Do human females use indirect aggression as an intrasexual competition strategy

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

Volumn 368, Issue 1631, 2013, Pages

  Vaillancourt, Tracy ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF OTTAWA   (Canada)

Author keywords

Human females; Indirect aggression; Intrasexual competition

Indexed keywords

AGGRESSION; FEMALE BEHAVIOR; HUMAN GEOGRAPHY; INTRASEXUAL INTERACTION; SEXUAL BEHAVIOR;

BODY IMAGE; COMPETITIVE BEHAVIOR; FEMALE; HUMAN; HUMAN FEMALES; INDIRECT AGGRESSION; INTRASEXUAL COMPETITION; MALE; PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECT; REVIEW; SEXUAL BEHAVIOR;

HUMAN FEMALES; INDIRECT AGGRESSION; INTRASEXUAL COMPETITION;

BODY IMAGE; COMPETITIVE BEHAVIOR; FEMALE; HUMANS; MALE; SEXUAL BEHAVIOR; WOMEN;

EID: 84886464819     PISSN: 09628436     EISSN: 14712970     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2013.0080     Document Type: Review

References (98)

1. Barber N. 1995 The evolutionary psychology of physical attractiveness: sexual selection and human morphology. Ethol. Sociobiol. 16, 395-424. (doi:10.1016/0162-3095(95)00068-2)
2. Buss DM. 1988 The evolution of human intrasexual competition: tactics of mate attraction. J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 54, 616-628. (doi:10.1037/0022-3514.54.4.616)
3. Buss DM, Schmitt DP. 1993 Sexual strategies theory: an evolutionary perspective on human mating. Psychol. Rev. 100, 204-232. (doi:10.1037/0033-295X.100.2.204)
4. Fisher M, Cox A. 2009 The influence of female attractiveness on competitor derogation. J. Evol. Psychol. 7, 141-155. (doi:10.1556/JEP.7.2009.2.3)
5. Schmitt DP, Buss DM. 1996 Strategic selfenhancement and competitor derogation: sex and context effects on the perceived effectiveness of mate attraction tactics. J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 70, 1185-1204. (doi:10.1037/0022-3514.70.6.1185)
6. Symons D. 1979 The evolution of human sexuality. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
7. Walters S, Crawford CB. 1994 The importance of mate attraction for intrasexual competition in men and women. Ethol. Sociobiol. 15, 5-30. (doi:10.1016/0162-3095(94)90025-6)
8. Buss D, Dedden L. 1990 Derogation of competitors. J. Soc. Pers. Relationships 7, 395-422. (doi:10.1177/0265407590073006)
9. Buss DM. 1989 Sex differences in human mate preferences: evolutionary hypotheses tested in 37 cultures. Behav. Brain Sci. 12, 1-14. (doi:10.1017/ S0140525X00023992)
10. Grammer K, Thornhill R. 1994 Human (Homo sapiens) facial attractiveness and sexual selection: the role of symmetry and averageness. J. Comp. Psychol. 108, 233-242. (doi:10.1037/0735-7036.108.3.233)
11. Singh D. 1993 Adaptive significance of female physical attractiveness: role of waist-to-hip ratio. J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 65, 293-307. (doi:10.1037/ 0022-3514.65.2.293)
12. Singh D. 1994 Is thin really beautiful and good? Relationship between waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) and female attractiveness. Pers. Individ. Dif. 16, 123-132. (doi:10.1016/0191-8869(94)90116-3)
13. Singh D, Young RK. 1995 Body weight, waist-to-hip ratio, breasts, and hips: role in judgments of female attractiveness and desirability for relationships. Ethol. Sociobiol. 16, 483-507. (doi:10.1016/0162-3095(95)00074-7)
14. Shackelford TK, Buss DM, Bennett K. 2002 Forgiveness or breakup: sex differences in responses to a partner's infidelity. Cogn. Emotion 16, 299-307. (doi:10.1080/02699930143000202)
15. Björkqvist K. 1994 Sex differences in physical, verbal, and indirect aggression: a review of recent research. Sex Roles 30, 177-188. (doi:10.1007/BF01420988)
16. Feshbach ND. 1969 Sex differences in children's modes of aggressive responses toward outsiders. Merrill Palmer Q. 15, 249-258.
