The Heusens

Rational Choice, Sexual Behavior

This paper uses both rational choice and status based theories to predict sexual preferences and behavior among college students. Actors can gain status by engaging in a sexual exchange with high status actors, and thus are motivated to engage in such exchanges, which results in more opportunities for either casual sexual encounters (“hookups”) or exclusive relationships for those with high status. However, gendering this is the fact that women lose status from having too much casual sex, and the characteristics that provide status differ by gender. Indicators of status that I used include attractiveness, being a varsity athlete, weight (BMI), and height. I find that women who rate themselves as more attractive or who are thinner have a higher likelihood of having had a relationship and women who rate themselves as more attractive or are varsity athletes have more partners for hookups. Men who are varsity athletes, rate themselves as more attractive, have normal weight, and are tall have more hookup partners. Likely influenced by the sexual double standard, men express more preference for hooking up while women express more preference for relationships. Thus, given the shortage of women willing to hook up and men wanting relationships, men’s status has a greater effect in determining access to hookups while women’s status has a greater effect in determining their access to relationships.

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