Conspicuous consumption may be defined as the purchase of financially expensive products and services, used to accurately signal the buyer's ability to bear such costs (Sundie et al., 2011; Veblen, 1899). Although he made no direct reference to Darwinism or sexual selection, Thorstein Veblen came very close to an evolutionary explanation for conspicuous consumption in Europe in the 19th century (Darwin, 1871; Veblen, 1899; Wisman, 2019). Conspicuous consumption of the European elite would signal the possession of resources, acquired through inheritance (manual labor would be difficult with such clothes), sufficient to bear these products' cost. Similarly, peacocks boasting large and colorful plumage and bowerbirds flaunting conspicuous nests would attract more predators but would be compensated by attracting more females and having more reproductive success (Møller & Petrie, 2002; Zahavi & Zahavi, 1997). Costly signaling also occurs in humans, through behavior and physical characteristics (McAndrew, 2018). In addition, humans rely on culture as a means of exhibiting costly characteristics (i.e., extended phenotype), such as cars and other luxury consumer products (Luoto, 2019). The present study aims to verify if a conspicuous product can influence the attractiveness of a man. As in other species, costly signaling is carried out by animals with low parental investment (peacocks, for example). The second objective is to verify whether heterosexual women would be more willing to engage in less committed relationships with men showing conspicuous products. The participants' reproductive strategy was also considered in the analysis (measuring sociosexuality). Other studies have already shown associations between conspicuous consumption, male attractiveness, and female short-term mating preferences (e.g., Kruger & Kruger, 2018; Lens, Driesmans, Pandelaere, & Janssens, 2012; Sundie et al., 2011). Nevertheless, in the present study, we use a more strictly controlled method, that is, instead of posed photos, we use digitally manipulated photos to allow greater control of the image variables (background, model, and car), that is, ensuring that the only variation between the photos is the car (neither the background of the image nor the person).

The association between male conspicuous consumption and attractiveness appears to be linked to the display of social status. Men's higher social status appears to be more attractive to women. For example, Hopcroft (2015) used a representative sample of more than 6000 American participants in a longitudinal study that began in 1979. The results showed that the men's higher social status (operationalized as annual earnings) led to greater reproductive success. Buss (1989) studied 37 cultures and found that although men and women had very similar mating preferences, women prefer men with higher social status, and men prefer more physically beautiful women. These results were subsequently replicated, and similar results were found (Shackelford, Schmitt, & Buss, 2005), even in non-Western cultures (Kamble, Shackelford, Pham, & Buss, 2014).

In Western cultures, men signal their social status with their wages and material possessions. Men who signal greater ownership of resources are considered more attractive (e.g., Dunn & Searle, 2010; Hennighausen, Hudders, Lange, & Fink, 2016; Shuler & Mccord, 2010). For example, Dunn and Searle (2010) asked heterosexual men and women to judge the attractiveness of a person of the opposite sex posing in a photo inside a “high status” or “low status” car. Women judged the man in the “high status” car to be more attractive (the type of car did not influence the woman's attractiveness). Dunn and Hill (2014) reported similar results using an experimental design that consisted of digitally manipulated photos, in which men and women appeared within luxurious or standard apartments. Shuler and Mccord (2010) found similar results by carrying out an experiment with greater ecological validity. They created profiles on a dating site using different photos in each profile (a man without a car, a man next to a “low status” car, and a man next to a “high status” car). The women using the site considered the man next to the “high status” car to be more attractive.

Mate preferences also vary according to reproductive strategies. Reproductive strategies can be defined as the preference for casual or committed sexual relationships, short or long-term relationships (Gangestad & Simpson, 2000). Such preferences can be described as sociosexual orientation or sociosexuality, ranging from more restricted to more unrestricted, in which the more unrestricted, the greater the preference for casual relationships (Penke & Asendorpf, 2008). Women with more restricted sociosexuality prefer men with higher social status in the form of resources (which can be invested in their offspring, in a long-term relationship); women with more unrestricted sociosexuality prefer physically more attractive men, but also men who conspicuously display their resources (i.e., with luxurious products) (e.g., Hennighausen & Schwab, 2014; Sundie et al., 2011). In the same way, more restricted men signal their social status in the form of resources, salary, purchasing power; on the other hand, more unrestricted men flaunt their social status by displaying conspicuous consumer goods (e.g., Hennighausen & Schwab, 2014).

