Besides acquiring group status via dominance or force, as in other animals, human beings can acquire status via prestige, which follows from other group members valuing one’s expert knowledge. Past research has shown a preference for prestigious leaders over dominant leaders. That is, people prefer leaders who are expert over those who are domineering. In this research, I explored whether the preference for prestige over dominance applies to preferences for actual political figures with facial features that appear dominant or prestigious. I also asked whether the same links between dominance, prestige, and voter preference would hold for both men and women. American participants (recruited through Amazon Mechanical Turk) rated European politicians’ faces on traits associated with prestige and dominance and indicated their likelihood of voting for this person as a governor of their state. Findings suggest ratings of both prestige is a strong predictor of leadership preference than dominance. However, strong correlations between variables suggest prestige and dominance are two closely related concepts. In addition, participants indicated a marginal to significant preference for female leaders, depending on their perceived dominance and prestigiousness.

This paper explores the idea of xenophilia and the circumstances under which it may occur. Xenophilia is the preference for an outgroup member over an ingroup member. This preference does not have to be amicable, and in fact can be exploitative under certain circumstances. Previous research indicates that xenophobia is much more common, but a few researchers have found support for the existence of xenophilia. To experimentally test the circumstances under which xenophilia might occur, I conducted a survey-based experiment on Amazon’s Mechanical Turk. This consisted of directed visualizations that manipulated participant goal (self-protection vs. mate acquisition) and the resources offered by both a fictitious outgroup and the hometown ingroup, followed by measures of ingroup/outgroup preference. I hypothesized that when the resource offered by the group addressed the participants’ goal, they would prefer the group with the “matched” resource—even if it was the outgroup providing that resource. My hypothesis was not supported, as the univariate analysis of variance for preference for the outgroup was not significant, F (2, 423) = .723, p = .486. This may have occurred because the goal manipulations were not strong enough to counteract the strong natural preference for ingroup members.

Across​ ​group​ ​studies,​ ​identifying​ ​as​ ​part​ ​of​ ​one​ ​group​ ​over​ ​the​ ​other​ ​is​ ​instrumental​ ​in determining​ ​the​ ​traits​ ​of​ ​an​ ​individual’s​ ​personality.​ ​Furthermore,​ ​when​ ​someone’s​ ​style​ ​of​ ​dress causes​ ​them​ ​to​ ​fit​ ​into​ ​a​ ​group,​ ​their​ ​personality​ ​is​ ​likely​ ​to​ ​be​ ​dictated​ ​by​ ​what​ ​they​ ​are​ ​wearing and​ ​who​ ​they​ ​are​ ​with.​ ​Attendees​ ​of​ ​comic​ ​conventions​ ​have​ ​been​ ​part​ ​of​ ​a​ ​growing​ ​trend​ ​to dress​ ​up​ ​as​ ​their​ ​favorite​ ​characters​ ​from​ ​different​ ​anime,​ ​manga,​ ​television​ ​shows,​ ​books,​ ​video games,​ ​etc.,​ ​where​ ​they​ ​can​ ​meet​ ​like-minded​ ​people​ ​who​ ​share​ ​similar​ ​interests​ ​and​ ​hobbies. When​ ​combining​ ​changes​ ​of​ ​affect,​ ​and​ ​similarities​ ​of​ ​cultural​ ​and​ ​group​ ​identification,​ ​the likelihood​ ​to​ ​engage​ ​in​ ​a​ ​romantic​ ​relationship​ ​may​ ​become​ ​heightened.​ ​Using​ ​existing​ ​measures to​ ​examine​ ​commitment,​ ​sociosexual​ ​orientation​ ​and​ ​relationship​ ​satisfaction,​ ​1232​ ​convention attendees​ ​responded​ ​to​ ​measures​ ​addressing​ ​their​ ​current​ ​or​ ​most​ ​recent​ ​relationship.​ ​The respondents​ ​were​ ​split​ ​into​ ​4​ ​groups,​ ​individuals​ ​who​ ​are​ ​currently​ ​in​ ​a​ ​relationship​ ​and​ ​cosplay, individuals​ ​who​ ​are​ ​currently​ ​in​ ​a​ ​relationship​ ​and​ ​do​ ​not​ ​cosplay,​ ​individuals​ ​who​ ​are​ ​currently single​ ​and​ ​cosplay,​ ​and​ ​individuals​ ​who​ ​are​ ​currently​ ​in​ ​a​ ​relationship​ ​and​ ​do​ ​not​ ​cosplay. Results​ ​indicated​ ​non-significant​ ​results​ ​in​ ​the​ ​two​ ​groups​ ​that​ ​are​ ​not​ ​in​ ​relationships,​ ​as​ ​well​ ​as non-cosplaying​ ​attendees​ ​currently​ ​in​ ​a​ ​relationship,​ ​for​ ​all​ ​the​ ​measures,​ ​while​ ​there​ ​were​ ​weak, significant​ ​results​ ​for​ ​sociosexual​ ​orientation​ ​and​ ​relationship​ ​satisfaction​ ​for​ ​individuals​ ​who are​ ​in​ ​relationships​ ​and​ ​also​ ​cosplay.​ ​Limitations​ ​and​ ​future​ ​directions​ ​are​ ​discussed.

