Effects of Masculinity Priming on Jealousy in a Mate Poaching Scenario

Abstract

Jealousy in intimate relationships can lead to intimate partner violence. Mate poaching (i.e., when someone attempts to take another’s partner) can induce jealousy, and may threaten masculinity. Prior research indicated manhood is “precarious” and men who experience masculinity threats often react aggressively. However, whether high or low masculinity affects levels of jealousy in males is unclear. The present study investigates this gap in the literature. Seventy-seven male participants completed a narrative-priming task that required them to write about an experience in which they felt highly masculine, highly emasculated, or neutral. Next, participants completed gender role measures. Participants then read vignettes describing increasingly severe mate-poaching scenarios. With each new vignette, participants were asked whether they wanted to intervene, and to report how jealous they felt. Finally, participants completed measures of relationship quality, jealousy, self-esteem, and demographics. Heart rate was recorded throughout the study. Men primed to feel either highly emasculated or highly masculine were hypothesized to experience elevated heart rates and levels of jealousy, and make earlier decisions to intervene during the mate poaching scenario. Results suggest that men in the highly emasculated condition experienced more jealousy during the first and third intervals in the mate poaching scenario than those in neutral or highly masculine conditions. However, these results were influenced by several other variables, including sexual orientation, self-esteem, gender role stress, and chronic jealousy. Heart rate was not examined due to reliability errors, and the priming condition did not influence point of intervention in the mate poaching scenario.