Hennighausen and Schwab (2014) asked study participants to present their intentions to buy different smartphones. The results showed no overall difference between men and women in their willingness to buy the expensive smartphone; however, men with higher short-term relationships preference presented a greater willingness to buy the more expensive smartphone. In a more complex study, Sundie et al. (2011) investigated who sends conspicuous consumption signals, who receives them, and in what contexts such signals work. Over four experiments, Sundie et al. showed that men with a greater interest in short-term (vs. long-term) relationships are triggered by mating motives for conspicuous consumption. In addition, men who conspicuously consume were considered more attractive for casual relationships.

Distal causes can explain the differences in female preference for men who signal high social status in a conspicuous (or non-conspicuous) way. Women prefer to have long-term relationships with men who have the resources to invest in their offspring, complementing the lower minimum parental investment of men. In a short-term relationship, it may not be worth it to seek partners capable of investing resources—unless such partners can invest more resources in a shorter time, which seems to be the case for more unrestricted men, triggered by mating motives (e.g., Sundie et al., 2011). It may be that such men also contribute to “good genes.” Signs of “good genes” are characteristics that indicate health and immunocompetence. Conspicuous male consumption appears to be associated with higher testosterone levels, an immunosuppressive hormone in high amounts (Foo, Nakagawa, Rhodes, & Simmons, 2017). For example, administering testosterone increases male preference for conspicuous products (vs. high-quality products) (Nave et al., 2018). Also, men's testosterone level increases after driving a sports car (i.e., a conspicuous car) (Saad & Vongas, 2009). Cornelissen and Palacios-Fenech (2016) showed that even greater intrauterine exposure to testosterone (operationalized as 2D:4D) increases the predisposition to consume conspicuous products after triggering mating and status competition motives. The relationship between conspicuous consumption, testosterone, and short-term relationships suggests that signs of conspicuous consumption work as costly signals, similar to peacocks' tails (Sundie et al., 2011).

Peacock males signal a striking plumage that catches the attention of predators. However, flaunting extravagant plumage pays off because it also ensures reproductive success by attracting females. The more striking the plumage, the healthier and better the immune system of the male (Møller & Petrie, 2002; Trivers, 1972; Zahavi & Zahavi, 1997). Thus, conspicuous consumption would be a cultural signaling of attributes similar to those that peacocks display with their body ornaments (Luoto, 2019).

The study had two objectives. (1) To test whether a conspicuous product (vs. a non-conspicuous product) influences male attractiveness. (2) To test whether a conspicuous product (vs. a non-conspicuous product) influences the willingness of women to engage in a committed romantic relationship. Four consecutive experiments were performed. The first had a within-subjects design. Other studies had a between-subjects design. We assessed the participants' reproductive strategy, operationalized as sociosexuality (Penke & Asendorpf, 2008), and included that as an independent variable in the second and third studies. In those two studies, we included socioeconomic status as a covariate. Finally, in the last study, we controlled for social desirability (Crowne & Marlowe, 1960). We want to emphasize that, although other studies have corroborated our hypotheses using similar experiments, the present study was the only one that controlled social desirability and socioeconomic status. We see this as an important opportunity to address the problem of replicability in the social sciences.

H1

: A conspicuous car will make women judge a man near the car as more attractive than a non-conspicuous car.

H2

: A conspicuous car will make women less intensely desire a committed relationship with a man near the car than a non-conspicuous car.

H3

: Women with a short-term reproductive strategy will judge a man near the conspicuous car as more attractive than women with a long-term reproductive strategy.

H4

: Women with a short-term reproductive strategy will less intensely desire a committed relationship with a man near the conspicuous car than women with a long-term reproductive strategy.