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Humor is likely to serve as signals of fitness in potential partners. Less is known about how different styles of humor affect partner attractiveness. This study aimed to test the attractiveness of the four different humor styles proposed by Martin et al. (2003) categorized according to being benign (affiliate, self-enhancing) or detrimental (aggressive, self-defeating). Participants were presented with a series of potential partners, much like on a dating site. Each partner was described by a portrait picture and a vignette, which included examples of one of the four humor styles. The participants’ task was to rate a number of items about partner preference (date, intercourse, shortand long-term relationships) and mate value (intelligence, health, social status and parenting skill). A total of 170 women and 81 men between 18-40 years of age completed the experiment. The results showed significant effects on all measurements of partner interest and mate value for women with the aggressive humor style being rated as less attractive and lower in mate value than the other humor styles. For men there was a significant effect on two measurements on mate value (social status, parenting skill), showing that the self-defeating style was rated less attractive. The results support the notion that humor is used as a fitness signal, that this is used to a substantially greater extent by women, and that women find the aggressive humor style to be particularly unattractive in potential partners.

On thebasisofculturaltransmission, animplicitassociationcouldbecreatedbetweenformalclothing and expectationsconcerningthesocial status ofitswearer. Imitationofsuccessfulindividuals by meansofgroomingcanincreasetheprestige and mate value, whichcanbereflectedupon direct interactionwithothers. Displaysofpride and self-esteem as a sign ofhighsocial status providevaluableinformationtowardspotentialpartners. Feelingsofpride and successinvokedby the type ofclothingcouldaffectnonverbalexpressions. Changes in behavior as a resultofwearinghigh status clothesmaybeconnected to nonverbaltraitswhich are linked to perceived dominance, self-esteem and attractiveness. Studiesindicatethatmenwho display more dynamic and expansivenonverbaltraits are rated by women as more attractive and more masculine. They are alsorated as more dominant by othermen in comparisonwithmen on whom these nonverbaltraits do not manifest. Wetestedthe influence offormal and casualclothes on male nonverbal display and itsjudgment by women and menregarding dominance, self-esteem and attractiveness. Wehypothesizedthattherewilloccurgreateramountsofdynamic and expansivenonverbaltraits in menwearingformalclothesthan in thesamemenwearingcasualclothes. Further, wehypothesizedthatthewearersofformalclotheswillberated by independent raters as more...

Mate choice decisions have long-term effects on both party's well-being as well as reproductive outcomes. Consequently, evolutionary biology and psychology devoted a large body of research on investigating human mate choice. The evolutionary psychology of human partner selection can be perceived as inter-connected processes, such as mating strategy, mate preferences, and mate choice. This dissertation thesis consists of two larger segments. The first segment is an Introduction to my four original research papers in the second segment. In the Introduction, I discuss heterosexual partner selection in two parts. First, I describe how mating strategies affect mate preferences, what the key mate preference dimensions are - both positive and negative factors of partner evaluations -, how stable they are, and how they change over time within a person. Further, I review the concept of mate value and how mate preference factors are weighing in the overall perception of mate value on the mating market. In the second part, I discuss how partner preferences are integrated into mate choice, also known as the mate choice integration models. The Additive and Threshold models of mate choice, the Euclidean distance model, and Assortative mating will be discussed in detail since they are the most commonly applied...