Browsing by Author "Sorokowski, Piotr"

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Citation - WoS: 94
Citation - Scopus: 103
Affective Interpersonal Touch in Close Relationships: a Cross-Cultural Perspective
(Sage Publications Inc, 2021) Sorokowska, Agnieszka; Saluja, Supreet; Sorokowski, Piotr; Frackowiak, Tomasz; Karwowski, Maciej; Aavik, Toivo; Akello, Grace; Can, Seda
Interpersonal touch behavior differs across cultures, yet no study to date has systematically tested for cultural variation in affective touch, nor examined the factors that might account for this variability. Here, over 14,000 individuals from 45 countries were asked whether they embraced, stroked, kissed, or hugged their partner, friends, and youngest child during the week preceding the study. We then examined a range of hypothesized individual-level factors (sex, age, parasitic history, conservatism, religiosity, and preferred interpersonal distance) and cultural-level factors (regional temperature, parasite stress, regional conservatism, collectivism, and religiosity) in predicting these affective-touching behaviors. Our results indicate that affective touch was most prevalent in relationships with partners and children, and its diversity was relatively higher in warmer, less conservative, and religious countries, and among younger, female, and liberal people. This research allows for a broad and integrated view of the bases of cross-cultural variability in affective touch.
Citation - WoS: 76
Citation - Scopus: 87
The Associations of Dyadic Coping and Relationship Satisfaction Vary Between and Within Nations: a 35-Nation Study
(Frontiers Media Sa, 2016) Hilpert, Peter; Randall, Ashley K.; Sorokowski, Piotr; Atkins, David C.; Sorokowska, Agnieszka; Ahmadi, Khodabakhsh; Aghraibeh, Ahmad M.; Dural, Seda
Objective: Theories about how couples help each other to cope with stress, such as the systemic transactional model of dyadic coping, suggest that the cultural context in which couples live influences how their coping behavior affects their relationship satisfaction. In contrast to the theoretical assumptions, a recent meta-analysis provides evidence that neither culture, nor gender, influences the association between dyadic coping and relationship satisfaction, at least based on their samples of couples living in North America and West Europe. Thus, it is an open questions whether the theoretical assumptions of cultural influences are false or whether cultural influences on couple behavior just occur in cultures outside of the Western world. Method: In order to examine the cultural influence, using a sample of married individuals N = 7973) from 35 nations, we used multilevel modeling to test whether the positive association between dyadic coping and relationship satisfaction varies across nations and whether gender might moderate the association. Results: Results reveal that the association between dyadic coping and relationship satisfaction varies between nations. In addition, results show that in some nations the association is higher for men and in other nations it is higher for women. Conclusions: Cultural and gender differences across the globe influence how couples' coping behavior affects relationship outcomes. This crucial finding indicates that couple relationship education programs and interventions need to be culturally adapted, as skill trainings such as dyadic coping lead to differential effects on relationship satisfaction based on the culture in which couples live.
Citation - Scopus: 4
The Associations of Dyadic Coping and Relationship Satisfaction Vary Between and Within Nations: a 35-Nation Study (Vol 7, Pg 1106, 2016)
(Frontiers Media Sa, 2016) Hilpert, Peter; Randall, Ashley K.; Sorokowski, Piotr; Atkins, David C.; Sorokowska, Agnieszka; Ahmadi, Khodabakhsh; Yoo, Gyesook; Dural, Seda
Citation - WoS: 40
Citation - Scopus: 50
Assortative Mating and the Evolution of Desirability Covariation
(Elsevier Science Inc, 2019) Conroy-Beam, Daniel; Roney, James R.; Lukaszewski, Aaron W.; Buss, David M.; Asao, Kelly; Sorokowska, Agnieszka; Sorokowski, Piotr; Can, Seda
Mate choice lies dose to differential reproduction, the engine of evolution. Patterns of mate choice consequently have power to direct the course of evolution. Here we provide evidence suggesting one pattern of human mate choice-the tendency for mates to be similar in overall desirability-caused the evolution of a structure of correlations that we call the d factor. We use agent-based models to demonstrate that assortative mating causes the evolution of a positive manifold of desirability, d, such that an individual who is desirable as a mate along any one dimension tends to be desirable across all other dimensions. Further, we use a large cross-cultural sample with n = 14,478 from 45 countries around the world to show that this d-factor emerges in human samples, is a cross-cultural universal, and is patterned in a way consistent with an evolutionary history of assortative mating. Our results suggest that assortative mating can explain the evolution of a broad structure of human trait covariation.
