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Moral Judgments of Sexual Behavior and Its Influence on Perceptions of Social Status
Hannah Kim
Faculty Advisor: James P. Curley, PhD; Graduate Student Mentors: Köll Rada, BS & Rebecka Hahnel-Peeters, PhD
Moral judgments play a central role in shaping how people perceive others’ social status, yet little is known about how judgments of sexual behavior specifically influence these perceptions. Status shapes access to resources, social influence, and mating opportunities, and understanding how sexual morality guides status judgments is crucial for explaining how social hierarchies form and operate. A total of 100 participants (69 women, 31 men; M age = 20.3) completed an online survey assessing their sociosexual orientation (SOI), relationship preferences, and social status perceptions of others. Total SOI scores differed by sex, with men reporting higher scores than women (X2 = 9.43, p < .01). Individuals who reported a stronger preference for short-term or casual relationships tended to view targets engaging in casual sexual behavior as having higher social status, whereas individuals who favored long-term or committed relationships perceived the same behavior as lowering a person’s status. These patterns were moderated by sex, with women showing stricter evaluations of sexual behavior in long-term contexts than men (t(44.91) = -2.56, p = 0.01). Overall, findings suggest that moral judgments of sexual behavior extend beyond character assessment and play a meaningful role in determining where individuals are placed within social hierarchies.