Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-4rdpn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-19T23:27:56.856Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Mating Performance: Exploring Emotional Intelligence, the Dark Triad, Jealousy and Attachment Effects

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 January 2019

Menelaos Apostolou*
Affiliation:
University of Nicosia, Nicosia, Cyprus
Christiana Paphiti
Affiliation:
University of Nicosia, Nicosia, Cyprus
Eleni Neza
Affiliation:
University of Nicosia, Nicosia, Cyprus
Maria Damianou
Affiliation:
University of Nicosia, Nicosia, Cyprus
Polyxeni Georgiadou
Affiliation:
University of Nicosia, Nicosia, Cyprus
*
Address for correspondence: Menelaos Apostolou, University of Nicosia, 46 Makedonitissas Ave., 1700 Nicosia, Cyprus. Email: [email protected]
Get access

Abstract

A considerable proportion of the population in post-industrial societies experiences substantial difficulties in the domain of mating. The current research attempted to estimate the prevalence rate of poor mating performance and to identify some of its predictors. Two independent studies, which employed a total of 1,358 Greek-speaking men and women, found that about 40% of the participants experienced poor performance in either starting or keeping an intimate relationship, or in both areas. Furthermore, emotional intelligence, Dark Triad traits, jealousy, and attachment style were found to be significant predictors of mating performance. In particular, higher emotional intelligence and narcissism were associated with higher performance in mating, while higher psychopathy, jealousy and an avoidant attachment style were associated with lower mating performance.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2019 

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.)

