Can buy me love. Mate attraction goals lead to perceptual readiness for status products

Kim Janssens , Mario Pandelaere , Bram Van den Bergh (1) , Kobe Millet , Inge Lensa , Keith Roe

1 Erasmus University

Exposure to mating cues activates the goal to signal one's mate value to members of the opposite sex. This mate attraction goal may render men perceptually ready for products that signal their mate value to women. As men's mate value is partly determined by their financial prospects, men may be more likely to notice products that would signal their financial resources to women. The current study demonstrates that exposure to a sexily dressed woman increases single men's likelihood of noticing status products in a visual display. Not only do these findings further support the link between conspicuous consumption and male mating strategies, they are the first to demonstrate perceptual readiness for indirect (i.e., products) rather than direct (i.e., opposite sex individuals) means for reproduction.

Mots clés: perceptual readiness; mate attraction; visual attention; conspicuous consumption; status products

Domaines: Psychologie et comportements

Kim Janssens, Mario Pandelaere, Bram Van den Bergh, Kobe Millet, Inge Lensa, et al.. Can buy me love. Mate attraction goals lead to perceptual readiness for status products. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 2010, 47 (1), pp.254. ⟨10.1016/j.jesp.2010.08.009⟩. ⟨hal-00918801⟩