Behavioral and Brain Sciences

Table of Contents - April 2012 - Volume 35, Issue 02  

Open Peer Commentary

Extending parasite-stress theory to variation in human mate preferences

Lisa M. DeBruinea1, Anthony C. Littlea2 and Benedict C. Jonesa1

a1 School of Psychology, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, AB25 3FX, Scotland, United Kingdom. l.debruine@abdn.ac.uk http://facelab.org/debruine ben.jones@abdn.ac.uk http://facelab.org/bcjones

a2 School of Natural Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling, FK9 4LA Scotland, United Kingdom. anthony.little@stir.ac.uk http://alittlelab.com

Abstract

In this commentary we suggest that Fincher & Thornhill's (F&T's) parasite-stress theory of social behaviors and attitudes can be extended to mating behaviors and preferences. We discuss evidence from prior correlational and experimental studies that support this claim. We also reanalyze data from two of those studies using F&T's new parasite stress measures.

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