David Schmitt

Bradley University, Psychology, Faculty Member

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My research interests include evolutionary and cross-cultural approaches to understanding personal relationships, sexual strategies, romantic attachment styles, and gender differences in human mating. I am also interested in the "Big Five" model of personality traits, risk factors for HIV/AIDS, and predictors of both sexual aggression and intimate partner violence across cultures. I am Founding Director of the International Sexuality Description Project (ISDP

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Books by David Schmitt

Evaluating Evidence of Mate Preference Adaptations: How Do We Really Know What Homo sapiens sapiens Really Want?

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Papers by David Schmitt

Assortative mating for Dark Triad: Evidence of positive, initial, and active assortment

Personal Relationships, Nov 28, 2016

Assortative mating for Dark Triad (DT) traits was examined in a sample of 100 heterosexual dating... more Assortative mating for Dark Triad (DT) traits was examined in a sample of 100 heterosexual dating couples. Three hypotheses regarding positive versus negative assortment, initial assortment versus convergence, and active assortment versus social homogamy were tested. All hypotheses were examined using both variable-centered approaches (VCA) and couplecentered approaches (CCA). Both approaches found modest to moderate degrees of positive assortment for all DT measures, suggesting the highest positive assortment for Machiavellianism, followed by psychopathy and Narcissism. Structural modelling also suggested moderate degrees of positive assortment for men's and women's latent DT constructs. As expected, results supported the initial assortment hypothesis, meaning that couples were already similar in DT at the beginning of their relationships and did not converge during their relationship. Similarity was not due to background variables such as age and education (e.g., social homogamy), supporting active assortment or preferences for mating with a partner who is similar in personality. Overall, the results converged with other findings documenting that in mate selection contexts similarity in personality appears to be more important than complementarity, even for socially undesirable traits such as Machiavellianism, Narcissism, and psychopathy.

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When Staying Home Is Not Safe: An Investigation of the Role of Attachment Style on Stress and Intimate Partner Violence in the Time of COVID-19

Archives of Sexual Behavior

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a major public health concern, with increasing rates of IPV be... more Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a major public health concern, with increasing rates of IPV being seen around the world during the COVID-19 pandemic. Previous research has linked the perpetration of IPV and other forms of sexual violence to aspects of romantic attachment psychology, with insecure anxious/preoccupied attachment most often linked to higher rates of IPV. Stressful events typically activate the attachment system and may either aggravate or disrupt its regulatory functioning. In the present study, we investigated whether COVID-related PTSD and depressive symptoms were associated with increased IPV perpetration and whether this relationship was moderated by levels of attachment security. Our findings indicated that higher COVID-related PTSD was significantly associated with increased IPV perpetration in securely attached individuals, whereas depressive symptoms was significantly associated with decreased IPV perpetration in securely attached individuals. IPV perpetration by insecure individuals was consistently high regardless of COVID-related PTSD or depressive symptoms. These findings suggest that COVID-related PTSD may erode adaptive attachment functioning, particularly among the previously secure, which can have important consequences for secure individuals and their intimate partners. The present findings may explain some of the recent increase in IPV cases worldwide and serve to raise awareness and motivate clinical interventions to more efficiently help both victims and perpetrators of IPV stay safe while staying home.

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Sexual Dials (Not Switches) Theory: An Evolutionary Perspective on Sex and Gender Complexity

Evolutionary Studies in Imaginative Culture, 2017

When talking about sex and gender, it's important to ground discussions with basic definitions. S... more When talking about sex and gender, it's important to ground discussions with basic definitions. Sex, or sexual identity, is usually defined as whether one identifies as male or female (or something else). Sex differences, then, are typically about differences between groups of males and females. Whether one is psychologically male-typical or female-typical within a given society is one's gender identity (e.g., masculine, feminine, androgynous, etc.). The effects of gender identity can be thought of as the combined impacts of masculinity and femininity across individuals (and within sexes; Eagly and Wood 2013). Despite these common foundational definitions, challenges remain when addressing sex and gender effects scientifically (Richardson 2013; Maney 2016;). For one, human sexual psychologies, as Kinsey, Pomeroy, and Martin (1948) famously noted, rarely take the form of discrete sheep versus goat categories. Even categories as basic as "male" versus "female" are oversimplifications of many people's sexual experience. People with complete Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome, for instance, have an X and a Y chromosome (typically, this pairing of chromosomes makes one "male"), but they usually grow up female, often unaware they are chromosomally male until infertility issues lead to a genetic revelation (Dreger 2000). Additional intersexual conditions and disorders of sexual development further complicate defining sexual identity as categorical, including different types of Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (CAH), Klinefelter Syndrome, Swyer Syndrome, and 5-Alpha Reductase Deficiency