Citation - WoS: 19
Citation - Scopus: 21
Attractiveness of Leg Length: Report From 27 Nations
(Sage Publications Inc, 2011) Sorokowski, Piotr; Szmajke, Andrzej; Sorokowska, Agnieszka; Cunen, Maryann Borg; Fabrykant, Marharyta; Zarafshani, Kiumars; Amiri, Manochehr; Çeti̇nkaya, Hakan
The leg-to-body ratio (LBR) is a morphological index that has been shown to influence a person's attractiveness. In our research, 3,103 participants from 27 nations rated the physical attractiveness of seven male and seven female silhouettes varying in LBR. We found that male and female silhouettes with short and excessively long legs were perceived as less attractive across all nations. Hence, the LBR may significantly influence perceptions of physical attractiveness across nations.
Citation - WoS: 2
Citation - Scopus: 3
Conservatism Negatively Predicts Creativity: a Study Across 28 Countries
(Sage Publications Inc, 2024) Groyecka-Bernard, Agata; Sorokowski, Piotr; Karwowski, Maciej; Roberts, S. Craig; Aavik, Toivo; Akello, Grace; Alm, Charlotte; Dural, Seda
Previous studies have found a negative relationship between creativity and conservatism. However, as these studies were mostly conducted on samples of homogeneous nationality, the generalizability of the effect across different cultures is unknown. We addressed this gap by conducting a study in 28 countries. Based on the notion that attitudes can be shaped by both environmental and ecological factors, we hypothesized that parasite stress can also affect creativity and thus, its potential effects should be controlled for. The results of multilevel analyses showed that, as expected, conservatism was a significant predictor of lower creativity, adjusting for economic status, age, sex, education level, subjective susceptibility to disease, and country-level parasite stress. In addition, most of the variability in creativity was due to individual rather than country-level variance. Our study provides evidence for a weak but significant negative link between conservatism and creativity at the individual level (beta = -0.08, p < .001) and no such effect when country-level conservatism was considered. We present our hypotheses considering previous findings on the behavioral immune system in humans.
Citation - WoS: 36
Citation - Scopus: 48
Contrasting Computational Models of Mate Preference Integration Across 45 Countries
(Nature Publishing Group, 2019) Conroy-Beam, Daniel; Buss, David M.; Asao, Kelly; Sorokowska, Agnieszka; Sorokowski, Piotr; Aavik, Toivo; Akello, Grace; Dural, Seda
Humans express a wide array of ideal mate preferences. Around the world, people desire romantic partners who are intelligent, healthy, kind, physically attractive, wealthy, and more. In order for these ideal preferences to guide the choice of actual romantic partners, human mating psychology must possess a means to integrate information across these many preference dimensions into summaries of the overall mate value of their potential mates. Here we explore the computational design of this mate preference integration process using a large sample of n = 14,487 people from 45 countries around the world. We combine this large cross-cultural sample with agent-based models to compare eight hypothesized models of human mating markets. Across cultures, people higher in mate value appear to experience greater power of choice on the mating market in that they set higher ideal standards, better fulfill their preferences in choice, and pair with higher mate value partners. Furthermore, we find that this cross-culturally universal pattern of mate choice is most consistent with a Euclidean model of mate preference integration.
