Quickie: Looking for Love? Get Outraged!

Study shows that expressing moral outrage increases perceived attractiveness

Kiki Wellington
Sex…With a Side of Quirk

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Photo by SergeyNivens on DepositPhotos

Are you looking for love, but think that expressing your moral outrage about an issue will decrease your chances of getting dates? According to a study recently published in Emotion, you have nothing to worry about, so rage away.

“Women incur a substantially larger minimal cost in reproduction…compared with men…, which necessitates employment of stringent mate selection criteria to offset these costs.”

In a series of four studies, 870 participants were asked to look at fictional dating profiles and rate the attractiveness of these prospective mates. Researchers found that both men and women thought people who expressed moral outrage about different issues were more attractive than those who did not. This was especially so among women, which researchers surmise is because women associated moral outrage with benevolence and trustworthiness — qualities that make men more suitable long-term partners.

“Women incur a substantially larger minimal cost in reproduction (e.g., nine-month gestation, lactation) compared with men (e.g., single instance of sperm…

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