Cognitive Science Program

Sexual hookup culture: A review (2012)
Justin R Garcia, Chris Reiber, Sean G Massey and Ann M Merriwether
Review of General Psychology, 16 (2), 161-176

Abstract

“Hookups,” or uncommitted sexual encounters, are becoming progressively more engrained in popular culture, reflecting both evolved sexual predilections and changing social and sexual scripts. Hook-up activities may include a wide range of sexual behaviors, such as kissing, oral sex, and penetrative intercourse. However, these encounters often transpire without any promise of, or desire for, a more traditional romantic relationship. A review of the literature suggests that these encounters are becoming increasingly normative among adolescents and young adults in North America, representing a marked shift in openness and acceptance of uncommitted sex. We reviewed the current literature on sexual hookups and considered the multiple forces influencing hookup culture, using examples from popular culture to place hooking up in context. We argue that contemporary hookup culture is best understood as the …

Hook-up behavior: A biopsychosocial perspective (2008)
Justin R Garcia and Chris Reiber
Journal of Social, Evolutionary, and Cultural Psychology, 2 (4), 192

Abstract

Hook-up behavior consists of sexual activity between uncommitted individuals.“Hooking up” has become pervasive among young adults, particularly on college campuses in the United States, despite inherent emotional, physical, social and health risks. A total of 507 undergraduate students were surveyed to assess the prevalence of, and motivations for, hook-up behavior. Of those students, 64% reported having ever engaged in a hook-up. Of those who had hooked up, 51% had done so with the intention of initiating a traditional romantic relationship; there were no sex differences. Contrary to established notions of uncommitted sexual activity as an evolved behavioral strategy, results are discussed from a synergistic biopsychosocial perspective that situates this complex sexual behavior at the intersection of evolution, basic biology, psychology, and novel cultural factors. A decreasing average age at menarche and …

The 7R polymorphism in the dopamine receptor D4 gene (DRD4) is associated with financial risk taking in men (2009)
Anna Dreber, Coren L Apicella, Dan TA Eisenberg, Justin R Garcia, Richard S Zamore, J Koji Lum ...
Evolution and Human Behavior, 30 (2), 85-92

Abstract

Individuals exhibit substantial heterogeneity in financial risk aversion. Recent work on twins demonstrated that some variation is influenced by individual heritable differences. Despite this, there has been no study investigating possible genetic loci associated with financial risk taking in healthy individuals. Here, we examined whether there is an association between financial risk preferences, elicited experimentally in a game with real monetary payoffs, and the presence of the 7-repeat allele (7R+) in the dopamine receptor D₄ gene as well as the presence of the A1 allele (A1+) in the dopamine receptor D₂ gene in 94 young men. Although we found no association between the A1 allele and risk preferences, we did find that 7R+ men are significantly more risk loving than 7R− men. This polymorphism accounts for roughly 20% of the heritable variation in financial risk taking. We suggest that selection for the 7R allele …

Associations between dopamine D4 receptor gene variation with both infidelity and sexual promiscuity (2010)
Justin R Garcia, James MacKillop, Edward L Aller, Ann M Merriwether, David Sloan Wilson and J Koji Lum
PLoS One, 5 (11), e14162

Abstract

Background Human sexual behavior is highly variable both within and between populations. While sex-related characteristics and sexual behavior are central to evolutionary theory (sexual selection), little is known about the genetic bases of individual variation in sexual behavior. The variable number tandem repeats (VNTR) polymorphism in exon III of the human dopamine D4 receptor gene (DRD4) has been correlated with an array of behavioral phenotypes and may be predicatively responsible for variation in motivating some sexual behaviors, particularly promiscuity and infidelity. Methodology/Principal Findings We administered an anonymous survey on personal history of sexual behavior and intimate relationships to 181 young adults. We also collected buccal wash samples and genotyped the DRD4 VNTR. Here we show that individuals with at least one 7-repeat allele (7R+) report a greater categorical rate of promiscuous sexual behavior (i.e., having ever had a “one-night stand”) and report a more than 50% increase in instances of sexual infidelity. Conclusions/Significance DRD4 VNTR genotype varies considerably within and among populations and has been subject to relatively recent, local selective pressures. Individual differences in sexual behavior are likely partially mediated by individual genetic variation in genes coding for motivation and reward in the brain. Conceptualizing these findings in terms of r/K selection theory suggests a mechanism for selective pressure for and against the 7R+ genotype that may explain the considerable global allelic variation for this polymorphism.