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What Explains Personality Covariation? A Test of the Socioecological Complexity Hypothesis

Social Psychological and Personality Science, 2017

Correlations among distinct behaviors are foundational to personality science, but the field rema... more Correlations among distinct behaviors are foundational to personality science, but the field remains far from a consensus regarding the causes of such covariation. We advance a novel explanation for personality covariation, which views trait covariance as being shaped within a particular socioecology. We hypothesize that the degree of personality covariation observed within a society will be inversely related to the society’s socioecological complexity, that is, its diversity of social and occupational niches. Using personality survey data from participant samples in 55 nations ( N = 17,637), we demonstrate that the Big Five dimensions are more strongly intercorrelated in less complex societies, where the complexity is indexed by nation-level measures of economic development, urbanization, and sectoral diversity. This inverse relationship is robust to control variables accounting for a number of methodological and response biases. Our findings support the socioecological complexity ...

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The TIPI’s Validity Confirmed: Associations with Sociosexuality and Self-Esteem

Brief measures of individual differences are growing in popularity. The Ten Item Personality Inve... more Brief measures of individual differences are growing in popularity. The Ten Item Personality Inventory (TIPI; Gosling et al., 2003) increases administration efficiency and maintains construct validity, but sacrifices some internal consistency when measuring the Big Five personality traits. In a survey of 360 college students, we attempted to replicate and extend the construct validity of the TIPI by relating it to sociosexuality and self-esteem. We replicated some of the most well documented Big Five correlations: Self-esteem was negatively correlated with neuroticism and positively with extraversion; sociosexuality was positively correlated with extraversion and negatively with agreeableness. Results suggest the TIPI measure is reasonably valid.

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Sex Differences in Long-Term Mating Preferences

Springer eBooks, 2021

Sex Differences in Long-Term Mating Preferences

Springer eBooks, 2018

Sexual Strategies Theory: An Evolutionary Perspective on Human Mating

Routledge eBooks, Nov 30, 2017

This article proposes a contextual-evolutionary theory of human mating strategies. Both men and w... more This article proposes a contextual-evolutionary theory of human mating strategies. Both men and women are hypothesized to have evolved distinct psychological mechanisms that underlie short-term and long-term strategies. Men and women confront different adaptive problems in short-term as opposed to long-term mating contexts. Consequently, different mate preferences become activated from their strategic repertoires. Nine key hypotheses and 22 predictions from Sexual Strategies Theory are outlined and tested empirically. Adaptive problems sensitive to context include sexual accessibility, fertility assessment, commitment seeking and avoidance, immediate and enduring resource procurement, paternity certainty, assessment of mate value, and parental investment. Discussion summarizes 6 additional sources of behavioral data, outlines adaptive problems common to both sexes, and suggests additional contexts likely to cause shifts in mating strategy.

Sexy Seven Sexual Orientation Scale

PsycTESTS Dataset, 2000

Tactics for Indicating Romantic Interest While Already in Another Relationship Measure

Human mate poaching: Tactics and temptations for infiltrating existing mateships

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2001

The authors explored the psychology of romantically attracting someone who is already in a relati... more The authors explored the psychology of romantically attracting someone who is already in a relationshipwhat can be called the process of human mate poaching. In Study 1 (N = 236), they found that attempts at poaching were relatively common and were linked with distinctive personality dispositions. Study 2 (TV = 220) documented that the perceived costs and benefits of poaching differed somewhat for men and women and depended on whether short-term or long-term poaching outcomes were targeted. Study 3 (N = 453) found support for 5 evolution-based hypotheses about the perceived effectiveness of poaching tactics. Study 4 (/V = 333) found that poaching effectiveness was influenced by the type of relationship being encroached onmarital, dating, long distance, highly committed, just beginning, or about to end. Discussion focuses on the importance of placing mate poaching within the broader context of human sexual strategies.

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Sex Differences in Short-Term Mating Preferences

Springer eBooks, 2018

Sexual Dimensions of Person Description: Beyond or Subsumed by the Big Five?

