But remember that the results showed that overall men were more interested in the target (whether she was single or attached) than women were interested in the target. So men's interest was not influenced by the status of the woman - men were equal opportunity poachers. Shouldn't he have been less interested in the married woman?
Also, showing interest is hardly the same thing as acting on that interest. Marie "Our results showed an interesting mate poaching pattern. Although men were more interested in the target than women, this was because men were more interested in the target in general, regardless of whether she was attached or single. However, as predicted, single women were more interested in poaching an attached man rather than pursuing a single man. Interestingly, this indicates that single women are more interested in pursuing a man that is less available to them. As predicted, this gender difference in interest was not evident when the participants were in a committed relationship themselves." **************************************************** Marie Helweg-Larsen, Ph.D. Department Chair and Associate Professor of Psychology Kaufman 168, Dickinson College Carlisle, PA 17013, office (717) 245-1562, fax (717) 245-1971 http://www.dickinson.edu/departments/psych/helwegm **************************************************** -----Original Message----- From: DeVolder Carol L [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Friday, August 14, 2009 3:02 PM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: RE: [tips] Why Do Single Women Go After Married Men? A couple of points--many women wouldn't turn down advances from Brad Pitt regardless of his marital status. His other attributes far outweigh that one. I think a married woman represents a challenge for some women--to see if she can come across as desirable even to men otherwise committed.Talk about ego-building! Ugly clothes, huh? I like that one. Even if it does presume that women are superficial... :) Carol Carol L. DeVolder, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology Chair, Department of Psychology St. Ambrose University 518 West Locust Street Davenport, Iowa 52803 Phone: 563-333-6482 e-mail: [email protected] web: http://web.sau.edu/psychology/psychfaculty/cdevolder.htm The contents of this message are confidential and may not be shared with anyone without permission of the sender. -----Original Message----- From: Robin Abrahams [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Fri 8/14/2009 1:59 PM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: Re: [tips] Why Do Single Women Go After Married Men? This is why I deliberately buy my husband ugly clothes. Robin Abrahams www.robinabrahams.com My first book, "Miss Conduct's Mind Over Manners," is available now wherever books are sold! (Or if not, ask the bookseller to order more. Politely!) --- On Fri, 8/14/09, Beth Benoit <[email protected]> wrote: From: Beth Benoit <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [tips] Why Do Single Women Go After Married Men? To: "Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS)" <[email protected]> Date: Friday, August 14, 2009, 1:56 PM Just a thought here. Might women be looking at the unmarried men and wondering why they're unmarried, and thinking there might be something less desirable about a man who's - just to pursue a stereotype here - unmarried and living with his mother? I like Mike's suggestion that married men might be seen as "pre-screened." Beth BenoitGranite State CollegePlymouth State UniversityNew Hampshire On Fri, Aug 14, 2009 at 2:29 PM, Don Allen <[email protected]> wrote: Hardly a surprising finding. How many women would turn down an advance from Brad Pitt because he was married? Marriage just seems to be another one of those "fitness" markers such as wealth or status that women use in mate selection. Once again evolution trumps morality. -Don. Don Allen Dept. of Psychology Langara College 100 W. 49th Ave. Vancouver, B.C. Canada V5Y 2Z6 Phone: 604-323-5871 ----- Original Message ----- From: Mike Palij Date: Friday, August 14, 2009 7:00 am Subject: [tips] Why Do Single Women Go After Married Men? To: "Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS)" Cc: Mike Palij > Or do they? > > An interesting blog entry in the NY Times this week describes a > study in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology that varied > descriptions of males and females as being single or married/attached. > Quoting from the blog entry: > > |To the men in the experiment, and to the women who were > |already in relationships, it didn't make a significant > difference > |whether their match was single or attached. But single women > |showed a distinct preference for mate poaching. When the man > |was described as unattached, 59 percent of the single women > |were interested in pursuing him. When that same man was > described > |as being in a committed relationship, 90 percent were interested. > > Of course, as the researchers explain, "most women who engage > in mate poaching do not think the attached status of the target > played a role in their poaching decision, but our study shows this > belief to be false." > > A married man, apparently, has been "pre-screened", has been > found "passing the test for matehood", and, thus, is a desirable > "commodity". > > Gee, guys, I hadn't realized how objectified we have been for so long. > I feel, what is the proper word, used? ;-) > > For more (or less) see the blog entry: > http://tierneylab.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/13/do-single-women- > seek-attached-men/?em > > If you were really interested in the article you would locate it and > read it yourself: > > Parker, J. & Burkley, M. Who's chasing whom? The impact > of gender and relationship status on mate poaching, Journal > of Experimental Social Psychology, Volume 45, Issue 4, July > 2009, > Pages 1016-1019, ISSN 0022-1031, DOI: 10.1016/j.jesp.2009.04.022. > (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6WJB-4W6Y5S3- > 1/2/dc59df25a980557415a8385ea7efe80a ) > Abstract: > Are women more interested in men who are already in a > relationship? Female and male participants who were single > or in a relationship viewed information about an opposite-sex > other and indicated their interest in pursuing this target. > Half of the participants were told that the target was single > and half read that the target was currently in a relationship. > The results showed that only single women were more interested > in pursuing an attached target rather than a single target. > We discuss how these results add to what is already known about > mate poaching. > Keywords: Mate poaching; Cheating; Gender; Relationship status > > Why do I get the feeling that "mate poaching" will be the next > big topic to be researched by undergraduates this coming academic > year? ;-) > > -Mike Palij > New York University > [email protected] > > > > > --- > To make changes to your subscription contact: > > Bill Southerly ([email protected]) > Don Allen Dept. of Psychology Langara College 100 W. 49th Ave. Vancouver, B.C. Canada V5Y 2Z6 Phone: 604-323-5871 --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([email protected]) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([email protected]) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([email protected]) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([email protected])
