Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Mating Rivalry

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science

  • 138 Accesses

Synonyms

Mating competition; Intrasexual competition; Intersexual competition

Definition

Competition among members of the same sex for reproductive partners, opportunities, and resources.

Introduction

Darwin’s (1872) theory of natural selection posited that organisms must compete not only for survival but also to reproduce. Through reproduction, organisms then transmit their genetic material to offspring. In sexually reproducing species, organisms must compete with other members of their sex to mate with those of the opposite sex. Humans follow this same pattern. Men compete with other men to mate with women; and women compete with other women to mate with men. Individuals’ primary mating rivals are therefore members of their own sex. This competition can take two forms: intrasexual and intersexual. In intrasexual competition, members of the same sex fight against one another directly for mates. In intersexual competition, members of the same sex compete with one another to appeal...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Abed, R. T. (1998). The sexual competition hypothesis for eating disorders. Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice, 71, 525–547.

    Google Scholar 

  • Apostolou, M. (2007). Sexual selection under parental choice: The role of parents in the evolution of human mating. Evolution and Human Behavior, 28, 403–409.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Apostolou, M. (2015). The athlete and the spectator inside the man: A cross-cultural investigation of the evolutionary origins of athletic behavior. Cross-Cultural Research, 49, 151–173.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baumeister, R. F., & Twenge, J. M. (2002). Cultural suppression of female sexuality. Review of General Psychology, 6, 166–203.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beersma, B., & Van Kleef, G. A. (2012). Why people gossip: An empirical analysis of social motives, antecedents, and consequences. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 42, 2640–2670.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bergeron, D., & Tylka, T. L. (2007). Support for the uniqueness of body dissatisfaction from drive for muscularity among men. Body Image, 4, 288–295.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Betzig, L. (1989). Causes of conjugal dissolution: A cross-cultural study. Current Anthropology, 30, 654–676.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bleske, A. L., & Shackelford, T. K. (2001). Poaching, promiscuity, and deceit: Combatting mating rivalry in same-sex friendships. Personal Relationships, 8, 407–424.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blumberg, E. S. (2003). The lives and voices of highly sexual women. Journal of Sex Research, 40, 146–157.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Blurton Jones, N. G., Hawkes, K., & O’Connell, J. F. (1997). Why do Hadza children forage? In N. Segal, G. E. Weisfeld, & C. C. Weisfeld (Eds.), Uniting psychology and biology: Integrative perspectives on human development (pp. 279–313). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Buss, D. M. (1989). Sex differences in human mate preferences: Evolutionary hypotheses tested in 37 cultures. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 12, 1–14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Buss, D. M., & Dedden, L. A. (1990). Derogation of competitors. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 7, 395–422.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Buss, D. M., Shackelford, T. K., Kirkpatrick, L. A., Choe, J. C., Lim, H. K., Hasegawa, M., Hasegawa, T., & Bennett, K. (1999). Jealousy and the nature of beliefs about infidelity: Tests of competing hypotheses about sex differences in the United States, Korea, and Japan. Personal Relationships, 6, 125–150.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Buss, D. M., Shackelford, T. K., Choe, J. A. E., Buunk, B. P., & Dijkstra, P. (2000). Distress about mating rivals. Personal Relationships, 7, 235–243.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Campbell, A. (1999). Staying alive: Evolution, culture, and women’s intrasexual aggression. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 22, 203–214.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Campbell, A. (2004). Female competition: Causes, constraints, content, and contexts. Journal of Sex Research, 41, 16–26.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Carvajal-Carmona, L. G., Soto, I. D., Pineda, N., Ortíz-Barrientos, D., Duque, C., Ospina-Duque, J., McCarthy, M., & Ruiz-Linares, A. (2000). Strong Amerind/white sex bias and a possible Sephardic contribution among the founders of a population in northwest Colombia. The American Journal of Human Genetics, 67, 1287–1295.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cashdan, E. (1998). Are men more competitive than women? British Journal of Social Psychology, 37, 213–229.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chagnon, N. A. (1988). Life histories, blood revenge, and warfare in a tribal population. Science, 239, 985–992.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Daly, M., & Wilson, M. (1988). Homicide. New York: Aldine de Gruyter.

