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Sexually selective cognition in primates332In this review, we argue that studying sexually selective cognition in primates has both fundamental and practical benefits, and that researchers should employ recent technological developments to elucidate the interaction between sexual selection and cognition. The review is divided into three sections. First, we review the literature on sexually selective cognition in humans. Second, we review the scant literature on sexually selective cognition in primates. Third, we suggest paradigms suitable for studying sexually selective cognition in primates and discuss the application of such paradigms in a broader context.Sexually selective cognition in humans Sexually selective cognition can be defined as the cognitive processes or biases that facilitate mating-related goals. Such goals can vary, from identifying potential competitors to avoiding threats to existing relationships. However, the most crucial steps in mate choice may be identifying and evaluating suitable mates. Previous studies have shown that human cognitive processes are sensitive to attractiveness (Maner & Ackerman, 2015). Here, we discuss how attractiveness relates to different aspects of human cognition by considering the effect of attractiveness on visual attention, recognition memory, and motivational processing. It should be noted that our review of the human literature is not exhaustive. Instead, we aim to provide a general overview of the findings.Visual attentionIndividuals encounter more information in their environment than they can process at any given moment. Visual attention mechanisms aid in selectively perceiving relevant information from the environment and filtering irrelevant information (Dukas, 1998; Krupp, 2008). From an evolutionary perspective, it is reasonable to assume that attentional mechanisms are specifically sensitive to evolutionarily relevant information related to opportunities and dangers in the environment (Cosmides & Tooby, 2013). Accordingly, humans selectively attend to fitness-relevant information such as emotional expressions (Carretié, 2014) and animate objects (New et al., 2007). Since finding a mate is possibly the best example of searching for opportunities in the environment, multiple studies have tried to elucidate the role of attractiveness in human social cognition by studying how visual attention is biased towards attractive conspecifics. Altogether, it is Tom Roth.indd 33 08-01-2024 10:41