17. Lagerspetz KMJ, Björkqvist K, Peltonen T. 1988 Is indirect aggression typical of females? Gender differences in aggressiveness in 11-to 12-year-old children. Aggr. Behav. 14, 403-414. (doi:10.1002/ 1098-2337(1988)14:6,403::AIDAB2480140602.3.0. CO;2-D)
18. Cairns RB, Cairns BD, Neckerman HJ, Ferguson LL, Gariépy J. 1989 Growth and aggression. I. Childhood to early adolescence. Dev. Psychol. 25, 320-330. (doi:10.1037/0012-1649.25.2.320)
19. Galen BR, Underwood MK. 1997 A developmental investigation of social aggression among children. Dev. Psychol. 33, 589-600. (doi:10.1037/0012-1649.33.4.589)
20. Crick NR, Grotpeter JK. 1995 Relational aggression, gender, and social-psychological adjustment. Child Dev. 66, 710-722. (doi:10.2307/1131945)
21. Crick NR. 1995 Relational aggression: the role of intent attributions, feelings of distress, and provocation type. Dev. Psychopathol. 7, 313-322. (doi:10.1017/S0954579400006520)
22. Archer J. 2004 Sex differences in aggression in realworld settings: a meta-analytic review. Rev. Gen. Psychol. 8, 291-322. (doi:10.1037/1089-2680.8.4.291)
23. Card NA, Stucky BD, Sawalani GM, Little TD. 2008 Direct and indirect aggression during childhood and adolescence: a meta-analytic review of gender differences, intercorrelations, and relations to maladjustment. Child Dev. 79, 1185-1229. (doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2008.01184.x)
24. Österman K, Björkqvist K, Lagerspetz KMJ, Kaukiainen A, Landau SF, Fra{ogonek}czek A, Caprara GV. 1998 Crosscultural evidence of female indirect aggression. Aggr. Behav. 24, 1-8. (doi:10.1002/(SICI)1098-2337(1998)24:1,1::AID-AB1.3.0.CO;2-R)
25. Björkqvist K, Lagerspetz KMJ, Kaukiainen A. 1992 Do girls manipulate and boys fight? Developmental trends in regard to direct and indirect aggression. Aggr. Behav. 18, 117-127. (doi:10.1002/1098-2337(1992)18:2,117::AID-AB2480180205.3.0. CO;2-3)
26. Campbell A. 1999 Staying alive: evolution, culture, and women's intrasexual aggression. Behav. Brain Sci. 22, 203-214. (doi:10.1017/S0140525X99 001818)
27. Campbell A. 2004 Female competition: causes, constraints, content, and contexts. J. Sex Res. 41, 16-26. (doi:10.1080/00224490409552210)
28. Trivers RL. 1972 Parental investment and sexual selection. In Sexual selection and the descent of man, 1871-1971 (ed. BG Campbell), pp. 180-230. Chicago, IL: Aldine Pub. Co.
29. Daly M, Wilson M. 1988 Homicide. Hawthorne, NY: A. de Gruyter.
30. Vaillancourt T. 2005 Indirect aggression among humans: social construct or evolutionary adaptation? In Developmental origins of aggression (eds RE Tremblay, WH Hartup, J Archer), pp. 158-177. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
31. Hrdy SB. 1999 Mother nature: a history of mothers, infants, and natural selection. New York, NY: Pantheon.
32. Sear R, Mace R. 2008 Who keeps children alive? A review of the effects of kin on child survival. Evol. Hum. Behav. 29, 1-18. (doi:10.1016/j.evol humbehav.2007.10.001)
33. Hess NH, Hagen EH. 2006 Sex differences in indirect aggression: psychological evidence from young adults. Evol. Hum. Behav. 27, 231-245. (doi:10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2005.11.001)
34. Arnocky S, Sunderani S, Miller JL, Vaillancourt T. 2012 Jealousy mediates the relationship between attractiveness comparison and females' indirect aggression. Pers. Relationships 19, 290-303. (doi:10.1111/j.1475-6811.2011.01362.x)
35. Gallup AC, Wilson DS. 2009 Body mass index (BMI) and peer aggression in adolescent females: an evolutionary perspective. J. Soc. Evol. Cultur. Psychol. 3, 356-371.
36. Paquette JA, Underwood MK. 1999 Gender differences in young adolescents' experiences of peer victimization: social and physical aggression. Merrill Palmer Q. 45, 242-266.
37. Griskevicius V, Tybur JM, Gangestad SW, Perea EF, Shapiro JR, Kenrick DT. 2009 Aggress to impress: hostility as an evolved context-dependent strategy. J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 96, 980-994. (doi:10.1037/a0013907)
