Aaron Goetz

California State University, Fullerton, Psychology, Faculty Member

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http://goetzlab.blogspot.com/
Supervisors: Todd Shackelford and David Buss
Address: Department of Psychology
California State University, Fullerton
800 N. State College Blvd.
Fullerton, CA 92831

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Books by Aaron Goetz

The Oxford Handbook of Sexual Conflict in Humans

Sexual conflict -- what happens when the reproductive interests of males and females diverge -- o... more Sexual conflict -- what happens when the reproductive interests of males and females diverge -- occurs in all sexually reproducing species, including humans. The Oxford Handbook of Sexual Conflict in Humans is the first volume to assemble the latest theoretical and empirical work on sexual conflict in humans from the leading scholars in the fields of evolutionary psychology and anthropology.

Following an introductory section that outlines theory and research on sexual conflict in humans and non-humans, ensuing sections discuss human sexual conflict and its manifestations before and during mating. Chapters in these sections address a range of factors topics and factors.

Chapters in the next section address issues of sexual conflict after the birth of a child. These chapters address sexual conflict as a function of the local sex ratio, men's functional (if unconscious) concern with paternal resemblance to a child, men's reluctance to pay child support, and mate expulsion as a tactic to end a relationship. The handbook's concluding section includes a chapter that considers the impact of sexual conflict on a grander scale, notably on cultural, political, and religious systems.

Addressing sexual conflict at its molecular and macroscopic levels, The Oxford Handbook of Sexual Conflict in Humans is a fascinating resource for the study of intersexual behavior.

The first volume to bring together wide-ranging theoretical and empirical work addressing sexual conflict in humans. Includes new findings and theoretical advances that would interest comparative, evolutionary, cognitive, and developmental psychologists, as well as biologists, zoologists, anthropologists, and ecologists. Part of THE OXFORD LIBRARY OF PSYCHOLOGY series.

Papers by Aaron Goetz

Do Environmental Cues to Discovery Influence the Likelihood to Rape?

Evolutionary Psychology

Research on men's sexual exploitation of women has documented that men's psychology track... more Research on men's sexual exploitation of women has documented that men's psychology tracks cues associated with the ease of women's exploitability. In the current studies, we examined a different class of cues hypothesized to aid men's use of sexually exploitative strategies: environmental cues to the likelihood of discovery. We defined likelihood of discovery as the perceived probability of identification when engaging in exploitative behavior (e.g., presence of others). We test the hypothesis that men's likelihood to rape increases when their perception of the likelihood of discovery is low in three studies. In Study 1, we conducted a content analysis of individuals’ responses ( N = 1,881) when asked what one would do if they could stop time or be invisible. Besides the “other” category whereby there were no specific category for nominated behaviors, the most nominated category included sexually exploitative behavior—representing 15.3% of reported behaviors. Bo...

Men's Attitudes Toward Third Party Casual Sex Predict Rape Myth Acceptance

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2022

Rape Excusing Attitudes and Language Scale

PsycTESTS Dataset, 2022

She asked for it, and he didn't mean to: Reproductive strategies predict opinions toward sexual violence

Sperm Competition in Humans: Implications for Male Sexual Psychology, Physiology, Anatomy, and Behavior

Annual Review of Sex Research, 2007

With the recognition afforded by evolutionary science that female infidelity was a recurrent feat... more With the recognition afforded by evolutionary science that female infidelity was a recurrent feature of our evolutionary past has come the development of a new area of study within human mating: sperm competition. A form of male-male postcopulatory competition, sperm competition occurs when the sperm of two or more males concurrently occupy the reproductive tract of a female and compete to fertilize her ova. Just as males must compete for mates, if two or more males have copulated with a female within a sufficiently short period of time, the sperm from different males will compete for fertilizations. In the 2 decades since Smith (1984) first argued that sperm competition occurs in humans, this theory has been enriched with new ideas and discoveries. We review the recent theoretical and empirical work on human sperm competition, identify limitations and challenges of the research, and highlight important directions for future research.

format_quoteSperm competition is defined as male-male competition occurring post-copulation, crucial for understanding sexual selection.format_quote

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Does Exploitation of Evolved Landscape Preferences Increase Perceived Housing Value

Development and validation of the Rape Excusing Attitudes and Language Scale

Personality and Individual Differences, 2022

Is the Vertical-Horizontal Illusion a Byproduct of the Environmental Vertical Illusion?