References

Aghababaei, N., Mohammadtabar, S., & Saffarinia, M. (2014). Comparison of the Dark Triad and honesty–humility in prosociality, religiosity, and happiness. Personality and Individual Differences, 67, 610.Google Scholar
Ainsworth, M.D.S., Blehar, M.C., Waters, E., & Wall, S. (1978). Patterns of attachment: Assessed in the strange situation and at home. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Ali, F., & Chamorro-Premuzic, T. (2010). The dark side of love and life satisfaction: Associations with intimate relationships, psychopathy and Machiavellianism. Personality and Individual Differences, 48, 228233.Google Scholar
Apostolou, M. (2007). Sexual selection under parental choice: the role of parents in the evolution of human mating. Evolution and Human Behavior, 28, 403409.Google Scholar
Apostolou, M. (2010). Sexual selection under parental choice in agropastoral societies. Evolution and Human Behavior, 31, 3947.Google Scholar
Apostolou, M. (2012). Sexual selection under parental choice: Evidence from sixteen historical societies. Evolutionary Psychology, 10, 504518.Google Scholar
Apostolou, M. (2014). Sexual selection under parental choice: The evolution of human mating behaviour. Hove: Psychology Press.Google Scholar
Apostolou, M. (2015a). Past, present and why people struggle to establish and maintain intimate relationships. Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences, 9, 257269.Google Scholar
Apostolou, M. (2015b). Sexual dysfunctions in men: An evolutionary perspective. Evolutionary Psychological Science, 1, 220231.Google Scholar
Apostolou, M. (2016a). An evolutionary account of the prevalence of personality traits that impair intimate relationships. Personality and Individual Differences, 94, 140148.Google Scholar
Apostolou, M. (2016b). Feeling good: An evolutionary perspective on life choices. New York, NY: Routledge.Google Scholar
Apostolou, M. (2016c). Understanding the prevalence of sexual dysfunctions in women: An evolutionary perspective. Adaptive Human Behavior and Physiology, 2, 2643.Google Scholar
Apostolou, M. (2018). Why men stay single? Evidence from Reddit. Evolutionary Psychological Science. Advance online publication. doi:10.1007/s40806-018-0163-7Google Scholar
Apostolou, M., Papadopoulou, I., & Georgiadou, P. (2018). Are people single by choice? Involuntary singlehood in an evolutionary perspective. Evolutionary Behavioral Science. Advance Online PublicationGoogle Scholar
Apostolou, M., Shialos, M., & Georgiadou, P. (2019). The emotional cost of poor mating performance. Personality and Individual Differences, 138, 188192.Google Scholar
Apostolou, M., Shialos, M., Kyrou, E., Demetriou, A., & Papamichael, A. (2018). The challenge of starting and keeping a relationship: Prevalence rates and predictors of poor mating performance. Personality and Individual Differences, 122, 1928.Google Scholar
Bartholomew, K., & Horowitz, L.M. (1991). Attachment styles among young adults: A test of a four-category model. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 61, 226244.Google Scholar
Bendixen, M., Kennair, L.E.O., & Buss, D.M. (2015). Jealousy: Evidence of strong sex differences using both forced choice and continuous measure paradigms. Personality and Individual Differences, 86, 212216.Google Scholar
Bowles, S. (2009). Did warfare among ancestral hunter-gatherers affect the evolution of human social behaviors? Science, 324, 12931298.Google Scholar
Brennan, K.A., Clark, C.L., & Shaver, P.R. (1998). Self-report measurement of adult romantic attachment: An integrative overview. In Simpson, J.A. & Rholes, W.S. (Eds.), Attachment theory and close relationships (pp. 4676). New York, NY: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Buss, D.M. (1989). Sex differences in human mate preferences: Evolutionary hypotheses tested in 37 cultures. Behavioral & Brain Sciences, 12, 149.Google Scholar
Buss, D.M. (2000). The dangerous passion. London, UK: Bloomsbury.Google Scholar
Buss, D.M. (2017). The evolution of desire: Strategies of human mating (4th ed.). New York, NY: Basic Books.Google Scholar
Buss, D.M., & Schmitt, D.P. (1993). Sexual strategies theory: An evolutionary perspective on human mating. Psychological Review, 100, 204232.Google Scholar
Campbell, W.K., & Foster, C.A. (2002). Narcissism and commitment in romantic relationships: An investment model analysis. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 28, 484495.Google Scholar
Campbell, K.W., & Miller, J.D. (2011). The handbook of narcissism and narcissistic personality disorder: Theoretical approaches, empirical findings, and treatments. London, UK: Wiley.Google Scholar
Corry, N., Merritt, R.D., Mrug, S., & Pamp, B. (2008). The factor structure of the Narcissistic Personality Inventory. Journal of Personality Assessment, 90, 593600.Google Scholar
Crawford, C. (1998). Environments and adaptations: Then and now. In Crawford, C. & Krebs, D.L. (Eds.), Handbook of evolutionary psychology (pp. 275302). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Diener, E., & Seligman, M.E.P. (2002). Very happy people. Psychological Science, 13, 8184.Google Scholar
