1. Choosy Women, Show-off-y Men
Female choice as a selection pressure.
Implications for male psychology.
- Creativity.
- Consumer behavior.
- Altruistic behavior.
- Conformity and non-conformity.
- Risk-taking behavior.

2. Parental investment theory
Sex differences in obligatory parental investment.
Sex with greater obligatory investment:
More cautious and more choosy about mating.
Sex with less obligatory investment:
More competitive for access to choosy mates.
Big consequences for
reproductive fitness!

4. Creative displays as advertisements of mate quality?
Analyses of artistic production:
Male artists are especially productive during their 20s.
Male artistic success correlates positively with mating success.
Results from experiments that temporarily arouse mating motives:
Mating motives and creative story-telling.
(Griskevicius, Cialdini, & Kenrick, 2006)

5. Creative displays as advertisements of mate quality?
Results: Creativity ratings for stories told by women and men:
(Griskevicius, Cialdini, & Kenrick, 2006)

7. Consumer purchases as advertisements of mate quality?
Results from experiments on mating motives and consumer behavior:
(Research by Griskevicius et al., 2007)

8. Results: Amount of money spent:
Consumer purchases as advertisements of mate quality?
Results: Amount of money spent:
(Griskevicius et al., 2007)

9. Consumer purchases as advertisements of mate quality?
Money spent on conspicuous versus inconspicuous products.
Results: Money spent by men:
(Griskevicius et al., 2007)

11. Altruistic acts as advertisements of mate quality?
Results from experiments on mating motives and altruistic behavior.
(Research by Griskevicius et al., 2007)
Non-heroic
helping
Heroic
helping

12. Altruistic acts as advertisements of mate quality?
Results from experiments on mating motives and altruistic behavior.
Non-heroic
helping
(Griskevicius et al., 2007)

13. Altruistic acts as advertisements of mate quality?
Results from experiments on mating motives and altruistic behavior.
Heroic
helping
(Griskevicius et al., 2007)

15. objectively correct answer
Conformity & non-conformity as advertisements of mate quality?
Results from experiments on mating motives and conformity behavior.
(Research by Griskevicius et al., 2006)
On topics for which there was an objectively correct answer:
Arousal of mating motives led men to conform more.
(No effect of mating motives on female conformity behavior.)
On topics that were simply matters of subjective opinion:
Arousal of mating motives led women to conform more.
Arousal of mating motives led men to conform less.
That effect of mating motives on male non-conformity occurred only when men were able to be uniquely non-conformist.
objectively correct answer
subjective opinion

16. Risk-taking behaviors as advertisements of mate quality?
The “young male syndrome”:
Men in their late teens and early 20s
are especially likely to engage in risky
forms of behavior.
One consequence:
are especially likely to die violent deaths.
(Daly & Wilson, 1985)

17. Risk-taking behaviors as advertisements of mate quality?
Male skateboarders showing off:
(Ronay & Von Hippel, 2010)
When a woman is watching, male skateboarders…
- Actually attempt more tricks.
- Do more tricks that fail.
- Do more tricks that succeed.