38. Miller JL, Vaillancourt T, Hanna SE. 2009 The measurement of 'eating-disorder-thoughts' and 'eating-disorder-behaviors': implications for assessment and detection of eating disorders in epidemiological studies. Eat. Behav. 10, 89-96. (doi:10.1016/j.eatbeh.2009.02.002)
39. Vaillancourt T, Miller JL, Fagbemi J, Côté S, Tremblay RE. 2007 Trajectories and predictors of indirect aggression: results from a nationally representative longitudinal study of Canadian children aged 2-10. Aggr. Behav. 33, 314-326. (doi:10.1002/ab.20202)
40. Underwood MK, Beron KJ, Rosen LH. 2009 Continuity and change in social and physical aggression from middle childhood through early adolescence. Aggr. Behav. 35, 357-375. (doi:10.1002/ab.20313)
41. Verona E, Sadeh N, Case S, Reed A, Bhattacharjee A. 2008 Self-reported use of different forms of aggression in late adolescence and emerging adulthood. Assessment 15, 493-510. (doi:10.1177/1073191108318250)
42. Dunson DB, Colombo B, Baird DD. 2002 Changes with age in the level and duration of fertility in the menstrual cycle. Hum. Reprod. 17, 1399-1403. (doi:10.1093/humrep/17.5.1399)
43. Massar K, Buunk AP, Rempt S. 2012 Age differences in women's tendency to gossip are mediated by their mate value. Pers. Individ. Dif. 52, 106-109. (doi:10.1016/j.paid.2011.09.013)
44. Leenaars LS, Dane AV, Marini ZA. 2008 Evolutionary perspective on indirect victimization in adolescence: the role of attractiveness, dating and sexual behavior. Aggr. Behav. 34, 404-415. (doi:10.1002/ ab.20252)
45. Agthe M, Spörrle M, Maner J. 2011 Does being attractive always help? Positive and negative effects of attractiveness on social decision making. Pers. Soc. Psychol. Bull. 37, 1042-1054. (doi:10.1177/0146167211410355)
46. Luxen MF, Van De Vijver FJR. 2006 Facial attractiveness, sexual selection, and personnel selection: when evolved preferences matter. J. Organiz. Behav. 27, 241-255. (doi:10.1002/job.357)
47. Phillips AE, Hranek C. 2012 Is beauty a gift or a curse? The influence of an offender's physical attractiveness on forgiveness. Pers. Relationships 19, 420-430. (doi:10.1111/j.1475-6811.2011.01370.x)
48. Li NP, Smith AR, Griskevicius V, Cason MJ, Bryan A. 2010 Intrasexual competition and eating restriction in heterosexual and homosexual individuals. Evol. Hum. Behav. 31, 365-372. (doi:10.1016/j. evolhumbehav.2010.05.004)
49. Swami V et al. 2010 The attractive female body weight and female body dissatisfaction in 26 countries across 10 world regions: results of the international body project I. Pers. Soc. Psychol. Bull. 36, 309-325. (doi:10.1177/0146167209359702)
50. Abed RT. 1998 The sexual competition hypothesis for eating disorders. Br. J. Med. Psychol. 71, 525-547. (doi:10.1111/j.2044-8341.1998.tb01007.x)
51. Abed R, Mehta S, Figueredo AJ, Aldridge S, Balson H, Meyer C, Palmer R. 2012 Eating disorders and intrasexual competition: testing an evolutionary hypothesis among young women. Sci. World J. 2012, 290813. (doi:10.1100/2012/290813)
52. Faer LM, Hendriks A, Abed RT, Figueredo AJ. 2005 The evolutionary psychology of eating disorders: female competition for mates or for status? Psychol. Psychother. Theory Res. Pract. 78, 397-417. (doi:10.1348/147608305X42929)
53. Mealey L. 2000 Anorexia: a 'losing' strategy? Hum. Nat. 11, 105-116. (doi:10.1007/s12110-000-1005-3)
54. Miller JL, Vaillancourt T. 2011 Rethinking the eating disorder continuum: a categorical approach to abnormal eating. In Handbook of behavior, food and nutrition (eds RR Watson, C Martin), pp. 1411-1429. New York, NY: Springer.
55. Vaillancourt T, Miller JL, Sharma A. 2010 'Tripping the Prom Queen': female intrasexual competition and indirect aggression. In Indirect and direct aggression (ed. K Österman), pp. 17-32. Frankfurt, Germany: Peter Lang Publishing Group.