    Google Scholar 

  • Darwin, C. (1872). The origin of species. London: John Murray.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davies, A. P., Shackelford, T. K., & Hass, R. G. (2010). Sex differences in perceptions of benefits and costs of mate poaching. Personality and Individual Differences, 49, 441–445.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Deaner, R. O., Geary, D. C., Puts, D. A., Ham, R. A., Kruger, J., Fles, E., & Winegard, B. (2012). A sex difference in the predisposition for physical competition: Males play sports much more than females even in the contemporary US. PLoS One, 7, e49168.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Eder, D., & Enke, J. L. (1991). The structure of gossip: Opportunities and constraints on collective expression among adolescents. American Sociological Review, 56, 494–508.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Emlen, S. T., & Oring, L. W. (1977). Ecology, sexual selection, and the evolution of mating systems. Science, 197, 215–223.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Faer, L. M., Hendriks, A., Abed, R. T., & Figueredo, A. J. (2005). The evolutionary psychology of eating disorders: Female competition for mates or for status? Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice, 78, 397–417.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fales, M. R., Frederick, D. A., Garcia, J. R., Gildersleeve, K. A., Haselton, M. G., & Fisher, H. E. (2016). Mating markets and bargaining hands: Mate preferences for attractiveness and resources in two national US studies. Personality and Individual Differences, 88, 78–87.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ferguson, C. J., Munoz, M. E., Contreras, S., & Velasquez, K. (2011). Mirror, mirror on the wall: Peer competition, television influences, and body image dissatisfaction. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 30, 458–483.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fink, B., Klappauf, D., Brewer, G., & Shackelford, T. K. (2014). Female physical characteristics and intra-sexual competition in women. Personality and Individual Differences, 58, 138–141. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2013.10.015.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fisher, M., & Cox, A. (2009). The influence of female attractiveness on competitor derogation. Journal of Evolutionary Psychology, 7, 141–155.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fisher, M., & Cox, A. (2011). Four strategies used during intrasexual competition for mates. Personal Relationships, 18, 20–38.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frederick, D. A., & Haselton, M. G. (2007). Why is muscularity sexy? Tests of the fitness indicator hypothesis. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 33, 1167–1183.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gallup, A. C., O’Brien, D. T., White, D. D., & Wilson, D. S. (2009). Peer victimization in adolescence has different effects on the sexual behavior of male and female college students. Personality and Individual Differences, 46, 611–615.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Geary, D. C. (1998). Male, female: The evolution of human sex differences. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Geary, D. C. (2000). Evolution and proximate expression of human paternal investment. Psychological Bulletin, 126, 55–77.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Griskevicius, V., Tybur, J. M., Ackerman, J. M., Delton, A. W., Robertson, T. E., & White, A. E. (2012). The financial consequences of too many men: Sex ratio effects on saving, borrowing, and spending. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 102, 69–80.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Guttentag, M., & Secord, P. (1983). Too many women? The sex ratio question. Beverly Hills: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Henrich, J., & Gil-White, F. J. (2001). The evolution of prestige: Freely conferred deference as a mechanismfor enhancing the benefits of cultural transmission. Evolution and Human Behavior, 22, 165–196.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hess, N. H. (2006). Informational warfare: The evolution of female coalitional competition. Doctoral dissertation, University of California, Santa Barbara. Dissertation Abstracts International, 67(01), 242.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hess, N. H. (2017). Informational warfare: Coalitional gossiping as a strategy for within-group aggression. In M. Fisher (Ed., in progress), The Oxford handbook of women and competition. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hewlett, B. S. (1992). Father-child relations: Cultural and biosocial contexts. New York: Aldine de Gruyter.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hill, K., & Hurtado, A. M. (1996). Ache’ life history: The ecology and demography of a foraging people. Hawthorne: Aldine de Gruyter.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hrdy, S. B. (1999). The woman that never evolved. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hudson, V. M., & Den Boer, A. (2002). A surplus of men, a deficit of peace: Security and sex ratios in Asia’s largest states. International Security, 26, 5–38.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hudson, V. M., & Den Boer, A. (2004). Bare branches: The security implications of Asia’s surplus male population. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jankowiak, W., Sudakov, M., & Wilreker, B. C. (2005). Co-wife conflict and co-operation. Ethnology, 44, 81–98.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jasienska, G., Ziomkiewicz, A., Ellison, P. T., Lipson, S. F., & Thune, I. (2004). Larger breasts and narrow waists indicate high reproductive potential in women. