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Female Cigarette and Alcohol Consumption as a Short-Term Mating Strategy:

Female Cigarette and Alcohol Consumption as a Short-Term Mating Strategy: In developed countries, the traditional gender gap in youth smoking and drinking is closing. As tobacco and alcohol are more harmful to women than to men, this is an alarming trend. As men are generally more short-term oriented in their sexuality than women, and given that cigarette and alcohol use are still considered masculine behaviors, we explored if female smoking and drinking can function as a short-term mating strategy. By means of a between-subjects experiment (N = 218), men’s perceptions of female smoking and drinking were studied. The experiment showed that young men perceive women who use cigarettes and alcohol as being more sexually unrestricted. Furthermore, tobacco and (especially) alcohol use brought some short-term attractiveness benefits to women. In short-term mating contexts, drinking enhanced women’s attractiveness, whereas occasional smoking was found equally desirable as not smoking. However, in long-term mating contexts, frequent drinking and all smoking behavior harmed women’s desirability. A follow-up study (N = 202) confirmed men’s perceptions, showing that female users of tobacco and alcohol are indeed more short-term oriented in their sexuality. Overall, results indicate that female smoking and drinking can operate as a short-term mating strategy. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Evolutionary Psychology SAGE

Female Cigarette and Alcohol Consumption as a Short-Term Mating Strategy:

Evolutionary Psychology , Volume 14 (4): 1 – Dec 8, 2016

Female Cigarette and Alcohol Consumption as a Short-Term Mating Strategy:

Evolutionary Psychology , Volume 14 (4): 1 – Dec 8, 2016

Abstract

In developed countries, the traditional gender gap in youth smoking and drinking is closing. As tobacco and alcohol are more harmful to women than to men, this is an alarming trend. As men are generally more short-term oriented in their sexuality than women, and given that cigarette and alcohol use are still considered masculine behaviors, we explored if female smoking and drinking can function as a short-term mating strategy. By means of a between-subjects experiment (N = 218), men’s perceptions of female smoking and drinking were studied. The experiment showed that young men perceive women who use cigarettes and alcohol as being more sexually unrestricted. Furthermore, tobacco and (especially) alcohol use brought some short-term attractiveness benefits to women. In short-term mating contexts, drinking enhanced women’s attractiveness, whereas occasional smoking was found equally desirable as not smoking. However, in long-term mating contexts, frequent drinking and all smoking behavior harmed women’s desirability. A follow-up study (N = 202) confirmed men’s perceptions, showing that female users of tobacco and alcohol are indeed more short-term oriented in their sexuality. Overall, results indicate that female smoking and drinking can operate as a short-term mating strategy.

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References (106)

Publisher
SAGE
Copyright
Copyright © 2022 by SAGE Publications Inc., unless otherwise noted. Manuscript content on this site is licensed under Creative Commons Licenses
ISSN
1474-7049
eISSN
1474-7049
DOI
10.1177/1474704916681300
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

In developed countries, the traditional gender gap in youth smoking and drinking is closing. As tobacco and alcohol are more harmful to women than to men, this is an alarming trend. As men are generally more short-term oriented in their sexuality than women, and given that cigarette and alcohol use are still considered masculine behaviors, we explored if female smoking and drinking can function as a short-term mating strategy. By means of a between-subjects experiment (N = 218), men’s perceptions of female smoking and drinking were studied. The experiment showed that young men perceive women who use cigarettes and alcohol as being more sexually unrestricted. Furthermore, tobacco and (especially) alcohol use brought some short-term attractiveness benefits to women. In short-term mating contexts, drinking enhanced women’s attractiveness, whereas occasional smoking was found equally desirable as not smoking. However, in long-term mating contexts, frequent drinking and all smoking behavior harmed women’s desirability. A follow-up study (N = 202) confirmed men’s perceptions, showing that female users of tobacco and alcohol are indeed more short-term oriented in their sexuality. Overall, results indicate that female smoking and drinking can operate as a short-term mating strategy.

Journal

Evolutionary PsychologySAGE

Published: Dec 8, 2016

Keywords: smoking cigarettes; drinking alcohol; short-term mating strategy; signaling; attractiveness; young women

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