Cross-Cultural Data on Romantic Love and Mate Preferences From 117,293 Participants Across 175 Countries
(Nature Research, 2025) Kowal, Marta; Sorokowski, Piotr; Gjoneska, Biljana; Pisanski, Katarzyna; Pfuhl, Gerit; Aguilar, Leonardo; Prazeres, Filipe
Psychological studies on close relationships have often overlooked cultural diversity, dynamic processes, and potentially universal principles that shape intimate partnerships. To address the limited generalizability of previous research and advance our understanding of romantic love experiences, mate preferences, and physical attractiveness, we conducted a large-scale cross-cultural survey study on these topics. A total of 404 researchers collected data in 45 languages from April to August 2021, involving 117,293 participants from 175 countries. Aside from standard demographic questions, the survey included valuable information on variables relevant to romantic relationships: intimate, passionate, and committed love within romantic relationships, physical-attractiveness enhancing behaviors, gender equality endorsement, collectivistic attitudes, personal history of pathogenic diseases, relationship quality, jealousy, personal involvement in sexual and/or emotional infidelity, relational mobility, mate preferences, and acceptance of sugar relationships. The resulting dataset provides a rich resource for investigating patterns within, and associations across, a broad range of variables relevant to romantic relationships, with extensive opportunities to analyze individual experiences worldwide.
Citation - WoS: 5
Citation - Scopus: 5
Exploring Attitudes Toward Sugar Relationships Across 87 Countries: a Global Perspective on Exchanges of Resources for Sex and Companionship
(Springer/Plenum Publishers, 2023) Mesko, Norbert; Kowal, Marta; Lang, Andras; Koçsor, Ferenc; Bandi, Szabolcs A.; Putz, Adam; Sorokowski, Piotr; Dural, Seda
The current study investigates attitudes toward one form of sex for resources: the so-called sugar relationships, which often involve exchanges of resources for sex and/or companionship. The present study examined associations among attitudes toward sugar relationships and relevant variables (e.g., sex, sociosexuality, gender inequality, parasitic exposure) in 69,924 participants across 87 countries. Two self-report measures of Acceptance of Sugar Relationships (ASR) developed for younger companion providers (ASR-YWMS) and older resource providers (ASR-OMWS) were translated into 37 languages. We tested cross-sex and cross-linguistic construct equivalence, cross-cultural invariance in sex differences, and the importance of the hypothetical predictors of ASR. Both measures showed adequate psychometric properties in all languages (except the Persian version of ASR-YWMS). Results partially supported our hypotheses and were consistent with previous theoretical considerations and empirical evidence on human mating. For example, at the individual level, sociosexual orientation, traditional gender roles, and pathogen prevalence were significant predictors of both ASR-YWMS and ASR-OMWS. At the country level, gender inequality and parasite stress positively predicted the ASR-YWMS. However, being a woman negatively predicted the ASR-OMWS, but positively predicted the ASR-YWMS. At country-level, ingroup favoritism and parasite stress positively predicted the ASR-OMWS. Furthermore, significant cross-subregional differences were found in the openness to sugar relationships (both ASR-YWMS and ASR-OMWS scores) across subregions. Finally, significant differences were found between ASR-YWMS and ASR-OMWS when compared in each subregion. The ASR-YWMS was significantly higher than the ASR-OMWS in all subregions, except for Northern Africa and Western Asia.