Evolutionary Psychology, 2020

The vertical-horizontal illusion is the overestimation of a vertical line compared to a horizonta... more The vertical-horizontal illusion is the overestimation of a vertical line compared to a horizontal line of the same length. Jackson and Cormack (2007) proposed that the vertical-horizontal illusion might be a byproduct of the mechanisms that generate the environmental vertical illusion, which is the tendency to overestimate vertical distances (i.e., heights) relative to horizontal distances the same length. In our study, 326 undergraduate participants stood atop an 18.6-meter parking structure and estimated both the height of the structure and the horizontal distance of a target placed 18.6 meters away, using a moveable horizontal target across the length of the structure. Participants also completed a vertical-horizontal illusion task by drawing a horizontal line below a 9.1 cm vertical line. We correlated vertical distance estimates with vertical line estimates to test Jackson and Cormack’s byproduct hypothesis. This hypothesis was very weakly—if at all—supported by the data: Part...

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Evolutionary Psychologists can't practice what they don't preach: A response to Gallup (2020)

We respond to Gallup’s (2020) opinion piece by indicating that psychologists have yet to agree on... more We respond to Gallup’s (2020) opinion piece by indicating that psychologists have yet to agree on an operationalized definition of “intelligence.” We argue that the literature investigating an overall decline in human intelligence is mixed at best; additionally, if a decline in human intelligence was supported, evolutionary scholars are not in a position to change the course of such decline. We clarify what evolutionary psychology is, i.e. the study of human nature by empirical examination of evidence for adaptive design hypotheses, and what it is not, i.e. a privileged position from which to preach the appropriate ways to solve problems associated with evolutionary challenges. Finally, we dispute Gallup’s (2020) suggested prescription for evolutionary psychologists.

Sexual Coercion in Intimate Relationships Scale

PsycTESTS Dataset, 2004

Sexual coercion sometimes includes violence and physical force, and in an intimate relationship a... more Sexual coercion sometimes includes violence and physical force, and in an intimate relationship also may include subtle tactics, such as emotional manipulation. Because relationship partners have a vested interest in each other, one might expect that sexual coercion is sometimes achieved by more subtle manipulations. We developed the Sexual Coercion in Intimate Relationships Scale (SCIRS) to assess the prevalence and severity of varied forms of sexual coercion in relationships.

Human Sperm Competition

The Handbook of Evolutionary Psychology, 2015

Human sperm competition-p. 1 Running Head: HUMAN SPERM COMPETITION [in press, In D. M. Buss (Ed.)... more

format_quoteHuman testis size and sperm count indicate intermediate sperm competition levels, reflecting evolutionary history influenced by polyandrous mating patterns.format_quote

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Mate retention, semen displacement, and sperm competition in humans

Female Infidelity and Paternal Uncertainty

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Sexual Conflict in Mateships: From Mate Retention to Murder

Oxford Handbooks Online, 2012

In response to the tragically high incidence and negative consequences of femaledirected violence... more In response to the tragically high incidence and negative consequences of femaledirected violence in intimate relationships, a large literature has investigated the predictors of men's partner-directed violence and murder. Evolutionary psychology offers a framework for investigating the design of evolved information-processing mechanisms that motivate costly behaviors such as men's partner-directed violence. We review several forms of men's partner-directed violence, including insults, sexual coercion, physical violence, and homicide, with a particular focus on the adaptive problem of paternity uncertainty. The problem of paternity uncertainty is hypothesized to have selected for the emotion of male sexual jealousy, which in turn motivates men's nonviolent and violent mate retention behaviors. We review empirical evidence for the relationships between paternity uncertainty, male sexual jealousy, and men's partner-directed violence and the individual differences in men's perpetration of violence. We propose that a comprehensive understanding of men's partner-directed violence will be achieved only by careful consideration of both proximate and ultimate causes of such costly behaviors.

format_quoteResearch shows men's nonviolent mate retention behaviors predict the frequency of their partner-directed violence.format_quote

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Psychological and Physiological Adaptations to Sperm Competition in Humans

Review of General Psychology, 2005

Postcopulatory competition between males, in the form of sperm competition, is a widespread pheno... more Postcopulatory competition between males, in the form of sperm competition, is a widespread phenomenon in many animal species. The extent to which sperm competition has been an important selective pressure during human evolution remains controversial, however. The authors review critically the evidence that human males and females have psychological, behavioral, and physiological adaptations that evolved in response to selection pressures associated with sperm competition. The authors consider, using evidence from contemporary societies, whether sperm competition is likely to have been a significant adaptive problem for ancestral humans and examine the evidence suggesting that human males have physiological and psychological mechanisms that allow for “prudent” sperm allocation in response to variations in the risk of sperm competition.

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Why Do Men Rape? An Evolutionary Psychological Perspective

Review of General Psychology, 2008

Rape of women by men has occurred throughout recorded history and across cultures. In this articl... more Rape of women by men has occurred throughout recorded history and across cultures. In this article, we discuss rape from an evolutionary psychological perspective. Evolutionary psychology is a powerful heuristic tool that allows researchers to develop and test novel hypotheses about complex behaviors such as rape. Some researchers have argued that men have evolved psychological mechanisms that motivate them to rape in specific contexts. We discuss evidence consistent with this claim, and argue that a more nuanced view of men's rape behavior is necessary. We propose that it may be useful to characterize rapists as belonging to one of several types, distinguished by individual differences as well as by the circumstances in which they are predicted to commit rape. We discuss research evidence in support of each rapist type, as well as the need for future research. Finally, we discuss research concerning women's rape-avoidance psychology and behavior.

