Less restricted mating, low contact with kin, and the role of culture

Abstract

Sociosexual orientation, defined as individual differences in the willingness to engage in uncommitted sexual relations, varies significantly across sexual and cultural boundaries. Analysis of a 48-nation sample involving 14,059 individuals demonstrates that the Sociosexual Orientation Inventory (SOI) maintains psychometric reliability and validity across diverse global contexts. National levels of sociosexuality correlate with ecological factors in ways predicted by evolutionary theory; specifically, lower operational sex ratios and less demanding reproductive environments are associated with more unrestricted mating strategies. Sex differences in sociosexuality are cross-culturally universal, with men consistently reporting higher levels of unrestricted orientation than women, a finding that supports parental investment and sexual strategies theories. The magnitude of these sex differences is moderated by sociocultural conditions: sexual differentiation is most pronounced in demanding reproductive environments and notably reduced in cultures characterized by greater political and economic gender equality. These results suggest that while human mating strategies are rooted in evolved psychological adaptations, they remain facultatively responsive to local environmental and social structural conditions. – AI-generated abstract.