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Avoiding costly mating mistakes: Ovulatory shifts in personal mate value assessment

University of California, Santa Barbara, davidabeaulieu{at}gmail.com

An accurate assessment of one's mate value aids one in avoiding mating mistakes. However, the utility of assessing one's mate value is not constant. As the costs of making undesirable mating decisions increase, attentional resources devoted towards mate value assessment should also increase. Thus, during peak fertility (when the costs of mating mistakes are presumably greater), women should allocate resources towards assessment of personal mate value. As predicted, compared with women with low conception risk, women at peak fertility reported greater attractiveness comparison frequencies and placed greater emphasis on attractiveness in defining self-image. Past sexual experience heightened activation of these processes. Additionally, mate value was more strongly associated with appraisal of one's attractiveness and mate selection standards during peak fertility.

Key Words: female attractiveness • mate preferences • mate value • ovulatory shifts • social comparison

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