Testosterone exposure, dopaminergic reward, and sensation-seeking in young men (2010)
Benjamin C Campbell, Anna Dreber, Coren L Apicella, Dan TA Eisenberg, Peter B Gray, Anthony C Little ...
Physiology & behavior, 99 (4), 451-456

Abstract

To test the relationship between androgen exposure, dopaminergic reward and sensation-seeking, we compared variation in salivary testosterone (T), 2D:4D digit ratio, facial masculinity, Zuckerman's sensation-seeking scale (SSS) and the D4 dopamine receptor (DRD4) genes from 98 young men, between the ages of 18 and 23 years. In univariate analyses, both salivary T and facial masculinity were significantly correlated with the SSS boredom susceptibility subscale, while the presence of the 7-repeat allele (7R+) in the dopamine receptor D4 gene was associated with the SSS thrill and adventure-seeking and overall sensation-seeking. Neither left nor right 2D:4D digit ratio was associated with any sensation-seeking scale. In multivariate models, salivary T and facial masculinity were significant predictors of SSS boredom susceptibility, while 7R+ was a significant predictor of SSS thrill and adventure-seeking. For …

Evolution and Human Sexual Behavior (2013)
Peter B Gray and Justin R Garcia
Harvard University Press.

Abstract

A comprehensive survey of the evolutionary science of human sexual behavior, Evolution and Human Sexual Behavior invites us to imagine human sex from the vantage point of our primate cousins, in order to underscore the role of evolution in shaping all that happens, biologically and behaviorally, when romantic passions are aroused.

Hooking up: Gender differences, evolution, and pluralistic ignorance (2010)
Chris Reiber and Justin R Garcia
Evolutionary Psychology, 8 (3), 390-404

Abstract

“Hooking-up” – engaging in no-strings-attached sexual behaviors with uncommitted partners - has become a norm on college campuses, and raises the potential for disease, unintended pregnancy, and physical and psychological trauma. The primacy of sex in the evolutionary process suggests that predictions derived from evolutionary theory may be a useful first step toward understanding these contemporary behaviors. This study assessed the hook-up behaviors and attitudes of 507 college students. As predicted by behavioral-evolutionary theory: men were more comfortable than women with all types of sexual behaviors; women correctly attributed higher comfort levels to men, but overestimated men's actual comfort levels; and men correctly attributed lower comfort levels to women, but still overestimated women's actual comfort levels. Both genders attributed higher comfort levels to same-gendered others …

Feelings of regret following uncommitted sexual encounters in Canadian university students (2012)
Maryanne L Fisher, Kerry Worth, Justin R Garcia and Tami Meredith
Culture, Health & Sexuality, 14 (1), 45-57

Abstract

In this study we explored the prevalence of regret following uncommitted sexual encounters (i.e., casual sex that occurs with someone once and only once or with someone known for less than 24 hours) among 138 female and 62 male Canadian university students, who were approximately 21 years of age. The majority of participants self-reported that they had experienced feelings of regret after an uncommitted sexual encounter. We found women reported feeling significantly more regret than men. However, men's regret was more closely tied to physical attributes than women's regrets. Regret was also influenced by the quality of the sex: high-quality sex rarely led to regret, while the reverse was true for poor-quality sex. In keeping with past studies, intoxication by alcohol and/or drugs was often listed as a source of regret by both men and women.

Evolutionary neuromarketing: Darwinizing the neuroimaging paradigm for consumer behavior (2008)
Justin R Garcia and Gad Saad
Journal of Consumer Behaviour: An International Research Review, 7 (4‐5), 397-414

Abstract

<ul class="gsh_l"> <li> The current paper serves two purposes. First, it reviews the neuroimaging literature most relevant to the field of marketing (e.g., neuroeconomics, decision neuroscience, and neuromarketing). Second, it posits that evolutionary theory is a consilient and organizing meta‐theoretical framework for neuromarketing research. The great majority of neuroimaging studies suffer from the illusion of explanatory depth namely the sophistication of the neuroimaging technologies provides a semblance of profundity to the reaped knowledge, which is otherwise largely disjointed and atheoretical. Evolutionary theory resolves this conundrum by recognizing that the human mind has evolved via the processes of natural and sexual selection. Hence, in order to provide a complete understanding of any given neuromarketing phenomenon requires that it be tackled at both the proximate level (as is currently the case) and the ultimate …</li></ul>

Prevalence of experiences with consensual nonmonogamous relationships: Findings from two national samples of single Americans (2017)
Mara L Haupert, Amanda N Gesselman, Amy C Moors, Helen E Fisher and Justin R Garcia
Journal of sex & marital therapy, 43 (5), 424-440

Abstract

Although academic and popular interest in consensual nonmonogamy (CNM) is increasing, little is known about the prevalence of CNM. Using two separate U.S. Census based quota samples of single adults in the United States (Study 1: n = 3,905; Study 2: n = 4,813), the present studies show that more than one in five (21.9% in Study 1; 21.2% in Study 2) participants report engaging in CNM at some point in their lifetime. This proportion remained constant across age, education level, income, religion, region, political affiliation, and race, but varied with gender and sexual orientation. Specifically, men (compared to women) and people who identify as gay, lesbian, or bisexual (compared to those who identify as heterosexual) were more likely to report previous engagement in CNM. These findings suggest that a sizable and diverse proportion of U.S. adults have experienced CNM, highlighting the need to incorporate …

Dopamine receptor genes predict risk preferences, time preferences, and related economic choices (2011)
Jeffrey P Carpenter, Justin R Garcia and J Koji Lum
Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, 42 (3), 233-261

Abstract

Outside of economics, researchers have recently identified genetic predictors of “sensation-seeking” that have been linked to risky and impulsive behaviors. We examine the implications of these genetic polymorphisms for economic behavior. Our analysis indicates that the 7-repeat allele of the DRD4 gene that regulates dopamine uptake in the brain predicts risk-taking and time preferences in economic experiments that allow for ambiguity, losses and discounting. These genetic polymorphisms can also be used to directly predict financial choice patterns that are consistent with previous findings in the behavioral genetics literature.

