Browsing by Author "Polo, Pablo"
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Publication Androgen receptor gene and sociosexuality. Does fighting ability moderate the effect of genetics in reproductive strategies?(2022-12) Polo, Pablo; Valenzuela, Nohelia; Muñoz Reyes, José Antonio; Ruiz-Pérez, Irene; Rodríguez-Sickert, Carlos; Matellano, Margarita; Fernández-Martínez, Ana B.; Pita, Miguel; Muñoz Reyes, José AntonioSociosexuality is a reliable proxy to evaluate the trade-off between short-term and long-term human mating strategies. The androgen receptor (AR) gene CAG-repeats polymorphism regulates the effect of testosterone and the expression of testosterone-related traits commonly associated with short-term mating strategies. According to the strategic pluralism hypothesis, a more effective receptor would prompt a short-term mating strategy to maximize the number of sexual partners, but studies are inconclusive and contradictory. The effect of a particular gene in behavior is frequently small and affected by the social environment and other variables, particularly psychological and personality traits. In the current study we propose the effect of the AR gene polymorphism in sociosexuality to be moderated by self-perceived fighting ability, a psychological attribute relevant in intrasexual competition. Our objective is to reveal if the CAG polymorphism is associated with a short-term strategy as expected from the strategic pluralism hypothesis, or conversely with long-term investments to maximize parental care. We fail to find any effect of the CAG polymorphism over mating strategies. However, self-perceived fighting ability is related to short-term mating orientation but not to the number of past sexual partners. In conclusion, we find no clear evidence about the potential role of CAG polymorphism of the AR gene over sociosexual attitudes and behavior. However, results from other studies suggest that there is evidence that genetic factors influence sociosexuality, but it is necessary to consider simultaneously more than a single genetic polymorphism and other psychological and physiological variables.Publication Are facial width-to-height ratio, 2D:4D digit ratio and skeletal muscle mass related to men dominant behavior in the Chicken Game?(2022) Polo, Pablo; Muñoz Reyes, José Antonio; Valenzuela, Nohelia; Cid-Jofré, Valeska; Ramírez-Herrera, Oriana; Pavéz, Paula; Muñoz Reyes, José AntonioFacial width-to-height ratio (fWHR), 2D:4D digit ratio and skeletal muscle mass are morphological traits that have been linked to status-seeking behaviors throughout dominance. However, this link has been contested recently, since the empirical evidence about the relationship between these traits and behavior is mixed. In this study, we tested whether fWHR, 2D:4D digit ratio and skeletal muscle mass were related to dominant behavior employing the Chicken Game, an economic game that may represent a good scenario to investigate hierarchy formation and in which these relationships remain untested. We tested this hypothesis in a sample of 210 Chilean young men (mean = 22.43, SD = 4.35 years old) who played the Chicken Game against an anonymous same-sex individual and one-shot. Our results showed that fWHR was related to dominant choices in the Chicken Game, but null results were found for 2D:4D digit ratio and muscle mass. Accordingly, this study suggests that in a challenging but anonymous interaction only fWHR was related to dominance. Further studies using different conditions of anonymity may contribute to clarify the role of these traits in status-seeking behaviors.Item Evolutionary determinants and hormonal underpinning of men's mating strategies: Correlational and experimental evidence from Chilean samples”(Universidad del Desarrollo. Facultad de Gobierno, 2022) Fajardo Rodríguez, Gabriela Paz; Polo, PabloHumans show a wide variety of mating strategies, from promiscuous mating to the establishment and maintenance of long-lasting pair-bonds, with variation between sexes, within sexes, and within-individuals. The following thesis focuses on men’s mating strategies, from an evolutionary and a proximate approach, presenting the results from two studies. The first one takes the evolutionary perspective, that proposes the variation on mating strategies can be partially explained by phenotypical, social, and environmental factors. We aimed to investigate the traits associated with men’s predisposition to invest in long-term mating to understand the selective pressures that shape the cost-benefit balance that favors men’s parental investment. We obtained that socioeconomic status is the main predictor for long-term mating orientation, while