Functional sex differences and signal forms have coevolved with conflict.

Evolutionary theory makes further predictions about conflict. It predicts sex differences in the proclivity to attack and defend. It further suggests complementary biases in what we expect of the sexes. Finally, it suggests that the forms of human facial expressions of anger and happiness may have coevolved with the regularity of conflict as a means of signaling, bluffing, and defusing attack.

An Evolutionary Perspective on Mate Rejection.

We argue that mate rejection and ex-partner relationships are important, multifaceted topics that have been underresearched in social and evolutionary psychology. Mate rejection and relationship dissolution are ubiquitous and form integral parts of the human experience. Both also carry with them potential risks and benefits to our fitness and survival. Hence, we expect that mate rejection would have given rise to evolved behavioral and psychological adaptations. Herein, we outline some of the many unanswered questions in evolutionary psychology on these topics, at each step presenting novel hypotheses about how men and women should behave when rejecting a mate or potential mate or in response to rejection. We intend these hypotheses and suggestions for future research to be used as a basis for enriching our understanding of human mating from an evolutionary perspective.

The Role of Overconfidence in Romantic Desirability and Competition.

Four studies and a computer simulation tested the hypothesis that people who are overconfident in their self-assessments may be more successful in attracting mates. In Study 1, overconfident people were perceived as more confident in their dating profiles, and this perceived confidence predicted increased romantic desirability. Study 2 revealed that overconfident people also tend to be perceived as arrogant, which counteracts the positive effects of perceived confidence. However, Study 3 revealed that overconfidence might confer an advantage in intrasexual competition, as people were less likely to compete with overconfident individuals by virtue of their perceived confidence and arrogance. Study 4 showed that overconfident raters were also more likely to choose to compete for romantic partners. In Study 5, agent-based modeling incorporating the coefficients from these studies suggested that overconfidence facilitates mate acquisition in the presence of intrasexual competition.

Social dominance orientation predicts heterosexual men's adverse reactions to romantic rejection.

We examined the role of social dominance orientation (SDO) as a predictor of men's reactions to romantic rejection and attitudes toward female sexuality. In Study 1 (n = 158), we found that men who scored higher in SDO were more likely to blame women for romantic rejection, and report having responded to women's past rejection with persistence and manipulation (e.g., convincing her to "give him another chance"), as well as with aggression and threats of violence. In Study 2 (n = 398), we replicated these findings, and further found that men higher in SDO were more likely to endorse rape myths (e.g., believing that sometimes a woman's barriers need to be "broken down" in order to attain sex), and to want to lower the legal age of sexual consent in women. Two mediators explained this relationship, hostile sexism and the belief that insubordinate women need to be disciplined. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed.

Parents just don't understand: parent-offspring conflict over mate choice.

Previous research reveals that children and parents are not in complete agreement over which traits are most important for the mate of the child. Children tend to prefer traits that suggest genetic quality, whereas parents prefer characteristics that suggest high parental investment and cooperation with the ingroup. Using a sample of parents, mothers (n = 234) and fathers (n =240) the hypothesis was supported; parents perceived characteristics indicating a lack of genetic quality as being more unacceptable to the child, while characteristics indicating a lack of parental investment and cooperation with the ingroup were more unacceptable to themselves. Sex differences between mothers and fathers and sons and daughters were explored.