Download - The Psychology of Promiscuity
Promiscuity
What promiscuity
predicts
So what if we know all
this?
Why Promiscuity
What predicts
promiscuity
Why Promiscuity?
prom·is·cu·i·ty noun \ˌprä-mə-ˈskyü-ə-tē, ˌprō-\ Promiscuity is a long-standing pattern of behavior of having sex more frequently and with more partners than is normative for the culture.
Descriptive Summary Culturally Defined Scale
Why Promiscuity?
Health
HIV
STD
Psychological
Depression
Self-Esteem
Societal
Broken Families
Unwanted pregnancies
What Predicts Promiscuity?
Internal
Genes
Taxonomy- Big Five
External
Culture
Parental Influence
Internal
The Big Five Related to Risky Sexual Behaviour Across 10
World Regions: Differential Personality Associations of
Sexual Promiscuity and Relationship Infidelity
(Schmitt, 2004)
Taxonomy – Big Five
Research Highlight
Traits correlating with promiscuity
Why Big Five? • Big Five taxonomy has achieved a
greater degree of consensus than any other trait taxonomy in the history of personality trait psychology
• Replicable • Proved to be useful for cross
language and cross cultural research
Extraversion
Neuroticism Agreeableness
Conscientiousness Openness
Internal
Internal
Why Extraversion?
Libido (Life Instinct): An innate desire that drives
behavior
The higher the libido, the higher the promiscuity
Cortical Arousal & The need for stimulation
Those with habitually low levels of cortical arousal
engage in riskier sex
Psycho-Biological
Australia
Europe
Africa
Middle East
Oceania
North America
South America Australia
Europe
Middle East
Oceania
North America
South America
East Asia
South Asia
• Link between extraversion & sexual promiscuity varies across cultures • Negative correlation in cultures that are least ‘Western’? • Individualism vs Collectivism
External Culture
External
The Role of Parents in Early Adolescent Sexual Risk-Taking
Behavior (Somers & Ali, 2011)
Parental Influence
Research Highlight
Early Adolescents’ Promiscuity (9 Measures in total, including): • Adolescent premarital sex attitude • Sexual self-efficacy • Sexual experimentation • Frequency of sexual behavior • Frequency of unprotected sex
Role of Parents: • Parental approval of premarital
sexuality • Parent-adolescent communication
about sexuality • Parental social support • Religiosity
Role of Parents
Adolescent premarital sex
attitude (how conservative)
Sexual self-efficacy Sexual
experimentation Frequency of
sexual behavior Frequency of
unprotected sex
Maternal approval of sex in high school
-.41*** -.27*** .40*** .40*** .24***
Maternal approval of sex before marriage
.46*** .21** -.3*** -.30*** -.15*
Paternal approval of sex in high school
-.4*** -.33*** .29*** .29*** .16*
Paternal approval of sex before marriage
.3*** .14 -.28*** -.28*** -.17*
Family religiosity .26*** .21** -.18* -.09 -.03
Mother communication
.07 .08 .11 -.15* -.03
Father communication
-.16* -.00 .22** .16* .13
Parent Social Support
.04 .19** -.02 .01 .07
External
When Parents say NO to Sex
{ } Only In High School
Teens tend to have more conservative attitudes about premarital sex.
{ } Before Marriage
Teens tend to have more liberal attitudes about premarital sex.
When Parents Talk about Sex
{ } Increase communication about sexuality with fathers corresponded with increased
frequency of sexual experimentation
Explanation: Teens are seeking communication because they are already curious about, or engaging in, promiscuous behavior Implication: More parental communication need in earlier adolescence.
External
What Does Promiscuity Predict?
Marriage outcomes
First Marriage Age
Marital Satisfaction
Friendship selection
Career choice
Intermediate outcomes
What does Promiscuity Predict?
Late Adolescence & Early Adulthood
– Exploring sexual identity and attitudes
– Making friendships that tend to last in adulthood
Level of promiscuity could impact life outcome through friendships
Understanding Promiscuity in Strategic Friend Selection from an
Evolutionary Perspective
Research Highlight
(Coutinho, Sagarin & Hartnett, 2007)
Your level of promiscuity predicts…
Who you choose to befriend
Who chooses to befriend you
Who you choose to befriend
Explanation: One’s own level of promiscuity predicts amount of promiscuity tolerated in a potential friend
Both men and women select friends with comparable
sexual tendencies { }
What does Promiscuity Predict?
Who chooses to befriend you
People in relationships tend not to befriend
those they perceive as promiscuous { }
Explanation: Promiscuous people may encourage sexual encounters outside of the relationship
Men tend not to befriend other men
showing high levels of promiscuity { }
Explanation: Men face costlier penalties of being cuckolded
What does Promiscuity Predict?
So what if we know all this?
Future Research
Collectivism
Interaction
Generalizability
Measurement
Limitations
Policies
Self-Awareness
Implications
Education
Implications
Encourage adoption of sport CCAs as a means for increased cortical arousal
Increase frequency of Physical Education
Policies Gender differences in perception of promiscuity affects relationship building
Birds of a feather flock together
Self-Awareness
Implications
Cultural differences affect an adolescent’s moral development
The type of parental approval can change a child’s behavior
Parents Consequences of promiscuity on health and psychological well-being
Promiscuity cues affect friendship formation
Students
On Educating…
Limitations
Studies only done on adolescents and college students.
On Generalizability On Measurement
Inconsistency in administration.
Different cultural interpretation of items.
Mostly based on self-reports.
To Improve on the Study…
A more consistent construct of promiscuity
Cultural specific items of promiscuity e.g birth control, planned sexual debut
Include a wider age group
Future Studies
Trait of collectivism can be applied to a Western context.
Measures the promiscuity score in individuals who score high and low on collectivism. Highly collectivistic individuals should score lower in promiscuity.
Collectivism: the tendency for individuals see themselves as members of one or more in-groups and be motivated by the norms, goals and wellbeing of the the in- group
Preference
Reliance
Norm Acceptance
Concern
Goal Priority
Collectivism
Future Studies
0
1
2
3
4
5
Low Collectivism High Collectivism
Pro
mis
cuity
Collectivism and Promiscuity
Trait of collectivism can be applied to a Western context.
Measures the promiscuity score in individuals who score high and low on collectivism. Highly collectivistic individuals should score lower in promiscuity.
Future Studies Parental Approval
High Parental Approval
High Extraversion
Low Extraversion
Low Parental Approval
High Extraversion
Low Extraversion
Interaction Effect ?
Extraversion
(of Sex)
Future Studies
0
2
4
6
8
High Approval/High Extraversion
High Approval/Low Extraverstion
Low Approval/High Extraversion
Low Approval/Low Extraversion
Pro
mis
cuity
Approval/Extraversion & Promiscuity
Parental Approval
Extraversion
(of Sex)
Promiscuity
What promiscuity
predicts
So what if we know all
this?
What predicts
promiscuity
Undressing theme
Q&A.