strength is highly associated with short-term orientation in men. The second study considers a proximate approach, where testosterone and immediate social context play a major role in regulating individuals’ mating strategies. We investigated the testosterone-related and social mechanisms involved in the calibration of long and short-term mating strategies, obtaining that the most relevant factor to explain these strategies is the inclusion of a female confederate in the immediate context where the session was carried out. This manuscript brings together approaches from the ultimate and proximate causes for a better understanding of human mating strategies in men.Publication Muscularity and strength affect individual variation in self-perception of fighting ability in men(2019) Muñoz Reyes, José Antonio; Polo, Pablo; Rodríguez-Sickert, Carlos; Pavez, Paula; Valenzuela, Nohelia; Ramírez-Herrera, Oriana; Muñoz Reyes, José AntonioObjective: There is evidence that competitive conflicts are the main form of intrasexual competition among men. The capacity to recognize visual cues of fighting ability in competitors is thought to be an important characteristic that allows men to avoid the costs of contest competition. However, for an accurate comparison to take place, individuals need to compare the fighting ability of their competitors to their own to assess this asymmetry. Methods: In order to improve our understanding of this self-assessment process, here we study the relationship between visual fighting ability cues, namely (i) muscularity, as measured with a bioimpedance device, (ii) the real capacity to inflict cost to a rival based on strength, as measured with a hand grip dynamometer (HGS), and (iii) self-perceived fighting ability, as determined with a questionnaire. The study sample was 364 men between 18 and 38 years of age (M ± SD = 22.27 ± 3.99). Results: Our results confirm the expected positive relationship between upper-body muscularity and strength, while controlling for body mass index (BMI). However, muscularity explained only around 30.2% of the variance in strength. In addition, muscularity was related to self-perception of fighting ability in our sample, its effect being partially mediated by strength. Conclusion: The more muscular men perceive their fighting ability as being greater, and not only because they are stronger (at least in the HGS task). Accordingly, it seems that men take into account the overestimation the robustness of the relationship between strength and muscularity that prevails within his peers.Publication Similitud en Indicadores de Atractivo en Parejas Heterosexuales y su Relación con Satisfacción y Confianza(2022) Pavez, Paula; Polo, Pablo; Valenzuela, Nohelia; Figueroa, Oriana; Rodríguez-Sickert, Carlos; Muñoz Reyes, José Antonio; Muñoz Reyes, José AntonioIn our species, the formation and maintenance of romantic partners is a nonrandom process. In this sense, similarity between members of the couple can be relevant for the beginning of the relationship (i.e., assortative mating) and maintenance, being similarity in attractiveness one of the most interesting aspects of this phenomenon. Despite that similarity in attractive traits has been documented, there is a lack of studies including modern morphological measures like fluctuating facial asymmetry or body fat percentage when assessing the effect that similarity in attractiveness could provoke on behaviors and feelings necessary to maintain a long-term relationship (e.g., satisfaction and trust). We assessed the presence of similarity in attractiveness for self-perceived measures (attractiveness and mate value) and physical traits (body fat percentage, body mass index, and fluctuating facial asymmetry) in a population of 196 heterosexual young couples from Chile (n = 392). Then, using actor-partner interdependence models (APIM), we assessed whether satisfaction and trust within the couples were influenced by attractiveness. Our results indicated the presence of similarity for all studied traits with the exception of fluctuating facial asymmetry. In addition, we only found that self-assessment of attractiveness is important for satisfaction in women, and partner's physical attractiveness is important for satisfaction and trust in men. Our results suggest that similarity in attractiveness is not playing a major role in affecting relationship. It is probably that similarity could be better explained from the initial stages of relationship, where the mating market forces conduce to the conformation of similar couples.Publication Testing strategic pluralism: The roles of attractiveness and competitive abilities to understand conditionality in men’s