What keeps passion alive? Sexual satisfaction is associated with sexual communication, mood setting, sexual variety, oral sex, orgasm, and sex frequency in a national US study (2017)
David A Frederick, Janet Lever, Brian Joseph Gillespie and Justin R Garcia
The Journal of Sex Research, 54 (2), 186-201

Abstract

Passion and sexual satisfaction typically diminish in longer-term relationships, but this decline is not inevitable. We identified the attitudes and behaviors that most strongly differentiated sexually satisfied from dissatisfied men and women who had been together for at least three years (N = 38,747). Data were collected in 2006 from cohabiting and married men (M) and women (W) via an online survey on a major national U.S. news Web site. The vast majority of these participants reported being satisfied with their sex lives during their first six months together (83% W; 83% M). Satisfaction with their current sex lives was more variable, with approximately half of participants reporting overall satisfaction (55% W; 43% M) and the rest feeling neutral (18% W; 16% M) or dissatisfied (27% W; 41% M). More than one in three respondents (38% W; 32% M) claimed their sex lives were as passionate now as in the beginning …

Variation in orgasm occurrence by sexual orientation in a sample of US singles (2014)
Justin R Garcia, Elisabeth A Lloyd, Kim Wallen and Helen E Fisher
The journal of sexual medicine, 11 (11), 2645-2652

Abstract

<h3 class="gsh_h3">Introduction</h3>Despite recent advances in understanding orgasm variation, little is known about ways in which sexual orientation is associated with men's and women's orgasm occurrence.<h3 class="gsh_h3">Aim</h3>To assess orgasm occurrence during sexual activity across sexual orientation categories.<h3 class="gsh_h3">Methods</h3>Data were collected by Internet questionnaire from 6,151 men and women (ages 21–65+ years) as part of a nationally representative sample of single individuals in the United States. Analyses were restricted to a subsample of 2,850 singles (1,497 men, 1,353 women) who had experienced sexual activity in the past 12 months.<h3 class="gsh_h3">Main Outcome Measures</h3>Participants reported their sex/gender, self-identified sexual orientation (heterosexual, gay/lesbian, bisexual), and what percentage of the time they experience orgasm when having sex with a familiar partner.<h3 class="gsh_h3">Results</h3>Mean occurrence rate for experiencing orgasm during sexual activity …

Dopamine and risk choices in different domains: Findings among serious tournament bridge players (2011)
Anna Dreber, David G Rand, Nils Wernerfelt, Justin R Garcia, Miguel G Vilar, J Koji Lum ...
Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, 43 (1), 19-38

Abstract

We explore how risk-taking in the card game contract bridge, and in a financial gamble, correlate with variation in the dopamine receptor D4 gene (DRD4) among serious tournament bridge players. In bridge risk-taking, we find significant interactions between genetic predisposition and skill. Among men with the 7-repeat allele of DRD4, namely 7R + men, those with more bridge skill take more good risks and fewer bad risks, while the opposite is found for less-expert 7R + men. Conversely, skill does not predict risk-taking among men without the 7R + allele. Consistent with some prior studies, we also find that 7R + men take more risk in the financial gamble. We find no relationship between 7R + and either risk measure among our female subjects. Our results suggest that the dopamine system plays an important role in individual differences in risk-taking among men, and is the first to distinguish …

Mating markets and bargaining hands: Mate preferences for attractiveness and resources in two national US studies (2016)
Melissa R Fales, David A Frederick, Justin R Garcia, Kelly A Gildersleeve, Martie G Haselton and Helen E Fisher
Personality and Individual Differences, 88 78-87

Abstract

According to a “mating market” approach, people with desirable traits have a stronger “bargaining hand” and can be more selective when choosing partners. We examined how heterosexual mate preferences varied by gender, age, personal income, education, and appearance satisfaction (Study 1N = 22,815; Study 2N = 4790). Men and women differed in the percentage indicating it was “desirable” or “essential” that their potential partner was good-looking (92% vs. 84%; d = .39), had a slender body (80% vs. 58%; d = .53), had a steady income (74% vs. 97%; d = 1.17), and made/will make a lot of money (47% vs. 69%; d = −.49). There were also gender differences in whether it was “very important” or “a must have” their partner made at least as much money as they do (24% vs. 46%; d = .60) and had a successful career (33% vs. 61%; d = .57), but not in whether their partner was physically attractive to them (40% vs …