Evolution of Artistic and Athletic Propensities: Testing of Intersexual Selection and Intrasexual Competition
Since Darwin proposed that human musicality evolved through sexual selection, empirical evidence has supported intersexual selection as one of the adaptive functions of artistic propensities. However, intrasexual competition has been overlooked. We tested their relative importance by investigating t...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2022-07-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.925862/full |
| _version_ | 1818113175204134912 |
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| author | Marco Antonio Correa Varella Zuzana Štěrbová Zuzana Štěrbová Klára Bártová Maryanne L. Fisher Jaroslava Varella Valentova |
| author_facet | Marco Antonio Correa Varella Zuzana Štěrbová Zuzana Štěrbová Klára Bártová Maryanne L. Fisher Jaroslava Varella Valentova |
| author_sort | Marco Antonio Correa Varella |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Since Darwin proposed that human musicality evolved through sexual selection, empirical evidence has supported intersexual selection as one of the adaptive functions of artistic propensities. However, intrasexual competition has been overlooked. We tested their relative importance by investigating the relationship between the self-perceived talent/expertise in 16 artistic and 2 sports modalities and proxies of intersexual selection (i.e., mate value, mating and parenting efforts, sociosexuality, and number of sexual partners) and intrasexual competition (i.e., aggressiveness, intrasexual competitiveness) in heterosexuals. Participants were 82 Brazilian men, 166 Brazilian women, 146 Czech men, and 458 Czech women (Mage = 26.48, SD = 7.12). Factor analysis revealed five factors: Literary-arts (creative writing, humor, acting/theater/film, poetry, storytelling), Visual-arts (painting/drawing, sculpting, handcrafting, culinary arts, architecture design), Musical-arts (playing/instruments, singing, dance, whistling), Circus-arts (juggling, acrobatics), and Sports (individual, collective). Multivariate General Linear Model (GLM) showed more associations of the arts to intersexual selection in women and to intrasexual selection in men, and overall more relationships in women than in men. In women, literary and musical-arts were related to elevated inter- and intrasexual selections proxies, visual and circus-arts were related to elevated intersexual selection proxies, and sports were related to intrasexual selection proxies. In men, literary-arts and sports were related to elevated inter- and intrasexual selection proxies, musical-arts were related to intrasexual proxies, and circus-arts were related to intersexual proxies; visual-arts did not have predictors. Although present in both sexes, each sexual selection component has different relative importance in each sex. Artisticality functions to attract and maintain long/short-term partners, and to compete with mating rivals. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-11T03:30:39Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b0338b9851ba4c23a3dde479d5cbe734 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-11T03:30:39Z |
| publishDate | 2022-07-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-b0338b9851ba4c23a3dde479d5cbe7342022-12-22T01:22:23ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782022-07-011310.3389/fpsyg.2022.925862925862Evolution of Artistic and Athletic Propensities: Testing of Intersexual Selection and Intrasexual CompetitionMarco Antonio Correa Varella0Zuzana Štěrbová1Zuzana Štěrbová2Klára Bártová3Maryanne L. Fisher4Jaroslava Varella Valentova5Department of Experimental Psychology, Institute of Psychology, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, BrazilDepartment of Psychology, Faculty of Arts, Charles University, Prague, CzechiaDepartment of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, CzechiaDepartment of Psychology and Life Sciences, Faculty of Humanities, Charles University, Prague, CzechiaDepartment of Psychology, Saint Mary’s University, Halifax, NS, CanadaDepartment of Experimental Psychology, Institute of Psychology, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, BrazilSince Darwin proposed that human musicality evolved through sexual selection, empirical evidence has supported intersexual selection as one of the adaptive functions of artistic propensities. However, intrasexual competition has been overlooked. We tested their relative importance by investigating the relationship between the self-perceived talent/expertise in 16 artistic and 2 sports modalities and proxies of intersexual selection (i.e., mate value, mating and parenting efforts, sociosexuality, and number of sexual partners) and intrasexual competition (i.e., aggressiveness, intrasexual competitiveness) in heterosexuals. Participants were 82 Brazilian men, 166 Brazilian women, 146 Czech men, and 458 Czech women (Mage = 26.48, SD = 7.12). Factor analysis revealed five factors: Literary-arts (creative writing, humor, acting/theater/film, poetry, storytelling), Visual-arts (painting/drawing, sculpting, handcrafting, culinary arts, architecture design), Musical-arts (playing/instruments, singing, dance, whistling), Circus-arts (juggling, acrobatics), and Sports (individual, collective). Multivariate General Linear Model (GLM) showed more associations of the arts to intersexual selection in women and to intrasexual selection in men, and overall more relationships in women than in men. In women, literary and musical-arts were related to elevated inter- and intrasexual selections proxies, visual and circus-arts were related to elevated intersexual selection proxies, and sports were related to intrasexual selection proxies. In men, literary-arts and sports were related to elevated inter- and intrasexual selection proxies, musical-arts were related to intrasexual proxies, and circus-arts were related to intersexual proxies; visual-arts did not have predictors. Although present in both sexes, each sexual selection component has different relative importance in each sex. Artisticality functions to attract and maintain long/short-term partners, and to compete with mating rivals.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.925862/fullartsaesthetic behaviorsexual selectionaggressionmatingcreativity |
| spellingShingle | Marco Antonio Correa Varella Zuzana Štěrbová Zuzana Štěrbová Klára Bártová Maryanne L. Fisher Jaroslava Varella Valentova Evolution of Artistic and Athletic Propensities: Testing of Intersexual Selection and Intrasexual Competition Frontiers in Psychology arts aesthetic behavior sexual selection aggression mating creativity |
| title | Evolution of Artistic and Athletic Propensities: Testing of Intersexual Selection and Intrasexual Competition |
| title_full | Evolution of Artistic and Athletic Propensities: Testing of Intersexual Selection and Intrasexual Competition |
| title_fullStr | Evolution of Artistic and Athletic Propensities: Testing of Intersexual Selection and Intrasexual Competition |
| title_full_unstemmed | Evolution of Artistic and Athletic Propensities: Testing of Intersexual Selection and Intrasexual Competition |
| title_short | Evolution of Artistic and Athletic Propensities: Testing of Intersexual Selection and Intrasexual Competition |
| title_sort | evolution of artistic and athletic propensities testing of intersexual selection and intrasexual competition |
| topic | arts aesthetic behavior sexual selection aggression mating creativity |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.925862/full |
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