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The Mating Psychology of Incels (Involuntary Celibates): Misfortunes, Misperceptions, and Misrepresentations

William Costello Orcid Logo, Vania Rolon Orcid Logo, Andrew Thomas Orcid Logo, David P. Schmitt Orcid Logo

The Journal of Sex Research, Volume: 61, Issue: 7, Pages: 989 - 1000

Swansea University Author: Andrew Thomas Orcid Logo

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DOI (Published version): 10.1080/00224499.2023.2248096

Abstract

Mating represents a suite of fundamental adaptive problems for humans. Yet a community of men, called incels (involuntary celibates), forge their identity around their perceived inability to solve these problems. Many incels engage in misogynistic online hostility, and there are concerns about viole...

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Published in: The Journal of Sex Research
ISSN: 0022-4499 1559-8519
Published: Informa UK Limited 2024
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URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa64509
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spelling v2 64509 2023-09-12 The Mating Psychology of Incels (Involuntary Celibates): Misfortunes, Misperceptions, and Misrepresentations a43308ae6d7f5b8d5ab0daff5b832a96 0000-0001-5251-7923 Andrew Thomas Andrew Thomas true false 2023-09-12 PSYS Mating represents a suite of fundamental adaptive problems for humans. Yet a community of men, called incels (involuntary celibates), forge their identity around their perceived inability to solve these problems. Many incels engage in misogynistic online hostility, and there are concerns about violence stemming from the community. Despite significant media speculation about the potential mating psychology of incels, this has yet to be formally investigated in the scientific literature. In the first formal investigation of incel mating psychology, we compared a sample (n = 151) of self-identified male incels with non-incel single males (n = 149). Findings revealed that incels have a lower sense of self-perceived mate-value and a greater external locus of control regarding their singlehood. Contrary to mainstream media narratives, incels also reported lower minimum standards for mate preferences than non-incels. Incels (and non-incel single men) significantly overestimated the importance of physical attractiveness and financial prospects to women, and underestimated the importance of intelligence, kindness, and humor. Furthermore, incels underestimated women’s overall minimum mate preference standards. Our findings suggest that incels should be targeted for interventions to challenge cognitive distortions around female mate preferences. Implications for incels’ mental health and misogynistic attitudes are discussed, as well as directions for future research. Journal Article The Journal of Sex Research 61 7 989 1000 Informa UK Limited 0022-4499 1559-8519 7 9 2024 2024-09-07 10.1080/00224499.2023.2248096 COLLEGE NANME Psychology School COLLEGE CODE PSYS Swansea University Not Required 2024-10-02T15:56:46.7901580 2023-09-12T09:09:34.5549047 Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences School of Psychology William Costello 0000-0002-0346-6370 1 Vania Rolon 0000-0001-6620-9032 2 Andrew Thomas 0000-0001-5251-7923 3 David P. Schmitt 0000-0001-7089-0983 4 64509__28702__0b1710d390014d1c81eee2d1097ded9d.pdf 64509.AAM.pdf 2023-10-04T14:17:58.6800268 Output 893747 application/pdf Accepted Manuscript true 2024-09-07T00:00:00.0000000 true eng
title The Mating Psychology of Incels (Involuntary Celibates): Misfortunes, Misperceptions, and Misrepresentations
spellingShingle The Mating Psychology of Incels (Involuntary Celibates): Misfortunes, Misperceptions, and Misrepresentations
Andrew Thomas
title_short The Mating Psychology of Incels (Involuntary Celibates): Misfortunes, Misperceptions, and Misrepresentations
title_full The Mating Psychology of Incels (Involuntary Celibates): Misfortunes, Misperceptions, and Misrepresentations
title_fullStr The Mating Psychology of Incels (Involuntary Celibates): Misfortunes, Misperceptions, and Misrepresentations
title_full_unstemmed The Mating Psychology of Incels (Involuntary Celibates): Misfortunes, Misperceptions, and Misrepresentations
title_sort The Mating Psychology of Incels (Involuntary Celibates): Misfortunes, Misperceptions, and Misrepresentations
author_id_str_mv a43308ae6d7f5b8d5ab0daff5b832a96
author_id_fullname_str_mv a43308ae6d7f5b8d5ab0daff5b832a96_***_Andrew Thomas
author Andrew Thomas
author2 William Costello
Vania Rolon
Andrew Thomas
David P. Schmitt
format Journal article
container_title The Journal of Sex Research
container_volume 61
container_issue 7
container_start_page 989
publishDate 2024
institution Swansea University
issn 0022-4499
1559-8519
doi_str_mv 10.1080/00224499.2023.2248096
publisher Informa UK Limited
college_str Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
hierarchytype
hierarchy_top_id facultyofmedicinehealthandlifesciences
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofmedicinehealthandlifesciences
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
department_str School of Psychology{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences{{{_:::_}}}School of Psychology
document_store_str 1
active_str 0
description Mating represents a suite of fundamental adaptive problems for humans. Yet a community of men, called incels (involuntary celibates), forge their identity around their perceived inability to solve these problems. Many incels engage in misogynistic online hostility, and there are concerns about violence stemming from the community. Despite significant media speculation about the potential mating psychology of incels, this has yet to be formally investigated in the scientific literature. In the first formal investigation of incel mating psychology, we compared a sample (n = 151) of self-identified male incels with non-incel single males (n = 149). Findings revealed that incels have a lower sense of self-perceived mate-value and a greater external locus of control regarding their singlehood. Contrary to mainstream media narratives, incels also reported lower minimum standards for mate preferences than non-incels. Incels (and non-incel single men) significantly overestimated the importance of physical attractiveness and financial prospects to women, and underestimated the importance of intelligence, kindness, and humor. Furthermore, incels underestimated women’s overall minimum mate preference standards. Our findings suggest that incels should be targeted for interventions to challenge cognitive distortions around female mate preferences. Implications for incels’ mental health and misogynistic attitudes are discussed, as well as directions for future research.
published_date 2024-09-07T15:56:45Z
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