Spring 2011 Porsche adA new study “Peacocks, Porsches and Thorstein Veblen: Conspicuous Consumption as a Sexual Signaling System,” was conducted with nearly 1,000 test subjects and published recently in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

Researchers from Rice University, the University of Texas-San Antonio (UTSA) and the University of Minnesota find that conspicuous spending among men is driven by a desire for no strings attached sex or a romantic fling.

Based on studying the lives of 1000 test subjects, the results were clear and consistent among both sexes.

“This research suggests that conspicuous products, such as Porsches, can serve the same function for some men that large and brilliant feathers serve for peacocks,” said Jill Sundie, assistant professor of marketing at UTSA and lead author of the paper.

Women were clear about the lack of interest in the high fliers in anything more than a good time — and the women often went along for the ride. When they were interested in more casual dating, women preferred to ride in a Porsche and not a Honda Accord.

Among women who were seeking marriage or a long-term relationship, the Porsche held no edge.

The researchers also concluded that while women spend plenty of money on expensive baubles, they didn’t make their decisions based on looking for sex.

Smart Sensuality Peacocks

Just like women, female peacocks aren’t seduced by mere flashy feathers. In research that men might interpret to confirm the Porsche theory that females do desire the flash, we must dig beneath the surface for answers.

Roz Dakin and Robert Montgomerie of Queen’s University aren’t sure why fewer spots is a big turnoff among female peacocks. The male may be perceived as immature or unhealthy.

The female’s mating decision is a complex process. The researchers are clear that female peacocks consider the number of eyespots in a potential mate’s plumage. When I first wrote up this research in early May, this peacock mating dance caught me eye, causinging me to write:

It seems to us that male scientists may flatter themselves about the submissive of females in nature. Women were conquered. There is a qualitative difference in how ‘natural submission’ is defined in nature vs humans.

Peacock Mating Dance