Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 6, 2026

A New Approach that Eliminates Handling for Studying Aggression and the "Loser" Effect in Drosophila melanogaster
Published on: December 30, 2015
Do human females use indirect aggression as an intrasexual competition strategy?
1Counselling, Faculty of Education and School of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ottawa, , Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1N 6N5.
Abstract:
Indirect aggression includes behaviours such as criticizing a competitor's appearance, spreading rumours about a person's sexual behaviour and social exclusion. Human females have a particular proclivity for using indirect aggression, which is typically directed at other females, especially attractive and sexually available females, in the context of intrasexual competition for mates. Indirect aggression is an effective intrasexual competition strategy. It is associated with a diminished willingness to compete on the part of victims and with greater dating and sexual behaviour among those who perpetrate the aggression.
Related Concept Videos
Aggression
Competition
Criticisms of the Evolutionary Perspective
Evolutionary psychology provides one explanation for these findings, suggesting...
Natural Selection and Mating Preferences
Females, due to their biological roles in conception, pregnancy, and nursing,...
Mate Choice
Types of Selection

