Avoiding entangling commitments: Tactics for implementing a short-term mating strategy

The successful pursuit of a short-term mating strategy requires avoiding entangling commitments or unwanted, encumbering relationships. Two studies, based on an act-nomination and reported act performance methodologies, were conducted on samples of American college students to explore how individuals avoid entangling commitments. In Study 1 (N=102) we identified the acts individuals use to avoid entangling commitments in the context of short-term mating. In Study 2 (N=298) we examined reported usage of these tactics, and identified correlations with personality traits previously implicated in the pursuit of a short-term mating strategy (e.g., narcissism, mate-value). Personality traits such as the Dark Triad and sociosexuality, as well as mate-value, were positively correlated with tactics used to avoid entangling commitments. Results document how short-term mating strategists solve the problem of avoiding entangling commitments, reveal sex differences previously undiscovered, and highlight personality characteristics linked to solving this adaptive problem. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd.