Masculinised brain and romantic jealousy: Examining the association between digit ratio (2D:4D) and between- and within-sex differences

Nicky J Fussell, Angela C M Rowe, Justin H Park

Research output: Contribution to journalArticle (Academic Journal)peer-review

8 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

We examined the relationship between second-to-fourth digit ratio (2D:4D), a correlate of prenatal testosterone exposure, and distress at sexual versus emotional infidelity in hypothetical scenarios of relationship threat. As predicted, a significant negative association was found between 2D:4D and greater distress at sexual infidelity for the whole sample (N = 179, females = 101). While this novel finding supports the view of romantic jealousy as a sexually-dimorphic adaptation, we explore reasons for the relatively weak association and discuss how underlying differences in brain structure could have influenced sex-specific behavioural capacities in romantic jealousy. We suggest a useful direction for future research will be to develop novel methods that facilitate the investigation of implicit emotional, rather than explicit cognitive, processes in response to pair-bond threat. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)107-111
Number of pages5
JournalPersonality and Individual Differences
Volume51
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jul 2011

Research Groups and Themes

  • Cognitive Science
  • Social Cognition

Keywords

  • Prenatal testosterone
  • 2D:4D ratio
  • Romantic jealousy
  • Evolutionary theory
  • Sexual selection
  • Sexual infidelity
  • Emotional infidelity
  • Between-sex differences
  • CONGENITAL ADRENAL-HYPERPLASIA
  • FINGER LENGTH RATIOS
  • EMOTIONAL INFIDELITY
  • PERSONALITY-TRAITS
  • 2D4D
  • TESTOSTERONE
  • BEHAVIOR
  • MEN
  • RESPONSES
  • WOMEN

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Masculinised brain and romantic jealousy: Examining the association between digit ratio (2D:4D) and between- and within-sex differences'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this