Journal of Research in Personality, Jun 1, 2000

This research was designed to accomplish five goals: (1) to explore the sexual dimensions of pers... more This research was designed to accomplish five goals: (1) to explore the sexual dimensions of person description, (2) to evaluate the psychometric properties of scales derived from the lexicon of sexuality, (3) to detail the links between the sexual lexicon and the five dimensions uncovered by previous lexical researchers, (4) to examine whether additional dimensions beyond the Big Five are needed to incorporate the sexual lexicon, and (5) to discover whether sex differences exist along lexical sexuality dimensions. We found seven sexual dimensions of person description-Sexual Attractiveness, Relationship Exclusivity, Gender Orientation, Sexual Restraint, Erotophilic Disposition, Emotional Investment, and Sexual Orientation-based on self-ratings of 67 sexuality adjectives made by women (n ϭ 217) and men (n ϭ 150) and on observer-ratings of the opposite sex (n ϭ 207). The seven sexuality factor scales displayed moderate to high levels construct validity and were modestly correlated with the Big Five. However, we argue that the sexuality factors are best viewed as a reapportionment of general personality variation along seven sex-specific and evolution-relevant dimensions of individual differences. Finally, significant sex differences existed on four of the seven sexuality factors. Discussion focused on the importance and potential utility of lexical dimensions of sexuality.

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Strategic self-promotion and competitor derogation: Sex and context effects on the perceived effectiveness of mate attraction tactics

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1996

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Human status criteria: Sex differences and similarities across 14 nations": Correction to Buss et al. (2020)

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Nov 1, 2020

Social status is a central and universal feature of our highly social species. Reproductively rel... more Social status is a central and universal feature of our highly social species. Reproductively relevant resources, including food, territory, mating opportunities, powerful coalitional alliances, and group-provided health care, flow to those high in status and trickle only slowly to those low in status. Despite its importance and centrality to human social group living, the scientific understanding of status contains a large gap in knowledge-the precise criteria by which individuals are accorded high or low status in the eyes of their group members. It is not known whether there exist universal status criteria, nor the degree to which status criteria vary across cultures. Also unknown is whether status criteria are sex differentiated, and the degree of crosscultural variability and consistency of sex-differentiated status criteria. The current paper investigates status criteria across 14 countries (N = 2,751). Results provide the first systematic documentation of potentially universal and sex-differentiated status criteria. Discussion outlines important next steps in understanding the psychology of status.

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Are men universally more dismissing than women? Gender differences in romantic attachment across 62 cultural regions

Personal Relationships, Sep 1, 2003

Gender differences in the dismissing form of adult romantic attachment were investigated as part ... more Gender differences in the dismissing form of adult romantic attachment were investigated as part of the International Sexuality Description Project-a survey study of 17,804 people from 62 cultural regions. Contrary to research findings previously reported in Western cultures, we found that men were not significantly more dismissing than women across all cultural regions. Gender differences in dismissing romantic attachment were evident in most cultures, but were typically only small to moderate in magnitude. Looking across cultures, the degree of gender differentiation in dismissing romantic attachment was predictably associated with sociocultural indicators. Generally, these associations supported evolutionary theories of romantic attachment, with smaller gender differences evident in cultures with high-stress and high-fertility reproductive environments. Social role theories of human sexuality received less support in that more progressive sex-role ideologies and national gender equity indexes were not cross-culturally linked as expected to smaller gender differences in dismissing romantic attachment.

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Why can't a man be more like a woman? Sex differences in big five personality traits across 55 cultures": Correction to Schmitt et al. (2008)

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2009

ABSTRACT Reports an error in &quot;Why can&#39;t a man be more like a woman? Sex differen... more ABSTRACT Reports an error in &quot;Why can&#39;t a man be more like a woman? Sex differences in Big Five personality traits across 55 cultures&quot; by David P. Schmitt, Anu Realo, Martin Voracek and Jüri Allik (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2008[Jan], Vol 94[1], 168-182). Some of the sample sizes presented in Table 1 were incorrectly reported. The correct sample sizes are presented in the erratum. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2007-19165-013.) Previous research suggested that sex differences in personality traits are larger in prosperous, healthy, and egalitarian cultures in which women have more opportunities equal with those of men. In this article, the authors report cross-cultural findings in which this unintuitive result was replicated across samples from 55 nations (N = 17,637). On responses to the Big Five Inventory, women reported higher levels of neuroticism, extraversion, agreeableness, and conscientiousness than did men across most nations. These findings converge with previous studies in which different Big Five measures and more limited samples of nations were used. Overall, higher levels of human development--including long and healthy life, equal access to knowledge and education, and economic wealth--were the main nation-level predictors of larger sex differences in personality. Changes in men&#39;s personality traits appeared to be the primary cause of sex difference variation across cultures. It is proposed that heightened levels of sexual dimorphism result from personality traits of men and women being less constrained and more able to naturally diverge in developed nations. In less fortunate social and economic conditions, innate personality differences between men and women may be attenuated. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved).

Human Self-Description Across 56 Nations The Geographic Distribution of Big Five Personality Traits : Patterns and Profiles of

and of Other Pancultural Constructs? Patterns and Universals of Adult Romantic Attachment Across 62 Cultural Regions : Are Models of Self

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