Is the Lamborghini like a peacock's tail? No evidence for relationships between conspicuous consumption and male attractiveness

Abstract

Women more interested in short-term relationships prefer men with good genes. We ran four controlled experiments with heterosexual women, based on the idea that conspicuous consumption manifestations signal good genes, to test whether a conspicuous object could increase the attractiveness and desire for an uncommitted relationship with a man. We also tested the interaction between car type (non-conspicuous and conspicuous) and reproductive strategy in the judgment of attractiveness and desire for an uncommitted relationship. Contrary to previous studies, the results of our experiments rejected the hypothesis of conspicuous consumption as an enhancer of attractiveness. None of our studies showed an interaction between car type and sociosexuality. In Study 3, the non-conspicuous car's man was considered more attractive. This effect disappeared after controlling social desirability in Study 4. Perhaps the positive publication bias explains the unprecedented nature of our results. Another possible explanation remains in some cultural influence. Maybe, Brazilian women with a high education level (our participants) are not susceptible to conspicuous consumption as an indicator of good genes. We also want to emphasize that, although other studies have corroborated our hypotheses using similar experiments, the present study was the only one that controlled social desirability and socioeconomic status.