Relationships Between Basic Emotions and Reproductive Fitness are Moderated by Sex as an Internal State

Međedović, Janko and Petrović, Boban (2020) Relationships Between Basic Emotions and Reproductive Fitness are Moderated by Sex as an Internal State. Primenjena psihologija, 13 (1). pp. 5-26. ISSN 2334-7287

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Abstract

One of the key features of personality is the existence of interindividual differences in motivation, emotions and behavior. Individual differences may be maintained in a population if personality traits are linked to states – conditions which affect the fitness-related outcomes of personality. We tested this assumption using the participants’ sex as an internal state. Personality was operationalized via basic emotional systems: FEAR, ANGER, SADNESS, SEEKING, PLAYFULNESS and CARE. We measured several fitness-related outcomes like reproductive success, residual reproductive value, reproductive timing, the onset of sexual activity and short- term mating frequency. The data were collected in a community sample via an online study (N = 635; Mage = 29.4; 69.4% females). We used linear regression to predict fitness-related outcomes by basic emotions and tested interactions between sex and emotions to the prediction of these criteria measures. Predictable sex differences in basic emotions were obtained: males had lower scores on CARE, FEAR and SADNESS traits. Findings also showed that basic emotions can have an adaptive role in a biological sense – this was particularly true for CARE and ANGER traits. Finally, five interactions were detected, which showed that the adaptive benefits of emotional traits are different for males and females in a conceptually expected manner. Research results showed that personality traits operationalized as basic emotional systems can contribute to evolutionary fitness. These results furthermore expand the knowledge of human personality as a state-dependent behavior.

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