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B, 271, 1213–1217.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kaplan, H., & Hill, K. (1985). Food sharing among Ache foragers: Tests of explanatory hypotheses. Current Anthropology, 26, 223–246.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keel, P. K., Baxter, M. G., Heatherton, T. F., & Joiner, T. E., Jr. (2007). A 20-year longitudinal study of body weight, dieting, and eating disorder symptoms. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 116, 422–432.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kelly, R. L. (1995). The foraging spectrum: Diversity in hunter-gatherer lifeways. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kilpatrick, M., Hebert, E., & Bartholomew, J. (2005). College students’ motivation for physical activity: Differentiating men’s and women’s motives for sport participation and exercise. Journal of American College Health, 54, 87–94.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Krones, P. G., Stice, E., Batres, C., & Orjada, K. (2005). In vivo social comparison to a thin-ideal peer promotes body dissatisfaction: A randomized experiment. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 38, 134–142.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lassek, W. D., & Gaulin, S. J. (2009). Costs and benefits of fat-free muscle mass in men: Relationship to mating success, dietary requirements, and native immunity. Evolution and Human Behavior, 30, 322–328.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Massar, K., & Buunk, A. P. (2010). Judging a book by its cover: Jealousy after subliminal priming with attractive and unattractive faces. Personality and Individual Differences, 49, 634–638.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McAndrew, F. T., & Milenkovic, M. A. (2002). Of tabloids and family secrets: The evolutionary psychology of gossip. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 32, 1064–1082.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McAndrew, F. T., Bell, E. K., & Garcia, C. M. (2007). Who do we tell and whom do we tell on? Gossip as a strategy for status enhancement1. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 37, 1562–1577.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCalman, J., Morley, R., & Mishra, G. (2008). A health transition: Birth weights, households and survival in an Australian working-class population sample born 1857–1900. Social Science & Medicine, 66, 1070–1083.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Milhausen, R. R., & Herold, E. S. (1999). Does the sexual double standard still exist? Perceptions of university women. Journal of Sex Research, 36, 361–368.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moss, J. H., & Maner, J. K. (2016). Biased sex ratios influence fundamental aspects of human mating. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 42, 72–80.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nevo, O., Nevo, B., & Derech-Zehavi, A. (1993). The development of the tendency to gossip questionnaire: Construct and concurrent validation for a sample of Israeli college students. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 53, 973–981.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Olivardia, R., Pope, H. G., Jr., Borowiecki, J. J., III, & Cohane, G. H. (2004). Biceps and body image: The relationship between muscularity and self-esteem, depression, and eating disorder symptoms. Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 5, 112–120.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oliver, M. B., & Sedikides, C. (1992). Effects of sexual permissiveness on desirability of partner as a function of low and high commitment to relationship. Social Psychology Quarterly, 55, 321–333.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Omariba, D., & Boyle, M. H. (2007). Family structure and child mortality in sub-Saharan Africa: Cross-national effects of polygyny. Journal of Marriage and Family, 69, 528–543.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oreffice, S., & Quintana-Domeque, C. (2010). Anthropometry and socioeconomics among couples: Evidence in the United States. Economics & Human Biology, 8, 373–384.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pedersen, F. A. (1991). Secular trends in human sex ratios. Human Nature, 2, 271–291.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pollet, T. V., & Nettle, D. (2008). Driving a hard bargain: Sex ratio and male marriage success in a historical US population. Biology Letters, 4, 31–33.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Puts, D. A. (2010). Beauty and the beast: Mechanisms of sexual selection in humans. Evolution and Human Behavior, 31, 157–175.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Regan, P. C., & Dreyer, C. S. (1999). Lust? Love? Status? Young adults’ motives for engaging in casual sex. Journal of Psychology & Human Sexuality, 11, 1–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reynolds, T., & Meltzer, A. L. (2017). Adopting a dyadic perspective to better understand the association between physical attractiveness and dieting motivations and behaviors. Body Image, 22, 48–52.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Reynolds, T., Baumeister, R. F., & Maner, J. K. (2017a, in prep). Bless her heart: Apparent concern is advantageous for women’s reputational competition.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reynolds, T., Baumeister, R. F., & Maner, J. K. (2017b, under review). Competitive reputation manipulation: Women transmit romantic rivals’ social information strategically.