Ewers, J.C. (1958). The Blackfeet Raiders on the Nertwestern Plains. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press.Google Scholar
Figueredo, A.J., Vásquez, G., Brumbach, B.H., Schneider, S.M.R., Sefcek, J.A., Tal, I.R., … Jacobs, W.J. (2006). Consilience and life history theory: From genes to brain to reproductive strategy. Developmental Review, 26, 243275.Google Scholar
Frederickson, N., Petrides, K.V., & Simmonds, E. (2012). Trait emotional intelligence as a predictor of socioemotional outcomes in early adolescence. Personality and Individual Differences, 52, 323328.Google Scholar
Ghiglieri, M.P. (1999). The dark side of man: Tracing the origins of male violence. Reading, MA: Perseus Books.Google Scholar
Harris, J.R. (2009). The nurture assumption: Why children turn out the way they do. New York, NY: Free Press.Google Scholar
Hazan, C., & Shaver, P. (1987). Romantic love conceptualized as an attachment process. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, 511524.Google Scholar
Jakobwitz, S., & Egan, V. (2006). The Dark Triad and normal personality traits. Personality and Individual Differences, 40, 331339.Google Scholar
Jonason, P.K., Koenig, B., & Tost, J. (2010). Living a fast life: The Dark Triad and life history theory. Human Nature, 21, 428442.Google Scholar
Jonason, P.K., Li, N.P., & Buss, D.M. (2010). The costs and benefits of the Dark Triad: Implications for mate poaching and mate retention tactics. Personality and Individual Differences, 48, 373378.Google Scholar
Jonason, P.K., Valentine, K.A., Li, N.P., & Harbeson, C.L. (2011). Mate-selection and the Dark Triad: Facilitating a short-term mating strategy and creating a volatile environment. Personality and Individual Differences, 51, 759763.Google Scholar
Jones, G. (2012). Late marriage and low fertility in Singapore: The limits of policy. The Japanese Journal of Population, 10, 89101.Google Scholar
Keegan, J. (2004). A history of warfare. New York, NY: Vintage.Google Scholar
Li, N.P., van Vugt, M., & Colarelli, S.M. (2017). The evolutionary mismatch hypothesis: Implications for psychological science. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 27, 3844.Google Scholar
Lykken, D.T. (1995). The antisocial personalities. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
Lynch, M. (2010). Evolution of the mutation rate. Trends in Genetics, 26, 345352.Google Scholar
Maner, J., & Kenrick, D.T. (2010). When adaptations go awry: Functional and dysfunctional aspects of social anxiety. Social Issues and Policy Review, 4, 111142.Google Scholar
Mayer, J.D., Salovey, P., & Caruso, D.R. (2004). Emotional intelligence: Theory, findings, and implications. Psychological Inquiry, 15, 197215.Google Scholar
Mikulincer, M., & Shaver, P.R. (2003). The attachment behavioral system in adulthood: Activation, psychodynamics, and interpersonal processes. In Zanna, M.P. (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (vol. 35, pp. 53152). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Nettle, D. (2006). The evolution of personality variation in humans and other animals. American Psychologist, 6, 622631.Google Scholar
Nielsen, R., & Slatkin, M. (2013). An introduction to population genetics: Theory and applications. Sunderland. MA: Sinauer.Google Scholar
Paulhus, D.L., & Williams, K.M. (2002). The dark triad of personality: Narcissism, Machiavellianism and psychopathy. Journal of Research in Personality, 36, 556563.Google Scholar
Petrides, K.V., & Furnham, A. (2006). The role of trait emotional intelligence in a gender-specific model of organizational variables. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 36, 552569.Google Scholar
Pines, A., & Aronson, E. (1983). Antecedents, correlates, and consequences of sexual jealousy. Journal of Personality, 51, 108136.Google Scholar
Pinker, S. (2011). The better angels of our nature. New York, NY: Penguin.Google Scholar
Puts, D.A. (2010). Beauty and the beast: Mechanisms of sexual selection in humans. Evolution and Human Behavior, 31, 157175.Google Scholar
Puts, D.A. (2016). Human sexual selection. Current Opinion in Psychology, 7, 2832.Google Scholar
Saad, L. (2015, June 8). Fewer young people say I do to any relationship. Gallup. Retrieved from http://news.gallup.com/poll/183515/fewer-young-people-say-relationship.aspxGoogle Scholar
Smith, L., Ciarrochi, J., & Heaven, P.C.L. (2008). The stability and change of trait emotional intelligence, conflict communication patterns, and relationship satisfaction: A one-year longitudinal study. Personality and Individual Differences, 45, 738743.Google Scholar
Stamatopoulou, M., Galanis, P., & Prezerakos, P. (2016). Psychometric properties of the Greek translation of the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire-Short Form (TEIQue-SF). Personality and Individual Differences, 95, 8084.Google Scholar
Tooby, J., & Cosmides, L. (1988). The evolution of war and its cognitive foundations. Institute for Evolutionary Studies Technical Report, 88, 115.Google Scholar
Walker, R.S., Hill, K.R., Flinn, M.V., & Ellsworth, R.M. (2011). Evolutionary history of hunter-gatherer marriage practices. PLoS ONE, 6, e19066.Google Scholar