RUcore: Rutgers University Community Repository
Applications of signaling theory to contemporary human courtship
Descriptive
TypeOfResource
Text
TitleInfo
(ID = T-1)
Title
Applications of signaling theory to contemporary human courtship
Identifier
ETD_2968
Identifier
(type = hdl)
http://hdl.rutgers.edu/1782.1/rucore10001600001.ETD.000056314
Language
LanguageTerm
(authority = ISO639-2);
(type = code)
eng
Genre
(authority = marcgt)
theses
Subject
(ID = SBJ-1);
(authority = RUETD)
Topic
Anthropology
Subject
(ID = SBJ-2);
(authority = ETD-LCSH)
Topic
Signal detection (Psychology)
Subject
(ID = SBJ-3);
(authority = ETD-LCSH)
Topic
Courtship
Subject
(ID = SBJ-4);
(authority = ETD-LCSH)
Topic
Communication and sex
Abstract
(type = abstract)
Signaling theory, a popular approach in ethology and theoretical biology, can be employed to better understand social interaction in humans. Applied to contemporary human courtship, signaling theory can provide a framework for interpreting information transmitted at an initial encounter, signals conveyed at key relationship phases both within a romantic couple and to outside parties, and the regular communicative exchange within established relationships. This dissertation applies signaling theory to courtship in testing evolutionary hypotheses within three projects, each involving a different subject population situated at a salient courtship phase. The first project addresses the signaling value of women's faces absent any other information, which is analogous to a first meeting prior to the beginning of courtship. Testosterone-mediated facial features were positively associated with viewer perceptions of masculinity, positively associated with self-reports of sociosexual attitudes and behaviors, and negatively associated with viewer perceptions of attractiveness. The second project explores the signaling potential of engagement rings among a sample of Ohio newlyweds. Engagement ring cost was positively associated with male income and female income, and was negatively associated with female age, indicating that engagement ring cost may reflect both male and female mate value. The cost of engagement rings as a proportion of male salary was positively associated with courtship duration, suggesting that engagement ring cost may reinforce a signal of commitment already conveyed by a lengthy courtship. The third project concerns notions of spousal obligation on the Honduran island of Utila. This project used an experimental interview setting to elicit and measure audience effects. In response to key questions about characteristics sought in wives, men interviewed in the presence of their wives used more forceful rhetoric. Furthermore, men's responses more frequently emphasized women's morality whereas women's responses more frequently emphasized male resource control.
PhysicalDescription
Form
(authority = gmd)
electronic resource
Extent
xiv, 202 p. : ill.
InternetMediaType
application/pdf
InternetMediaType
text/xml
Note
(type = degree)
Ph.D.
Note
(type = bibliography)
Includes bibliographical references
Note
(type = vita)
Includes vita
Note
(type = statement of responsibility)
by Bria Lane Dunham
Name
(ID = NAME-1);
(type = personal)
NamePart
(type = family)
Dunham
NamePart
(type = given)
Bria Lane
NamePart
(type = date)
1978-
Role
RoleTerm
(authority = RULIB)
author
DisplayForm
Bria Dunham
Name
(ID = NAME-2);
(type = personal)
NamePart
(type = family)
Cronk
NamePart
(type = given)
Lee
Role
RoleTerm
(authority = RULIB)
chair
Affiliation
Advisory Committee
DisplayForm
Lee Cronk
Name
(ID = NAME-3);
(type = personal)
NamePart
(type = family)
Palombit
NamePart
(type = given)
Ryne
Role
RoleTerm
(authority = RULIB)
internal member
Affiliation
Advisory Committee
DisplayForm
Ryne Palombit
Name
(ID = NAME-4);
(type = personal)
NamePart
(type = family)
Ahearn
NamePart
(type = given)
Laura
Role
RoleTerm
(authority = RULIB)
internal member
Affiliation
Advisory Committee
DisplayForm
Laura Ahearn
Name
(ID = NAME-5);
(type = personal)
NamePart
(type = family)
Fisher
NamePart
(type = given)
Helen
Role
RoleTerm
(authority = RULIB)
outside member
Affiliation
Advisory Committee
DisplayForm
Helen Fisher
Name
(ID = NAME-1);
(type = corporate)
NamePart
Rutgers University
Role
RoleTerm
(authority = RULIB)
degree grantor
Name
(ID = NAME-2);
(type = corporate)
NamePart
Graduate School - New Brunswick
Role
RoleTerm
(authority = RULIB)
school
OriginInfo
DateCreated
(qualifier = exact)
2010
DateOther
(qualifier = exact);
(type = degree)
2010-10
Place
PlaceTerm
(type = code)
xx
RelatedItem
(type = host)
TitleInfo
Title
Rutgers University Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Identifier
(type = RULIB)
ETD
RelatedItem
(type = host)
TitleInfo
Title
Graduate School - New Brunswick Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Identifier
(type = local)
rucore19991600001
Location
PhysicalLocation
(authority = marcorg);
(displayLabel = Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey)
NjNbRU
Identifier
(type = doi)
doi:10.7282/T3DF6R0P
Genre
(authority = ExL-Esploro)
ETD doctoral
Back to the top
Rights
RightsDeclaration
(AUTHORITY = GS);
(ID = rulibRdec0006)
The author owns the copyright to this work.
Copyright
Status
Copyright protected
Availability
Status
Open
Reason
Permission or license
RightsHolder
(ID = PRH-1);
(type = personal)
Name
FamilyName
Dunham
GivenName
Bria
Role
Copyright Holder
RightsEvent
(ID = RE-1);
(AUTHORITY = rulib)
Type
Permission or license
DateTime
2010-09-30 14:53:43
AssociatedEntity
(ID = AE-1);
(AUTHORITY = rulib)
Role
Copyright holder
Name
Bria Dunham
Affiliation
Rutgers University. Graduate School - New Brunswick
AssociatedObject
(ID = AO-1);
(AUTHORITY = rulib)
Type
License
Name
Author Agreement License
Detail
I hereby grant to the Rutgers University Libraries and to my school the non-exclusive right to archive, reproduce and distribute my thesis or dissertation, in whole or in part, and/or my abstract, in whole or in part, in and from an electronic format, subject to the release date subsequently stipulated in this submittal form and approved by my school. I represent and stipulate that the thesis or dissertation and its abstract are my original work, that they do not infringe or violate any rights of others, and that I make these grants as the sole owner of the rights to my thesis or dissertation and its abstract. I represent that I have obtained written permissions, when necessary, from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis or dissertation and will supply copies of such upon request by my school. I acknowledge that RU ETD and my school will not distribute my thesis or dissertation or its abstract if, in their reasonable judgment, they believe all such rights have not been secured. I acknowledge that I retain ownership rights to the copyright of my work. I also retain the right to use all or part of this thesis or dissertation in future works, such as articles or books.
Back to the top
Technical
ContentModel
ETD
MimeType
(TYPE = file)
application/pdf
MimeType
(TYPE = container)
application/x-tar
FileSize
(UNIT = bytes)
3512320
Checksum
(METHOD = SHA1)
b12400e28f197b3523fe20749f2e9216d9d8e40f
Back to the top
Statistical Profile