    Google Scholar 

  • Russell, E. M., Babcock, M. J., Lewis, D. M. G., Ta, V. P., & Ickes, W. (2016). Why attractive women want gay male friends: A previously undiscovered strategy preventing mating deception and sexual exploitation. Personality and Individual Differences. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2016.11.020.

  • Schleien, J. L., & Bardone-Cone, A. M. (2016). Competitiveness as a moderator of the relation between appearance-related factors and disordered eating behaviors. Body Image, 17, 30–37.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schmitt, D. P. (2003). Universal sex differences in the desire for sexual variety: Tests from 52 nations, 6 continents, and 13 islands. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85, 85–104.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schmitt, D. P. (2004). Patterns and universals of mate poaching across 53 nations: The effects of sex, culture, and personality on romantically attracting another person’s partner. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 86, 560–584.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schmitt, D. P., & Buss, D. M. (1996). Strategic self-promotion and competitor derogation: Sex and context effects on the perceived effectiveness of mate attraction tactics. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70, 1185–1204.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sear, R., Mace, R., & McGregor, I. A. (2000). Maternal grandmothers improve nutritional status and survival of children in rural Gambia. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences, 267, 1641–1647.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sigle-Rushton, W., Hobcraft, J., & Kiernan, K. (2005). Parental divorce and subsequent disadvantage: A cross-cohort comparison. Demography, 42, 427–446.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, E. A., & Bleige Bird, R. L. (2000). Turtle hunting and tombstone opening: Public generosity as costly signaling. Evolution and Human Behavior, 21, 245–261.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Smolak, L., & Murnen, S. K. (2008). Drive for leanness: Assessment and relationship to gender, gender role and objectification. Body Image, 5, 251–260.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sosis, R., & Alcorta, C. (2003). Signaling, solidarity, and the sacred: The evolution of religious behavior. Evolutionary anthropology: Issues, news, and reviews, 12, 264–274.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Strassmann, B. I. (1997). Polygyny as a risk factor for child mortality among the Dogon. Current Anthropology, 38, 688–695.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sunderani, S., Arnocky, S., & Vaillancourt, T. (2013). Individual differences in mate poaching: An examination of hormonal, dispositional, and behavioral mate-value traits. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 42, 533–542.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tooke, W., & Camire, L. (1991). Patterns of deception in intersexual and intrasexual mating strategies. Ethology and Sociobiology, 12, 345–364.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tracy, L. (1991). The secret between us: Competition among women. Boston: Little, Brown and Co.

    Google Scholar 

  • Turner, M. M., Mazur, M. A., Wendel, N., & Winslow, R. (2003). Relational ruin or social glue? The joint effect of relationship type and gossip valence on liking, trust, and expertise. Communication Monographs, 70, 129–141.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vaillancourt, T., & Sharma, A. (2011). Intolerance of sexy peers: Intrasexual competition among women. Aggressive Behavior, 37, 569–577.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Vigil, J. M. (2007). Asymmetries in the friendship preferences and social styles of men and women. Human Nature, 18, 143–161.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Vogeltanz-Holm, N. D., Wonderlich, S. A., Lewis, B. A., Wilsnack, S. C., Harris, T. R., Wilsnack, R. W., & Kristjanson, A. F. (2000). Longitudinal predictors of binge eating, intense dieting, and weight concerns in a national sample of women. Behavior Therapy, 31, 221–235.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wiessner, P. (1996). Leveling the hunter: Constraints on the status quest in foraging societies. In P. Wiessner & W. Schiefenhovel (Eds.), Food and the status quest: An interdisciplinary perspective (pp. 171–191). Providence: Berghahn Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Winegard, B. M., Winegard, B., & Geary, D. C. (2014). Eastwood’s brawn and Einstein’s brain: An evolutionary account of dominance, prestige, and precarious manhood. Review of General Psychology, 18, 34–48.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Winegard, B., Reynolds, T., Baumeister, R. F., & Plant, E. A. (2016). The coalitional value theory of antigay bias. Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences, 10, 245–269.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wood, J. W. (1990). Fertility in anthropological populations. Annual Review of Anthropology, 19, 211–242.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wood, B. (2006). Prestige or provisioning? A test of foraging goals among the Hadza. Current Anthropology, 47, 383–387.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA

    Tania Reynolds

Authors
  1. Tania Reynolds
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tania Reynolds .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Todd K. Shackelford

  2. Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Viviana A. Weekes-Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA

    Kevin Beaver

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG

About this entry

Cite this entry

Reynolds, T. (2018). Mating Rivalry. In: Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_1607-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_1607-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation