Self-Perceived Physical Attractiveness and Moral Intuitions as Mediators Between Somatic-Parental Effort and Mating Orientation
Research suggests that physical attractiveness may be associated with more permissive moral norms, which can in turn lead to the adoption of a more liberal sexual strategy. However, different predictions arise from evolutionary Life History Theory and Moral Foundations Theory. We hypothesized that s...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
SAGE Publishing
2025-07-01
|
| Series: | Evolutionary Psychology |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1177/14747049251349052 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849731370338746368 |
|---|---|
| author | Andrzej Łukasik Anna Wołpiuk-Ochocińska |
| author_facet | Andrzej Łukasik Anna Wołpiuk-Ochocińska |
| author_sort | Andrzej Łukasik |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Research suggests that physical attractiveness may be associated with more permissive moral norms, which can in turn lead to the adoption of a more liberal sexual strategy. However, different predictions arise from evolutionary Life History Theory and Moral Foundations Theory. We hypothesized that self-reported physical attractiveness and moral intuitions (innate morality) mediate the relationship between somatic-parental effort (SPE) and sociosexual desire - an indicator of mating orientation. The study involved 326 women aged 19-33 years. A sequential mediation analysis was conducted. As hypothesized, higher levels of SPE were associated with higher self-reported physical attractiveness. It was also shown that self-perceived physical attractiveness was a positive indicator of innate morality and that among all moral intuitions only Authority was a negative predictor of a preference for short-term relationships. Furthermore, in the studied women SPE was a direct positive predictor only of the intuition of Sanctity/Purity. However, the relationship between physical attractiveness in women following the slow reproductive strategy and sociosexual desire was characteristic of reproductive effort rather than somatic-parental effort. However, it was found that certain relationships between variables were in particular characteristic of women with a rural background. For this reason, the obtained results in the hypothesis context are significantly limited to this specific subpopulation of women. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-31a3d02a986b427bb66f6f83b075c0f7 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 1474-7049 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | SAGE Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Evolutionary Psychology |
| spelling | doaj-art-31a3d02a986b427bb66f6f83b075c0f72025-08-20T03:08:33ZengSAGE PublishingEvolutionary Psychology1474-70492025-07-012310.1177/14747049251349052Self-Perceived Physical Attractiveness and Moral Intuitions as Mediators Between Somatic-Parental Effort and Mating OrientationAndrzej ŁukasikAnna Wołpiuk-OchocińskaResearch suggests that physical attractiveness may be associated with more permissive moral norms, which can in turn lead to the adoption of a more liberal sexual strategy. However, different predictions arise from evolutionary Life History Theory and Moral Foundations Theory. We hypothesized that self-reported physical attractiveness and moral intuitions (innate morality) mediate the relationship between somatic-parental effort (SPE) and sociosexual desire - an indicator of mating orientation. The study involved 326 women aged 19-33 years. A sequential mediation analysis was conducted. As hypothesized, higher levels of SPE were associated with higher self-reported physical attractiveness. It was also shown that self-perceived physical attractiveness was a positive indicator of innate morality and that among all moral intuitions only Authority was a negative predictor of a preference for short-term relationships. Furthermore, in the studied women SPE was a direct positive predictor only of the intuition of Sanctity/Purity. However, the relationship between physical attractiveness in women following the slow reproductive strategy and sociosexual desire was characteristic of reproductive effort rather than somatic-parental effort. However, it was found that certain relationships between variables were in particular characteristic of women with a rural background. For this reason, the obtained results in the hypothesis context are significantly limited to this specific subpopulation of women.https://doi.org/10.1177/14747049251349052 |
| spellingShingle | Andrzej Łukasik Anna Wołpiuk-Ochocińska Self-Perceived Physical Attractiveness and Moral Intuitions as Mediators Between Somatic-Parental Effort and Mating Orientation Evolutionary Psychology |
| title | Self-Perceived Physical Attractiveness and Moral Intuitions as Mediators Between Somatic-Parental Effort and Mating Orientation |
| title_full | Self-Perceived Physical Attractiveness and Moral Intuitions as Mediators Between Somatic-Parental Effort and Mating Orientation |
| title_fullStr | Self-Perceived Physical Attractiveness and Moral Intuitions as Mediators Between Somatic-Parental Effort and Mating Orientation |
| title_full_unstemmed | Self-Perceived Physical Attractiveness and Moral Intuitions as Mediators Between Somatic-Parental Effort and Mating Orientation |
| title_short | Self-Perceived Physical Attractiveness and Moral Intuitions as Mediators Between Somatic-Parental Effort and Mating Orientation |
| title_sort | self perceived physical attractiveness and moral intuitions as mediators between somatic parental effort and mating orientation |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1177/14747049251349052 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT andrzejłukasik selfperceivedphysicalattractivenessandmoralintuitionsasmediatorsbetweensomaticparentaleffortandmatingorientation AT annawołpiukochocinska selfperceivedphysicalattractivenessandmoralintuitionsasmediatorsbetweensomaticparentaleffortandmatingorientation |