Previous studies have documented links between sub-clinical narcissism and the active pursuit of ... more Previous studies have documented links between sub-clinical narcissism and the active pursuit of short-term mating strategies (e.g., unrestricted sociosexuality, marital infidelity, mate poaching). Nearly all of these investigations have relied solely on samples from Western cultures. In the current study, responses from a cross-cultural survey of 30,470 people across 53 nations spanning 11 world regions (North America, Central/South America, Northern Europe, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Southern Europe, Middle East, Africa, Oceania, Southeast Asia, and East Asia) were used to evaluate whether narcissism (as measured by the Narcissistic Personality Inventory; NPI) was universally associated with short-term mating. Results revealed narcissism scores (including two broad factors and seven traditional facets as measured by the NPI) were functionally equivalent across cultures, reliably associating with key sexual outcomes (e.g., more active pursuit of short-term mating, intimate par...
The Big Five Inventory (BFI) is a self-report measure designed to assess the high-order personali... more The Big Five Inventory (BFI) is a self-report measure designed to assess the high-order personality traits of Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism, and Openness. As part of the International Sexuality Description Project, the BFI was translated from English into 28 languages and administered to 17,837 individuals from 56 nations. The resulting cross-cultural data set was used to address three main questions: Does the factor structure of the English BFI fully replicate across cultures? How valid are the BFI trait profiles of individual nations? And how are personality traits distributed throughout the world? The five-dimensional structure was robust across major regions of the world. Trait levels were related in predictable ways to self-esteem, sociosexuality, and national personality profiles. People from the geographic regions of South America and East Asia were significantly different in openness from those inhabiting other world regions. The discussion focu...
The leg-to-body ratio (LBR) is a morphological index that has been shown to influence a person’s ... more The leg-to-body ratio (LBR) is a morphological index that has been shown to influence a person’s attractiveness. In our research, 3,103 participants from 27 nations rated the physical attractiveness of seven male and seven female silhouettes varying in LBR. We found that male and female silhouettes with short and excessively long legs were perceived as less attractive across all nations. Hence, the LBR may significantly influence perceptions of physical attractiveness across nations.
Abstract Evolutionary psychologists have hypothesized that men and women possess both long-term a... more Abstract Evolutionary psychologists have hypothesized that men and women possess both long-term and short-term mating strategies, with men‘s short-term strategy differentially rooted in a desire for sexual variety. Some evolutionary theorists have postulated, to the contrary, that all humans possess a single mating strategy, and that men should not fundamentally differ from women in their desires for sexual variety. In this article, new findings from a cross-cultural survey of 16,288 people across 10 major world regions (including North America, South America, Western Europe, Ea stern Europe, Southern Europe, Middle East, Africa, Oceania, South/Southeast Asia, and East Asia) demonstrate that sex differences in the d esire for sexual variety are culturally universal throughout these world regions. Sex differences were evident regard less of whether mean, median, distributional, or categorical indexes of sexual differentiation were evaluated. Sex differences were evident regardless of the measures used to evaluate them. Continued efforts to deny this empirically documented sex difference may serve to derail progress in investigating the circumstances under which the desire for sexual variety gets translated into actual behavior, and in the practical consequences of high -risk multiple mating when it occurs
Previous studies have documented links between sub-clinical narcissism and the active pursuit of ... more Previous studies have documented links between sub-clinical narcissism and the active pursuit of short-term mating strategies (e.g., unrestricted sociosexuality, marital infidelity, mate poaching). Nearly all of these investigations have relied solely on samples from Western cultures. In the current study, responses from a cross-cultural survey of 30,470 people across 53 nations spanning 11 world regions (North America, Central/South America, Northern Europe, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Southern Europe, Middle East, Africa, Oceania, Southeast Asia, and East Asia) were used to evaluate whether narcissism (as measured by the Narcissistic Personality Inventory; NPI) was universally associated with short-term mating. Results revealed narcissism scores (including two broad factors and seven traditional facets as measured by the NPI) were functionally equivalent across cultures, reliably associating with key sexual outcomes (e.g., more active pursuit of short-term mating, intimate par...