Citation - WoS: 30
Citation - Scopus: 37
Global Perspective on Marital Satisfaction
(Mdpi, 2020) Dobrowolska, Malgorzata; Groyecka-Bernard, Agata; Sorokowski, Piotr; Randall, Ashley K.; Hilpert, Peter; Ahmadi, Khodabakhsh; Alghraibeh, Ahmad M.; Dural, Seda
Across the world, millions of couples get married each year. One of the strongest predictors of whether partners will remain in their relationship is their reported satisfaction. Marital satisfaction is commonly found to be a key predictor of both individual and relational well-being. Despite its importance in predicting relationship longevity, there are relatively few empirical research studies examining predictors of marital satisfaction outside of a Western context. To address this gap in the literature and complete the existing knowledge about global predictors of marital satisfaction, we used an open-access database of self-reported assessments of self-reported marital satisfaction with data from 7178 participants representing 33 different countries. The results showed that sex, age, religiosity, economic status, education, and cultural values were related, to various extents, to marital satisfaction across cultures. However, marriage duration, number of children, and gross domestic product (GDP) were not found to be predictors of marital satisfaction for countries represented in this sample. While 96% of the variance of marital satisfaction was attributed to individual factors, only 4% was associated with countries. Together, the results show that individual differences have a larger influence on marital satisfaction compared to the country of origin. Findings are discussed in terms of the advantages of conducting studies on large cross-cultural samples.
Citation - WoS: 9
Citation - Scopus: 9
Love as a Commitment Device
(Springer, 2024) Kowal, Marta; Bode, Adam; Koszalkowska, Karolina; Roberts, S. Craig; Gjoneska, Biljana; Frederick, David; Sorokowski, Piotr; Dural, Seda
Given the ubiquitous nature of love, numerous theories have been proposed to explain its existence. One such theory refers to love as a commitment device, suggesting that romantic love evolved to foster commitment between partners and enhance their reproductive success. In the present study, we investigated this hypothesis using a large-scale sample of 86,310 individual responses collected across 90 countries. If romantic love is universally perceived as a force that fosters commitment between long-term partners, we expected that individuals likely to suffer greater losses from the termination of their relationships-including people of lower socioeconomic status, those with many children, and women-would place a higher value on romantic love compared to people with higher status, those with fewer children, and men. These predictions were supported. Additionally, we observed that individuals from countries with a higher (vs. lower) Human Development Index placed a greater level of importance on romantic love, suggesting that modernization might influence how romantic love is evaluated. On average, participants worldwide were unwilling to commit to a long-term romantic relationship without love, highlighting romantic love's universal importance.
Citation - WoS: 63
Citation - Scopus: 56
Marital Satisfaction, Sex, Age, Marriage Duration, Religion, Number of Children, Economic Status, Education, and Collectivistic Values: Data From 33 Countries
(Frontiers Media Sa, 2017) Sorokowski, Piotr; Randall, Ashley K.; Groyecka, Agata; Frackowiak, Tomasz; Cantarero, Katarzyna; Hilpert, Peter; Ahmadi, Khodabakhsh; Dural, Seda
[Abstract Not Available]
Citation - Scopus: 20
Marital Satisfaction, Sex, Age, Marriage Duration, Religion, Number of Children, Economic Status, Education, and Collectivistic Values: Data From 33 Countries (vol 8, 1199, 2017)
(Frontiers Media Sa, 2017) Sorokowski, Piotr; Randall, Ashley K.; Groyecka, Agata; Frackowiak, Tomasz; Cantarero, Katarzyna; Hilpert, Peter; Ahmadi, Khodabakhsh
[Abstract Not Available]
Citation - WoS: 38
Citation - Scopus: 40
Predictors of Enhancing Human Physical Attractiveness: Data From 93 Countries
(Elsevier Science Inc, 2022) Kowal, Marta; Sorokowski, Piotr; Pisanski, Katarzyna; Valentova, Jaroslava V.; Varella, Marco A. C.; Frederick, David A.; Al-Shawaf, Laith; Can, Seda; Dural, Seda
People across the world and throughout history have gone to great lengths to enhance their physical appearance. Evolutionary psychologists and ethologists have largely attempted to explain this phenomenon via mating preferences and strategies. Here, we test one of the most popular evolutionary hypotheses for beauty-enhancing behaviors, drawn from mating market and parasite stress perspectives, in a large cross-cultural sample. We also test hypotheses drawn from other influential and non-mutually exclusive theoretical frameworks, from biosocial role theory to a cultural media perspective. Survey data from 93,158 human participants across 93 countries provide evidence that behaviors such as applying makeup or using other cosmetics, hair grooming, clothing style, caring for body hygiene, and exercising or following a specific diet for the specific purpose of improving ones physical attractiveness, are universal. Indeed, 99% of participants reported spending >10 min a day performing beauty-enhancing behaviors. The results largely support evolutionary hypotheses: more time was spent enhancing beauty by women (almost 4 h a day, on average) than by men (3.6 h a day), by the youngest participants (and contrary to predictions, also the oldest), by those with a relatively more severe history of infectious diseases, and by participants currently dating compared to those in established relationships. The strongest predictor of attractiveness-enhancing behaviors was social media usage. Other predictors, in order of effect size, included adhering to traditional gender roles, residing in countries with less gender equality, considering oneself as highly attractive or, conversely, highly unattractive, TV watching time, higher socioeconomic status, right-wing political beliefs, a lower level of education, and personal individualistic attitudes. This study provides novel insight into universal beauty-enhancing behaviors by unifying evolutionary theory with several other complementary perspectives.