short-term reproductive strategies(2020-08) Figueroa, Oriana; Muñoz Reyes, José Antonio; Rodríguez-Sickert, Carlos; Valenzuela, Nohelia; Pavéz, Paula; Ramírez-Herrera, Oriana; Pita, Miguel; Díaz, David; Fernández-Martínez, Ana Belén; Polo, Pablo; Muñoz Reyes, José Antoniohe decision to allocate time and energy to find multiple sexual partners or raise children is a fundamental reproductive trade-off. The Strategic Pluralism Hypothesis argues that human reproductive strategies are facultatively calibrated towards either investing in mating or parenting (or a mixture), according to the expression of features dependent on the individual's condition. This study seeks to test predictions derived from this hypothesis in a sample of 242 young men (M ± SD = 22.12 ± 3.08) from Chile's 5th Region (33֯ south latitude). Specifically, two predictions were considered that raise questions about the relationship between traits related to physical and psychological attractiveness (fluctuating facial asymmetry and self-perception of attractiveness) and competitive skills (baseline testosterone and self-perception of fighting ability) with short-term reproductive strategies. Our results indicate that psychological features related to the self-perception of physical attractiveness are related to short-term reproductive strategies. However, no evidence was found that fluctuating facial asymmetry, basal levels of testosterone and self-perception of fighting ability were related to short-term reproductive strategies. These results support the existing evidence of the importance of physical attractiveness in calibrating men's reproductive strategies but cast doubts about the role of fluctuating facial asymmetry. They also suggest that traits related to physical attractiveness, in comparison to competitive capabilities, play a more important role in calibrating men's short-term reproductive strategies.Publication The Male Warrior Hypothesis: Testosterone-related Cooperation and Aggression in the Context of Intergroup Confict(2020) Muñoz Reyes, José Antonio; Polo, Pablo; Valenzuela, N.; Pavez, P.; Ramírez-Herrera, O.; Figueroa, Oriana; Rodríguez-Sickert, Carlos; Díaz, D.; Pita, M.; Muñoz Reyes, José AntonioThe Male Warrior Hypothesis (MWH) establishes that men’s psychology has been shaped by inter-group competition to acquire and protect reproductive resources. In this context, sex-specific selective pressures would have favored cooperation with the members of one’s group in combination with hostility towards outsiders. We investigate the role of developmental testosterone, as measured indirectly through static markers of prenatal testosterone (2D:4D digit ratio) and pubertal testosterone (body musculature and facial masculinity), on both cooperation and aggressive behavior in the context of intergroup conflict among men. Supporting the MWH, our results show that the intergroup conflict scenario promotes cooperation within group members and aggression toward outgroup members. Regarding the hormonal underpinnings of this phenomenon, we find that body musculature is positively associated with aggression and cooperation, but only for cooperation when context (inter-group competition) is taken into account. Finally, we did not find evidence that the formidability of the group affected individual rates of aggression or cooperation, controlling for individual characteristicsPublication The Relationship between Androgen Receptor Gene Polymorphism, Aggression and Social Status in Young Men and Women(2022) Valenzuela, Nohelia; Ruiz-Pérez, Irene; Rodríguez-Sickert, Carlos; Polo, Pablo; Yeste-Lizán, Ali; Muñoz Reyes, José Antonio; Pita, Miguel; Muñoz Reyes, José AntonioIn both sexes, aggression has been described as a critical trait to acquire social status. Still, almost uniquely in men, the link between aggressiveness and the genetic background of testosterone sensitivity measured from the polymorphism in the androgen receptor (AR) gene has been previously investigated. We assessed the relevance of the AR gene to understand aggression and how aggressiveness affects social status in a cross-sectional study of 195 participants, for the first time in both young men and women. We estimated polymorphism sequences from saliva and measured aggression and self-perceived social status. Unfortunately, the results did not support our prediction because we did not find any of the expected relationships. Therefore, the results suggest that the genetic association between aggressive mechanisms and polymorphism of the AR gene is less straightforward than expected, at least in men, and seems to indicate that aggression is not usually used to gain social status in our population