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Husband's esteem predicts his mate retention tactics
Christopher J Holden1, Todd K Shackelford1, Virgil Zeigler-Hill1
1Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan, USA.
Summary
Men
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary Psychology
- Social Psychology
Background:
- Men employ mate retention tactics to maintain relationships.
- Tactics include benefit provision and cost-infliction for partners.
- Prior research relied on women's reports of men's behavior.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the link between men's mate retention behaviors and self/partner esteem.
- To address limitations of previous research using cross-spousal reports.
Main Methods:
- Surveyed 107 married couples on self-esteem and partner esteem.
- Collected self-reports and cross-spousal reports on mate retention tactics.
Main Results:
- Wife's esteem for husband correlated positively with perceived positive inducements.
- Wife's esteem for husband correlated negatively with husband's use of cost-inflicting tactics.
- Men's self-esteem negatively correlated with their direct guarding behavior.
Conclusions:
- Partner esteem and self-esteem may function as indicators of mate value.
- Esteem influences perceptions and use of mate retention strategies.
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