Previous research on experiences of the endowment effect and buyer's remorse has often failed to compare the two seemingly related phenomena. The current study attempts to provide a framework in which the two can be compared and to offer a possible suggestion as to when it may be beneficial to experience either the endowment effect or buyer's remorse, namely situations of resource scarcity versus abundance. The current study employed an online dating paradigm in which resource scarcity was operationalized as the sex ratio of users on the site. Two hundred and one participants were exposed to a favorable sex ratio, an unfavorable sex ratio, or a no information control condition and asked to bid on potential dates. Once matched with a potential date, participants were asked how willing they would be to give up their date and the minimum amount of points they would request to do so. These dependent variables served as indicators of experiences of the endowment effect or buyer's remorse. Results indicated that the sex ratio of the online dating site did not influence experiences of the endowment effect versus buyer's remorse. Potential mediators and moderators were also investigated although no significant effects were found. Possible reasons for the null results are discussed as well as future directions.

Life History Theory suggests that, in order to maximize reproductive fitness, individuals make trade-offs between allocating resources to mating and parenting. These trade-offs are influenced by an individual's sex, life history strategy, and environment. Here, I explored the usefulness of a Life History Theory framework for understanding endorsement of child support laws. This study experimentally manipulated sex ratio, and gathered information about participants' endorsement of child support, sexual restrictedness, and mate value. As predicted, women endorsed child support more than men, whereas men favored greater restriction of child support in the form of required paternity testing. However, in general, results do not support an effect of sex ratio, sexual restrictedness, or mate value on endorsement of child support. Results suggest sensitivity to exploitation in a male-biased sex ratio, reflected by an increase in men's endorsement of paternity testing requirements under a male-biased sex ratio prime. Women, on the other hand, report especially unfavorable beliefs toward paternity testing in a male-biased sex ratio. Although results of the current study are mixed, there remains much to be gained from applying an evolutionary perspective to understanding variability in endorsement of child support.

Envy may be an emotion shaped by evolution to resolve large resource disparities in zero-sum ancestral environments. Previous research has found evidence for two types of envy: benign envy, which drives greater effort and self-improvement; and malicious envy, which drives hostility toward the better-off target. We predicted that perceived resource scarcity would stoke either type, moderated by individual differences. Specifically, we predicted that high self-esteem would steer people toward benign envy and self-improvement, whereas narcissism would spark malicious envy. After completing the Rosenberg self-esteem scale and the Narcissism Personality Inventory (NPI-16), participants were randomly assigned to either read an article detailing severe cuts to university financial aid budgets (scarcity) or an article summarizing various forms of financial aid (control). Each article ended with the same envy-inducing paragraph about a particularly affluent scholarship-winner, after which participants completed a measure of both envy types, capturing feelings, appraisals, and behavioral tendencies. Results show that self-esteem predicts less malicious envy, while narcissism and scarcity predict more. Self-esteem and narcissism interact such that self-esteem dampens the effect of narcissism on malicious envy. Self-esteem predicted benign envy when narcissism was low, but not when it was high.