Researchers Identify a Distinct Psychological Profile Among People Who Thrive on Dating Competition
People who enjoy outperforming same-sex rivals in dating tend to share a distinct cluster of psychological traits, according to a new cross-cultural study published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior. The findings suggest that competitive drives in romance follow remarkably similar patterns across very different societies.
Intrasexual competition describes how people compete with members of their own sex to attract and retain romantic partners. Individuals may try to enhance their own attractiveness or reduce the perceived value of their rivals. Evolutionary psychologists consider these strategies a fundamental part of human mating behavior.
Two faces of dating competition
The study focused on two separate aspects of mating rivalry. The first, known as superiority enjoyment, captures the pleasure and sense of social dominance people experience when they outperform a same-sex rival. The second, inferiority frustration, reflects the negative emotions that arise when confronted with a more attractive or desirable competitor.
Researchers led by Norbert Meskó of the University of Pécs wanted to examine how these two dimensions relate to broader personality traits and sexual behavior. They also sought to determine whether these associations remain consistent across different cultural settings rather than being unique to a single country.
How the international study worked
The researchers surveyed 661 adults between the ages of 18 and 67, including participants from Canada, Hungary, Indonesia and an additional group of international students. Approximately 75 percent of respondents were women, and participants completed the questionnaires in either English or Hungarian, depending on their location and language.
Participants completed self-report measures assessing intrasexual competition, sensation seeking, physical and verbal aggression, sociosexuality, appearance-enhancing behaviors, openness to cosmetic surgery and various motivations for having sex. The goal was to build a comprehensive profile of how mating competition influences everyday attitudes and behaviors.
Traits linked to enjoying rivalry
Superiority enjoyment showed consistent positive associations with almost every variable measured across the three main countries. Individuals who enjoyed outperforming same-sex rivals reported higher levels of sensation seeking and a stronger preference for intense or novel experiences.
They also scored higher on measures of physical aggression, verbal aggression and general hostility. These individuals were more likely to invest time in appearance-enhancing routines and expressed greater willingness to consider cosmetic surgery for both personal and social reasons.
Sexual behavior followed a similar pattern. Participants with higher superiority enjoyment reported more unrestricted sociosexuality, meaning they were more comfortable with casual or uncommitted sexual relationships. They also endorsed a broader range of motivations for having sex, including emotional coping, strengthening relationships and pursuing personal goals.
Frustration plays a weaker role
Inferiority frustration—the distress experienced when rivals appear more attractive or desirable—showed much weaker and less consistent associations. Feeling threatened by attractive competitors was linked to some interest in casual sex, but it was not consistently associated with aggression, sensation seeking or routine appearance-enhancing behaviors.
The authors suggest that enjoying competition reflects a more active, strategy-oriented mindset than simply feeling overshadowed by rivals. Although both dimensions are commonly grouped under intrasexual competition, the findings indicate that they represent distinct psychological processes with different behavioral profiles.
What the study found across cultures
Average levels of superiority enjoyment were nearly identical in Canada, Hungary and Indonesia, suggesting that the tendency to enjoy outperforming romantic rivals may be widespread across cultures. The relationships between superiority enjoyment and other psychological traits also remained strikingly consistent across all three countries.
By contrast, inferiority frustration varied somewhat between cultures. Canadian participants reported lower levels of frustration when confronted with desirable rivals than participants in Hungary and Indonesia. Nevertheless, the overall pattern of relatively modest but consistent associations remained stable across the different samples.
Limitations and future directions
The authors emphasize that the study is correlational and based on data collected at a single point in time, meaning it cannot determine whether competitive tendencies directly cause changes in appearance-related behaviors or sexual attitudes. Self-report measures also carry the usual limitations, including response bias and social desirability effects.
The predominance of women in the sample, together with the relatively small Indonesian subgroup, limits firm conclusions about gender differences and cross-cultural variation. The researchers recommend larger, more balanced international studies to further examine how cultural and economic factors shape romantic competition.
Future research will explore how intrasexual competition relates to relationship maintenance, mate guarding, body image, social media use and online dating. A better understanding of these patterns may help explain why some individuals are more likely to engage in extreme appearance enhancement or risky sexual strategies in pursuit of romantic success.
Overall, the findings suggest that people who enjoy competing in the dating arena share a robust constellation of personality traits and behaviors that appears remarkably consistent across cultures. According to the authors, this combination of universal patterns and cultural variation highlights how deeply rooted—yet context-sensitive—human mating psychology may be.
Article prepared by Victoria Caldwell.
