. There was a modest but statistically non-significant T x C interaction where higher T lower C men trended toward having more attractive faces. A sequential mediation model examining the influence of lifestyle showed support for an indirect effect on facial attractiveness. Specifically, skinfold and poor health symptoms mediated the links between exercise, stress, and facial attractiveness.DiscussionThese findings suggest links between facial attractiveness and immunocompetence could be linked to some common lifestyle and hormonal variables, but that more comprehensive research involving lifestyle indicators (such as nutrition) are necessary

Can listeners assess men's self-reported health from their voice?

Men's voices may provide cues to overall condition; however, little research has assessed whether health status is reliably associated with perceivable voice parameters. In Study 1, we investigated whether listeners could classify voices belonging to men with either relatively lower or higher self-reported health. Participants rated voices for speaker health, disease likelihood, illness frequency, and symptom severity, as well as attractiveness (women only) and dominance (men only). Listeners' were mostly unable to judge the health of male speakers from their voices; however, men rated the voices of men with better self-reported health as sounding more dominant. In Study 2, we tested whether men's vocal parameters (fundamental frequency mean and variation, apparent vocal tract length, and harmonics-to-noise ratio) and aspects of their self-reported health predicted listeners' health and disease resistance ratings of those voices. Speakers' fundamental frequency (ₒ) negatively predicted ratings of health. However, speakers' self-reported health did not predict ratings of health made by listeners. In Study 3, we investigated whether separately manipulating two sexually dimorphic vocal parameters—ₒ and apparent vocal tract length (VTL)—affected listeners' health ratings. Listeners rated men's voices with lower ₒ (but not VTL) as healthier, supporting findings from Study 2. Women rated voices with lower ₒ and VTL as more attractive, and men rated them as more dominant. Thus, while both VTL and ₒ affect dominance and attractiveness judgments, only ₒ appears to affect health judgments. Results of the above studies suggest that, although listeners assign higher health ratings to speakers with more masculine ₒ, these ratings may not be accurate at tracking speakers' self-rated health.Accepted manuscrip

Effects of Voice Pitch on Social Perceptions Vary With Relational Mobility and Homicide Rate

Fundamental frequency ( fo) is the most perceptually salient vocal acoustic parameter, yet little is known about how its perceptual influence varies across societies. We examined how fo affects key social perceptions and how socioecological variables modulate these effects in 2,647 adult listeners sampled from 44 locations across 22 nations. Low male fo increased men’s perceptions of formidability and prestige, especially in societies with higher homicide rates and greater relational mobility in which male intrasexual competition may be more intense and rapid identification of high-status competitors may be exigent. High female fo increased women’s perceptions of flirtatiousness where relational mobility was lower and threats to mating relationships may be greater. These results indicate that the influence of fo on social perceptions depends on socioecological variables, including those related to competition for status and mates