Hostname: page-component-77f85d65b8-zzw9c Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-04-17T17:14:07.645Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Toward a more domain-specific conceptualization of female traits: A commentary on Benenson et al. (2022)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 July 2022

Courtney L. Crosby ,
Rebecka K. Hahnel-Peeters  and
David M. Buss Open the ORCID record for David M. Buss [Opens in a new window]
Courtney L. Crosby
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA clcrosby@utexas.edu, rhahnel@utexas.edu, dbuss@austin.utexas.edu http://davidbuss.com
Rebecka K. Hahnel-Peeters
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA clcrosby@utexas.edu, rhahnel@utexas.edu, dbuss@austin.utexas.edu http://davidbuss.com
David M. Buss
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA clcrosby@utexas.edu, rhahnel@utexas.edu, dbuss@austin.utexas.edu http://davidbuss.com
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Benenson et al. (2022) amass impressive evidence of robust sex differences as support for expanding “staying alive” theory. We argue for a broader and more domain-specific conceptualization focusing on life history tradeoffs between survival and mating success. Using three examples – women's disgust, fear of rape, and cultivation of bodyguards – we illustrate these tradeoffs and suggest a broader theoretical framework.

Information

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 45 , 2022 , e134
Check for updates
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Al-Shawaf, L., Lewis, D. M., & Buss, D. M. (2018). Sex differences in disgust: Why are women more easily disgusted than men?. Emotion Review, 10(2), 149–160.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Benenson, J. F., Webb, C. E., & Wrangham, R. W. (2022). Self-protection as an adaptive female strategy. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 1–86. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X21002417.Google Scholar
Buss, D. M. (2017). Sexual conflict theory in human mating. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 26(4), 307–313.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Buss, D. M. (2021). When men behave badly: The hidden roots of sexual deception, harassment, and assault. Little, Brown Spark.Google Scholar
Campbell, A. (1999). Staying alive: Evolution, culture, and women's intrasexual aggression. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 22(2), 203–214.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Crosby, C. L., Durkee, P. K., Meston, C. M., & Buss, D. M. (2020). Six dimensions of sexual disgust. Personality and Individual Differences, 156, 109714.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gordon, M. T., & Riger, S. (1989). The female fear. Free Press.Google Scholar
Meskelyte, J., & Lyons, M. (2022). Fear of crime and preference for aggressive-formidable same-sex and opposite-sex friends. Current Psychology, 41(3), 1434–1439. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12144-020-00679-3.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Parker, D. (2009). Pre- and post-copulatory mate choice in Platygryllus primiformis: Cryptic female choice and sexual conflict. Bioscience Horizons, 2(2), 164–171.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Perilloux, C., Duntley, J. D., & Buss, D. M. (2012). The costs of rape. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 41(5), 1099–1106.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pryor, D. W., & Hughes, M. R. (2013). Fear of rape among college women: A social psychological analysis, Violence and Victims, 28(3), 443–465.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Snyder, J. K., Fessler, D. M. T., Tiokhin, L., Frederick, D. A., Lee, S. W., & Navarrete, C. D. (2011). Trade-offs in a dangerous world: Women’s fear of crime predicts preferences for aggressive and formidable mates. Evolution and Human Behavior, 32, 127–137.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tybur, J. M., Lieberman, D., & Griskevicius, V. (2009). Microbes, mating, and morality: Individual differences in three functional domains of disgust. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 97(1), 103.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Warr, M. (1985). Fear of rape among urban women. Social Problems, 32(2), 238–250.CrossRefGoogle Scholar