Citation - WoS: 293
Citation - Scopus: 337
Preferred Interpersonal Distances: a Global Comparison
(Sage Publications Inc, 2017) Sorokowska, Agnieszka; Sorokowski, Piotr; Hilpert, Peter; Cantarero, Katarzyna; Frackowiak, Tomasz; Ahmadi, Khodabakhsh; Alghraibeh, Ahmad M.; Dural, Seda
Human spatial behavior has been the focus of hundreds of previous research studies. However, the conclusions and generalizability of previous studies on interpersonal distance preferences were limited by some important methodological and sampling issues. The objective of the present study was to compare preferred interpersonal distances across the world and to overcome the problems observed in previous studies. We present an extensive analysis of interpersonal distances over a large data set (N = 8,943 participants from 42 countries). We attempted to relate the preferred social, personal, and intimate distances observed in each country to a set of individual characteristics of the participants, and some attributes of their cultures. Our study indicates that individual characteristics (age and gender) influence interpersonal space preferences and that some variation in results can be explained by temperature in a given region. We also present objective values of preferred interpersonal distances in different regions, which might be used as a reference data point in future studies.
Citation - WoS: 1
Citation - Scopus: 1
A Preliminary Study on the Role of Personal History of Infectious and Parasitic Diseases on Self-Reported Health Across Countries
(W B Saunders Co Ltd, 2025) Pfuhl, Gerit; Prazeres, Filipe; Kowal, Marta; Aavik, Toivo; Abad-Villaverde, Beatriz; Afhami, Reza; Sorokowski, Piotr
Objectives: Infectious diseases are often associated with decline in quality of life. The aim of this study is to analyze the relationship between personal history of communicable, i.e., infectious and parasitic diseases and self-rated health. Study design: Secondary analysis of a large dataset multi-country observational study. Methods: We used a four-pronged analysis approach to investigate whether personal history of infectious and parasitic diseases is related to self-reported health, measured with a single item. Results: Three of the four analyses found a small positive effect on self-reported health among those reporting a history of pathogen exposure. The meta-analysis found no support but large heterogeneity that was not reduced by two classifications of countries. Conclusion: Personal history of infectious and parasitic diseases does not reduce self-reported health across a global sample.