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From Mate Retention to Murder: Evolutionary Psychological Perspectives on Men's Partner-Directed Violence

Review of General Psychology, 2009

In response to the tragically high incidence and negative consequences of female-directed violenc... more In response to the tragically high incidence and negative consequences of female-directed violence in intimate relationships, a large literature has been dedicated to the investigation of the proximate and the ultimate or evolutionary predictors of men's partner-directed violence. Evolutionary psychology offers a framework for investigating the design of evolved information-processing mechanisms that motivate costly behaviors such as men's partner-directed violence. We review several forms of men's partner-directed violence, including insults, sexual coercion, physical violence, and homicide, from an evolutionary psychological perspective and with a particular focus on the adaptive problem of paternity uncertainty. The problem of paternity uncertainty is hypothesized to have selected for the emotion of male sexual jealousy, which in turn motivates men's nonviolent and violent mate retention behaviors. We review empirical evidence for the relationships among paternity...

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Comparative evolutionary psychology of sperm competition

Journal of Comparative Psychology, 2006

A comparative evolutionary psychological perspective predicts that species that recurrently faced... more A comparative evolutionary psychological perspective predicts that species that recurrently faced similar adaptive problems may have evolved similar psychological mechanisms to solve these problems. Sperm competition provides an arena in which to assess the heuristic value of such a comparative evolutionary perspective. The sperm competition that results from female infidelity and polyandry presents a similar class of adaptive problems for individuals across many species. The authors first describe mechanisms of sperm competition in insects and in birds. They suggest that the adaptive problems and evolved solutions in these species provide insight into human anatomy, physiology, psychology, and behavior. The authors then review recent theoretical and empirical arguments for the existence of sperm competition in humans and discuss proposed adaptations in humans that have analogs in insects or birds. The authors conclude by highlighting the heuristic value of a comparative evolutionary psychological approach in this field.

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Absence makes the adaptations grow fonder: Proportion of time apart from partner, male sexual psychology, and sperm competition in humans (Homo sapiens)

Journal of Comparative Psychology, 2007

Sperm competition occurs when the sperm of multiple males concurrently occupy the reproductive tr... more Sperm competition occurs when the sperm of multiple males concurrently occupy the reproductive tract of a female and compete to fertilize an egg. We used a questionnaire to investigate psychological responses to the risk of sperm competition for 237 men in committed, sexual relationships. As predicted, a man who spends a greater (relative to a man who spends a lesser) proportion of time apart from his partner since the couple's last copulation reported (a) greater sexual interest in his partner, (b) greater distress in response to his partner's sexual rejection, and (c) greater sexual persistence in response to his partner's sexual rejection. All effects were independent of total time since the couple's last copulation and the man's relationship satisfaction. Discussion addresses limitations of the current research and situates the current results within the broader comparative literature on adaptation to sperm competition.

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Perceived risk of female infidelity moderates the relationship between objective risk of female infidelity and sexual coercion in humans (Homo sapiens)

Journal of Comparative Psychology, 2011

Female extra-pair copulation (EPC) can be costly to a woman's long-term romantic partner. If a wo... more Female extra-pair copulation (EPC) can be costly to a woman's long-term romantic partner. If a woman has copulated recently with a man other than her long-term partner, her reproductive tract may contain the sperm of both men, initiating sperm competition (whereby sperm from multiple males compete to fertilize an egg). Should the woman become pregnant, her long-term partner is at risk of cuckoldry-investing unwittingly in offspring to whom he is not genetically related. Previous research in humans and in nonhuman animals suggests that males have evolved tactics such as partner-directed sexual coercion that reduce the risk of cuckoldry. The current research provides preliminary evidence that mated men (n = 223) at greater risk of partner EPC, measured as having spent a greater proportion of time apart from their partner since the couple's last in-pair copulation, more frequently perform partner-directed sexually coercive behaviors. This relationship is moderated, however, by men's perceived risk of partner EPC, such that the correlation between the proportion of time spent apart since last in-pair copulation and sexually coercive behaviors remains significant only for those men who perceive themselves to be at some risk of partner EPC. Discussion addresses limitations of this research and highlights directions for future research investigating the relationship between female EPC and men's partner-directed sexual coercion.

format_quoteMen's sexual coercion relates positively to partner infidelities, emphasizing differential impacts on men regarding cuckoldry risk.format_quote

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