56. Ackard DM, Fulkerson JA, Neumark-Sztainer D. 2007 Prevalence and utility of DSM-IV eating disorder diagnostic criteria among youth. Int. J. Eat. Disord. 40, 409-417. (doi:10.1002/eat.20389)
57. Cash TF, Morrow JA, Hrabosky JI, Perry AA. 2004 How has body image changed? A cross-sectional investigation of college women and men from 1983 to 2001. J. Consult. Clin. Psychol. 72, 1081-1089. (doi:10.1037/0022-006X.72.6.1081)
58. McVey G, Tweed S, Blackmore E. 2004 Dieting among preadolescent and young adolescent females. Can. Med. Assoc. J. 170, 1559-1561. (doi:10.1503/cmaj.1031247)
59. Rodin J, Silberstein L, Striegel-Moore R. 1984 Women and weight: a normative discontent. Nebr. Symp. Motiv. 32, 267-307.
60. Ferguson CJ, Munoz ME, Contreras S, Velasquez K. 2011 Mirror, mirror on the wall: peer competition, television influences, and body image dissatisfaction. J. Soc. Clin. Psychol. 30, 458-483. (doi:10.1521/jscp.2011.30.5.458)
61. Piran N, Gadalla T. 2007 Eating disorders and substance abuse in Canadian women: a national study. Addiction 102, 105-113. (doi:10.1111/j. 1360-0443.2006.01633.x)
62. Park J, Beaudet MP. 2007 Eating attitudes and their correlates among Canadian women concerned about their weight. Eur. Eat. Disord. Rev. 15, 311-320. (doi:10.1002/erv.741)
63. American Psychiatric Association. 2000 Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-IVTR, 4th edn (text revision edn). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.
64. Werner NE, Crick NR. 1999 Relational aggression and social-psychological adjustment in a college sample. J. Abnorm. Psychol. 108, 615-623. (doi:10.1037/0021-843X.108.4.615)
65. Clark L, Tiggemann M. 2008 Sociocultural and individual psychological predictors of body image in young girls: a prospective study. Dev. Psychol. 44, 1124-1134. (doi:10.1037/0012-1649.44.4.1124)
66. Dohnt HK, Tiggemann M. 2005 Peer influences on body dissatisfaction and dieting awareness in young girls. Br. J. Dev. Psychol. 23, 103-116. (doi:10.1348/026151004X20658)
67. Jones D, Vigfusdottir T, Lee Y. 2004 Body image and the appearance culture among adolescent girls and boys. J. Adolesc. Res. 19, 323-339. (doi:10.1177/0743558403258847)
68. McCabe MP, Ricciardelli LA. 2005 A prospective study of pressures from parents, peers, and the media on extreme weight change behaviors among adolescent boys and girls. Behav. Res. Ther. 43, 653-668. (doi:10.1016/j.brat.2004.05.004)
69. Mills JS, Miller JL. 2007 Experimental effects of receiving negative weight-related feedback: a weight guessing study. Body Image 4, 309-316. (doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2007.04.004)
70. Taylor SE, Klein LC, Lewis BP, Gruenewald TL, Gurung RAR, Updegraff JA. 2000 Biobehavioral responses to stress in females: tend-and-befriend, not fight-or-flight. Psychol. Rev. 107, 411-429. (doi:10.1037/0033-295X.107.3.411)
71. Wang J, Iannotti RJ, Luk JW. 2010 Bullying victimization among underweight and overweight U.S. youth: differential associations for boys and girls. J. Adolesc. Health 47, 99-101. (doi:10.1016/j. jadohealth.2009.12.007)
72. Dijkstra P, Buunk BP. 2002 Sex differences in the jealousy-evoking effect of rival characteristics. Eur. J. Soc. Psychol. 32, 829-852. (doi:10.1002/ejsp.125)
73. Baumeister RF, Twenge JM. 2002 Cultural suppression of female sexuality. Rev. Gen. Psychol. 6, 166-203. (doi:10.1037/1089-2680.6.2.166)
74. Artz S. 1998 Sex, power, and the violent school girl. Toronto, Canada: Trifolium Books.
75. Campbell A. 1982 Female aggression. In Aggression and violence (eds PE Marsh, A Campbell), pp. 135-150. Oxford, UK: Blackwell.
76. Campbell A. 1995 A few good men: evolutionary psychology and female adolescent aggression. Ethol. Sociobiol. 16, 99-123. (doi:10.1016/0162-3095(94)00072-F)