Citation - WoS: 26
Citation - Scopus: 29
Reasons for Facebook Usage: Data From 46 Countries
(Frontiers Media Sa, 2020) Kowal, Marta; Sorokowski, Piotr; Sorokowska, Agnieszka; Dobrowolska, Malgorzata; Pisanski, Katarzyna; Oleszkiewicz, Anna; Aavik, Toivo; Dural, Seda
[Abstract Not Available]
Citation - WoS: 29
Citation - Scopus: 33
Sex Differences in Human Mate Preferences Vary Across Sex Ratios
(Royal Soc, 2021) Walter, Kathryn V.; Conroy-Beam, Daniel; Buss, David M.; Asao, Kelly; Sorokowska, Agnieszka; Sorokowski, Piotr; Aavik, Toivo
A wide range of literature connects sex ratio and mating behaviours in non-human animals. However, research examining sex ratio and human mating is limited in scope. Prior work has examined the relationship between sex ratio and desire for short-term, uncommitted mating as well as outcomes such as marriage and divorce rates. Less empirical attention has been directed towards the relationship between sex ratio and mate preferences, despite the importance of mate preferences in the human mating literature. To address this gap, we examined sex ratio's relationship to the variation in preferences for attractiveness, resources, kindness, intelligence and health in a long-term mate across 45 countries (n = 14 487). We predicted that mate preferences would vary according to relative power of choice on the mating market, with increased power derived from having relatively few competitors and numerous potential mates. We found that each sex tended to report more demanding preferences for attractiveness and resources where the opposite sex was abundant, compared to where the opposite sex was scarce. This pattern dovetails with those found for mating strategies in humans and mate preferences across species, highlighting the importance of sex ratio for understanding variation in human mate preferences.
Citation - WoS: 210
Citation - Scopus: 255
Sex Differences in Mate Preferences Across 45 Countries: a Large-Scale Replication
(Sage Publications Inc, 2020) Walter, Kathryn, V; Conroy-Beam, Daniel; Buss, David M.; Asao, Kelly; Sorokowska, Agnieszka; Sorokowski, Piotr; Aavik, Toivo; Dural, Seda
Considerable research has examined human mate preferences across cultures, finding universal sex differences in preferences for attractiveness and resources as well as sources of systematic cultural variation. Two competing perspectives-an evolutionary psychological perspective and a biosocial role perspective-offer alternative explanations for these findings. However, the original data on which each perspective relies are decades old, and the literature is fraught with conflicting methods, analyses, results, and conclusions. Using a new 45-country sample (N = 14,399), we attempted to replicate classic studies and test both the evolutionary and biosocial role perspectives. Support for universal sex differences in preferences remains robust: Men, more than women, prefer attractive, young mates, and women, more than men, prefer older mates with financial prospects. Cross-culturally, both sexes have mates closer to their own ages as gender equality increases. Beyond age of partner, neither pathogen prevalence nor gender equality robustly predicted sex differences or preferences across countries.
Citation - WoS: 23
Citation - Scopus: 24
Validation of the Short Version (tls-15) of the Triangular Love Scale (tls-45) Across 37 Languages
(Springer/Plenum Publishers, 2023) Kowal, Marta; Sorokowski, Piotr; Diniç, Bojana M.; Pisanski, Katarzyna; Gjoneska, Biljana; Frederick, David A.; Pfuhl, Gerit; Dural, Seda
Love is a phenomenon that occurs across the world and affects many aspects of human life, including the choice of, and process of bonding with, a romantic partner. Thus, developing a reliable and valid measure of love experiences is crucial. One of the most popular tools to quantify love is Sternberg's 45-item Triangular Love Scale (TLS-45), which measures three love components: intimacy, passion, and commitment. However, our literature review reveals that most studies (64%) use a broad variety of shortened versions of the TLS-45. Here, aiming to achieve scientific consensus and improve the reliability, comparability, and generalizability of results across studies, we developed a short version of the scale-the TLS-15-comprised of 15 items with 5-point, rather than 9-point, response scales. In Study 1 (N = 7,332), we re-analyzed secondary data from a large-scale multinational study that validated the original TLS-45 to establish whether the scale could be truncated. In Study 2 (N = 307), we provided evidence for the three-factor structure of the TLS-15 and its reliability. Study 3 (N = 413) confirmed convergent validity and test-retest stability of the TLS-15. Study 4 (N = 60,311) presented a large-scale validation across 37 linguistic versions of the TLS-15 on a cross-cultural sample spanning every continent of the globe. The overall results provide support for the reliability, validity, and cross-cultural invariance of the TLS-15, which can be used as a measure of love components-either separately or jointly as a three-factor measure.