In It to Win It: Women's Intrasexual Competition as a Function of Sex Ratio and Sexy Rivals

Darwin (1871) initially claimed that intrasexual competition occurred amongst male members of one species for access to desirable females. In humans, intrasexual competition occurs amongst heterosexual women for access to desirable mates, as male paternal investment is important for reproductive success of potential offspring (Geary, 2000). There are various factors that may affect intrasexual competition in women. Research analyzing historical data has found that low sex ratios (i.e. more women than men) lead women to engage in intrasexual competition for desirable mates as they are more scarce (Guttentag & Secord, 1983); experimental research has also found that low sex ratios lead women to engage in intrasexual competition (Arnocky, Ribout, Mirza, & Knack, 2014). Current research in the field has provided evidence that women perceive attractive women as a threat (Fink, Klappauf, Brewer & Shackelford, 2014). Further, women who are dressed in a manner that appears to advertise sexual availability are responded to with hostility by other women (Vaillancourt & Sharma, 2011). The current study manipulated sex ratio and perceived sexual availability of rivals in the context of a mating scenario in order to assess whether these factors affect women's intrasexual competition and romantic confidence. Results indicated that situational factors such as sex ratio and perceived sexual availability of rivals do not affect intrasexual competition and romantic confidence, and that individual factors such as self-perceived physical attractiveness and sociosexual orientation are better predictors of romantic confidence and intrasexual competition.