Page 105 - Demo
P. 105
103Underlying factors of the sexual overperception bias 5In the second accuracy model, we examined the effect of trait sexual desire (i.e., sexual desire scores) and its interaction with Sex. All coefficientsspanned over 1, therefore, were not robust. In the third model, we examined the effect of self-rated attractiveness and its interaction with Sex. Allcoefficients spanned over 1, therefore, were not robust.Baseline Differences Accounting for Accuracy DifferencesIn the previous analyses, we observed that men were more likely to accurately detect attraction in their partner if they were not interested in theirpartner, which could be due to differences in state arousal levels influencingtheir decision making. An alternative explanation, however, could be thatmen guessed their partner’s response, and given that women overall tendto respond more often in the negative, it coincidentally ended up matching,leading to increased accuracy.To examine this, we conducted a Bayesian binomial test using theBayesianFirstAid package (Bååth, 2014). The number of successes indetecting attraction was calculated only for instances where male participants were not interested in their partner and indicated that theirpartners were not interested in them. If men were indeed guessing whenthey were not interested in their partners, then the probability of success(i.e., a correct response) should be approximately close to 0.5 accuracy(i.e., chancel level). The results of the Bayesian binomial test showedthat men were more likely to correctly indicate that their partners wereinterested in them (relative success frequency: 0.74, 95% HDI [0.66,0.81]). It should be noted that if men had prior knowledge of the averagepositive response rates for women (e.g., because of prior dating experience),they would be able to accurately guess their responses 61% of the time(0.26�⇥�0.26�+�(1–0.26)�⇥�(1–0.26)�=�0.61; see also Place et al., 2009, for asimilar approach). Since 0.61 was outside of the 95% HDI range, it can beinferred that men indeed were more likely to accurately detect attractionin their partner rather than guessing.DiscussionThe present study explored the effects of sex, own interest, sexual desire,and self-rated attractiveness in the overperception bias using a naturalisticspeed-dating paradigm. Overall, we found that men were more willing togo out with their partner as compared to women. Importantly, our findingsillustrate that projection of own interest influences attraction detection, particularly in men. Specifically, men were more accurate in detecting attraction if they were not interested in their partner compared to when they were.Furthermore, when men were interested in their partner, they overperceivedinterest more than women. However, there was no difference between sexesIliana Samara 17x24.indd 103 08-04-2024 16:36