77. Marsh P, Paton R. 1986 Gender, social class and conceptual schemas of aggression. In Violent transactions: the limits of personality (eds A Campbell, JJ Gibbs), pp. 59-85. Oxford, UK: B. Blackwell.
78. Vaillancourt T, Sharma A. 2011 Intolerance of sexy peers: intrasexual competition among women. Aggress. Behav. 37, 569-577. (doi:10.1002/ ab.20413)
79. Bleske AL, Shackelford TK. 2001 Poaching, promiscuity, and deceit: combatting mating rivalry in same-sex friendships. Pers. Relationships 8, 407-424. (doi:10.1111/j.1475-6811.2001. tb00048.x)
80. Sunderani S, Arnocky S, Vaillancourt T. 2013 Individual differences in mate poaching: an examination of hormonal, dispositional, and behavioral mate-value traits. Arch. Sex Behav. 42, 533-542. (doi:10.1007/s10508-012-9974-y)
81. Davies APC, Shackelford TK, Hass RG. 2010 Sex differences in perceptions of benefits and costs of mate poaching. Pers. Individ. Dif. 49, 441-445. (doi:10.1016/j.paid.2010.04.014)
82. Schmitt DP, Buss DM. 2001 Human mate poaching: tactics and temptations for infiltrating existing mateships. J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 80, 894-917. (doi:10.1037/0022-3514.80.6.894)
83. Arnocky S, Vaillancourt T. In press. Mate poaching and mating success in humans. J. Evol. Psychol.
84. White DD, Gallup AC, Gallup GG. 2010 Indirect peer aggression in adolescence and reproductive behavior. Evol. Psychol. 8, 49-65.
85. Wood JW. 1994 Dynamics of human reproduction: biology, biometry, demography. Hawthorne, NY: Aldine de Gruter.
86. Gallup AC, O'Brien DT, Wilson DS. 2011 Intrasexual peer aggression and dating behavior during adolescence: an evolutionary perspective. Aggress. Behav. 37, 258-267. (doi:10.1002/ab.20384)
87. Pellegrini AD, Long JD. 2003 A sexual selection theory longitudinal analysis of sexual segregation and integration in early adolescence. J. Exp. Child Psychol. 85, 257-278. (doi:10.1016/S0022-0965(03)00060-2)
88. Connolly J, Pepler D, Craig W, Taradash A. 2000 Dating experiences of bullies in early adolescence. Child Maltreat. 5, 299-310. (doi:10.1177/1077559500005004002)
89. Arnocky S, Vaillancourt T. 2012 A multi-informant longitudinal study on the relationship between aggression, peer victimization, and dating status in adolescence. Evol. Psychol. 10, 253-270.
90. McDougall P, Vaillancourt T. Submitted. The longterm outcomes of peer victimization in school: pathways to adjustment and maladjustment. Am. Psychol.
91. Kim Y, Koh Y, Leventhal B. 2005 School bullying and suicidal risk in Korean middle school students. Pediatrics 115, 357-363. (doi:10.1542/peds.2004-0902)
92. Kaltiala-Heino R, Rimpelä M, Marttunen M, Rimpelä A, Rantanen P. 1999 Bullying, depression, and suicidal ideation in Finnish adolescents: school survey. Br. Med. J. 319, 348-351. (doi:10.1136/ bmj.319.7206.348)
93. Rueger SY, Malecki CK, Demaray MK. 2011 Stability of peer victimization in early adolescence: effects of timing and duration. J. School Psychol. 49, 443-464. (doi:10.1016/j.jsp.2011.04.005)
94. Klomek A, Marrocco F, Kleinman M, Schonfeld I, Gould M. 2008 Peer victimization, depression, and suicidiality in adolescents. Suicide Life Threat. Behav. 38, 166-180. (doi:10.1521/suli.2008.38.2.166)
95. Carbone-Lopez K, Esbensen F, Brick B. 2010 Correlates and consequences of peer victimization: gender differences in direct and indirect forms of bullying. Youth Violence Juvenile Justice 8, 332-350. (doi:10.1177/1541204010362954)
96. Benenson JF, Markovits H, Hultgren B, Nguyen T, Bullock G, Wrangham R. 2013 Social exclusion: more important to human females than males. PLoS ONE 8, e55851. (doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0055851)
97. Campbell A. 2013 The evolutionary psychology of women's aggression. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B 368, 20130078. (doi:10.1098/rstb.2013.0078)
98. Darwin C. 1871 The descent of man and selection in relation to sex. London, UK: Murray.