The Big Five Inventory (BFI) is a self-report measure designed to assess the high-order personali... more The Big Five Inventory (BFI) is a self-report measure designed to assess the high-order personality traits of Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism, and Openness. As part of the International Sexuality Description Project, the BFI was translated from English into 28 languages and administered to 17,837 individuals from 56 nations. The resulting cross-cultural data set was used to address three main questions: Does the factor structure of the English BFI fully replicate across cultures? How valid are the BFI trait profiles of individual nations? And how are personality traits distributed throughout the world? The five-dimensional structure was robust across major regions of the world. Trait levels were related in predictable ways to self-esteem, sociosexuality, and national personality profiles. People from the geographic regions of South America and East Asia were significantly different in openness from those inhabiting other world regions. The discussion focu...
The leg-to-body ratio (LBR) is a morphological index that has been shown to influence a person’s ... more The leg-to-body ratio (LBR) is a morphological index that has been shown to influence a person’s attractiveness. In our research, 3,103 participants from 27 nations rated the physical attractiveness of seven male and seven female silhouettes varying in LBR. We found that male and female silhouettes with short and excessively long legs were perceived as less attractive across all nations. Hence, the LBR may significantly influence perceptions of physical attractiveness across nations.
Abstract Evolutionary psychologists have hypothesized that men and women possess both long-term a... more Abstract Evolutionary psychologists have hypothesized that men and women possess both long-term and short-term mating strategies, with men‘s short-term strategy differentially rooted in a desire for sexual variety. Some evolutionary theorists have postulated, to the contrary, that all humans possess a single mating strategy, and that men should not fundamentally differ from women in their desires for sexual variety. In this article, new findings from a cross-cultural survey of 16,288 people across 10 major world regions (including North America, South America, Western Europe, Ea stern Europe, Southern Europe, Middle East, Africa, Oceania, South/Southeast Asia, and East Asia) demonstrate that sex differences in the d esire for sexual variety are culturally universal throughout these world regions. Sex differences were evident regard less of whether mean, median, distributional, or categorical indexes of sexual differentiation were evaluated. Sex differences were evident regardless of the measures used to evaluate them. Continued efforts to deny this empirically documented sex difference may serve to derail progress in investigating the circumstances under which the desire for sexual variety gets translated into actual behavior, and in the practical consequences of high -risk multiple mating when it occurs
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Papers by Mary-ann Borg Cunen
strategy differentially rooted in a desire for sexual variety. Some evolutionary theorists have postulated, to the contrary, that all humans possess a single mating strategy, and that men should not fundamentally differ from women in their desires for sexual variety. In this article, new findings from a cross-cultural survey of 16,288 people across 10 major world regions (including North America, South America, Western Europe, Ea stern Europe, Southern Europe, Middle East, Africa, Oceania, South/Southeast Asia, and East Asia) demonstrate that sex differences in the d esire for sexual variety are culturally universal throughout these world regions. Sex differences were evident regard less of whether mean, median, distributional, or categorical indexes of sexual differentiation were evaluated. Sex differences were evident regardless of the measures used to evaluate them. Continued efforts to deny this empirically documented sex difference may serve to derail progress in investigating the circumstances under which the desire for sexual variety gets translated into actual behavior, and in the practical consequences of high -risk multiple mating when it occurs
strategy differentially rooted in a desire for sexual variety. Some evolutionary theorists have postulated, to the contrary, that all humans possess a single mating strategy, and that men should not fundamentally differ from women in their desires for sexual variety. In this article, new findings from a cross-cultural survey of 16,288 people across 10 major world regions (including North America, South America, Western Europe, Ea stern Europe, Southern Europe, Middle East, Africa, Oceania, South/Southeast Asia, and East Asia) demonstrate that sex differences in the d esire for sexual variety are culturally universal throughout these world regions. Sex differences were evident regard less of whether mean, median, distributional, or categorical indexes of sexual differentiation were evaluated. Sex differences were evident regardless of the measures used to evaluate them. Continued efforts to deny this empirically documented sex difference may serve to derail progress in investigating the circumstances under which the desire for sexual variety gets translated into actual behavior, and in the practical consequences of high -risk multiple mating when it occurs