Abstract

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Brase (2006, Evolution and Human Behavior)
One prediction derived from parental investment theory is that women will be more attentive than men to cues of a prospective mate’s dispositions to invest in children. Research with 1,793 internet participants, representing a diverse population sample, found that: a) women tend to be generally more critical than men in their evaluations of potential mates, but not potential friends or neighbors, and b) cues of a positive disposition towards parental investment (DPI) have a positive influence on female evaluations of the attractiveness of males. This latter effect, however, is less domain-specific than previous research (La Cerra, 1995) indicated; it is not limited to mating contexts, and it is not limited to cues focusing on parental investment. In fact, much of the sex difference appears to be due to indifference by males towards cues of female DPI. A second study further clarified that the previous findings were not due solely to the internet methodology or the immediate accessibility of images being evaluated.