16. Evolution and sex Flashcards
What are the 2 general systems found in animals when it comes to rearing of offspring?
- Males uninvolved (Females attend to: male genetic quality + male pre-copulatory gifts)
- Males involved (Females attend to: Male genetic quality + male ability/likelihood to assist in child rearing)
What do women attend to in option one when it comes to the rearing of offspring?
Females attend to: male genetic quality + male pre-copulatory gifts
What do women attend to in option two when it comes to the rearing of offspring?
Females attend to: Male genetic quality + male ability/likelihood to assist in child rearing
If a species has the opportunity of male assisting does that mean he always will help in child-rearing?
No - look at humans not all fathers are involved
Which 4 lines of evidence do we have to answer what mating system were pursued by our ancestors in the EEA?
- Current human mating systems
- Non-human comparisons (ex: comparing to apes)
- Physiological evidence (ex: hormones)
- Existing psychological mechanisms
What is serial monogamy? (mating strategy)
Exclusive sexual and romantic relationships which may be terminated and serialized (what we see in many western societies)
What is extreme monogamy? (mating strategy)
Bethoral (trolovelse) before reproductive age
This is rare. Not very familiar to any of us. You know who you are going to be with before you even start to think about who you want to be with
What is polygyny? (mating strategy)
one male has exclusive sexual access to more than one female
What is polyandry? (mating strategy)
One female has exclusive sexual partnerships with more than one male
This is very rare
What does it take for a society to be classified as a social polygenist society?
a society can be classified as this as long as you have this as an acknowledged thing. -> if this is the norms
Not just if people sometimes have secret affairs
How is the size difference between males and females in monogamous species?
There is no difference
How is the size difference between males and females in polygonous species?
very large sex differences
How is the size difference in humans?
It is modestly dimorphic (Males and female are not the same sizes - but not as much as a difference as gorillas who are polygonous)
How is human the size of human testes when compared to gorillas and chimpanzees?
Human are in the middle. (females at least some of the time would reproduce with multiple males )
-> in primate species where females mate with more the testes tend to be bigger relative to body size.
EX: Gorilla - there is no threat, so there is no need to produce as much sperm
Why is it that humans females can no longer visible be seen as impregnable? (you can’t tell when a female is ovulating)
-One benefit for females is that they can make sure that a person is not just spending time with you because he is trying to get you pregnant right there. The male has to spend more time with the female to get her pregnant
What do we find when women are ovulating?
- Men give more tips to fertile lapdancers
- women tend to shift focus towards “good genes”
What is the function of romance?
it provides motivation and tools for positive interactions
What is the function of jealousy?
Provides motivation for ensuring your partner remains exclusive to you
What do romance and jealousy have in common?
They both work as a tool to reward and to avoid punishment
They also help maintain exclusive relationships
How does males and females concern with infidelity differ?
Males are more concerned with sexual infidelity (parental uncertainty)
Woman are more concerned with emotional infidelity (loss of co-parent)
Why are women more concerned with emotional infidelity than males?
Because of the potential loss of a co-parent who provides and help with resources
Why are males more concerned with sexual infidelity than women?
Because then they can’t be sure that the child is theirs and they don’t want to spend their resources on an offspring that isn’t theirs
When evaluating potential partners, human females hight rates signals of male emotional attachment, social style, and resource accessibility. Give examples of questions she might ask herself
- Does he seem to care? (emotional attachment)
- Does he seem stable? (Social style)
- Can he be a good provider (resource accessibility)
What do we know about the ancestral mating context?
- Pairing between males and females often extended beyond just sex into social pairing
- Emotional attachment between partners were common
- Marital ties were common
- Females occasionally paired with other men outside their partnership (usually secret/covert)
- males may have attempted to monopolize multible females at the same time
Why do we form fair-bonds?
- To facilitate mutual investment in offspring
- To reduce STD risk (which can hurt fertility and child)
What are the benefits to paternal investment achieved via pair-bonding in pre-industrialized times?
Increased infant health and survival rate
- > allows mothers to breastfeed
- > provided superior food and shelter
How do people preserve pair-bonds?
- By ignoring or devaluating outside options (don’t see ex models as attractive as single men)
- Spend less time looking at attractive individuals in photos
- display of resources (males)
- Appearance enhancement (females)
How does men and women differ in how they preserve pair-bonds?
Men more often display resources (especially when partners are young and attractive)
Women more often engage in appearance enhancement (especially when the partner is wealthy and high-status)
When do men especially display resources to maintain pair-bonds?
When partners are young and attractive
When do woman especially engage in appearance enhancement?
When their partner is wealthy and status striving
What is the most commonly used strategy to maintain pair-bond by both men and women?
Love and care (I went out of my way to be nice and caring)
Are females and men completely different in how they try to maintain pair-bonds?
No - they often overlap but there are also some significant differences (resource display and appearance enhancement)
How do you measure differences in mating strategy?
By using the sociosexual orientation inventory
EX: how many different partners have you had sex with within the past 12 months. Sex without love is OK etc.
What sex show more unrestricted behaviors?
Males tend to engage in unrestricted sociosexual orientation
What do variations in male’s mating strategy often reflect?
Expectations of success (if a male thinks he will have success he will do it more)
Males are somewhat wired to not miss an opportunity to mate
If an individual has a lot of characteristic of success in short-term mating he will engage more in this than a person who doesn’t have a lot of these characteristic
What are the predictors of the pursuit of unrestricted mating? (unrestricted sociosexual orientation)
What kinds of people often engage in unrestricted mating
- Physically attractive
- High-value mate (status, prestige, etc.)
- High self-perceived ability to attract mates
- High circulating testosterone
What is the contextual predictor for unrestricted mating?
- If there are more females then men. Fewer men = less committed relationships
What does unrestricted behavior look like // how does it manifest itself?
More total partners
Early age of sex
more extra pair (affairs)
How does the perceived ability influence females’ unrestricted mating?
It doesn’t - this only seem to be the case for males
Unrestricted sexual orientation is most commonly pursued by women who grew up under what circumstances?
Women who grew up under circumstances with cues to environmental stress/uncertainty (ex: Father absent from home + early stress in the family)
What kinds of males are unrestricted females attracted to?
Men giving indicators of immunocompetence (High testosterone, symmetry, status)
Unrestricted women engage in behavior as if they were a part of what kind of species?
Women who engage in unrestricted mating behave as if they were a species where males aren’t involved in child-rearing
In what way does timing predict unrestricted mating?
Life-cycle - increasingly unrestricted behavior approach around age 35 (Pregnancies after 35 have increased risks)
Ovulatory cycle - Immediately prior to ovulation (dress more sexy + increased appeal of immunocompetent men + their shirts)
What do the immunocompetent men look like?
He has a symmetrical face
When increases the tendency for females to engage in unrestricted mating?
When exposed to socially dominant men
When there are few males per female
When there are more males than females what kinds of behavior do they engage in?
They marry earlier - The males have to “make sure” he gets a female and gets to reproduce (supply/demand)
When there are more females than males what kinds of behavior do they engage in?
Then both females and men tend to engage in more unrestricted mating behavior
Can you define love by a single characteristic?
No love is multifaceted with no single characteristics defining it
According to Robert Sternberg what are the 3 essential components of love?
- Passion: physiological arousal and longing to be together
- Intimacy: feelings promoting close bonds, including mutual sharing and emotional support
- Decision/commitment: in the short term -> to say you love the other person. In the long term -> commitment to maintaining that love
What are the 2 broad types of love?
- Companionate love = affection and tenderness felt for those whose lives are entwined with your own
(Parental love, maternal love, family love, brotherly love)
-Passionate love = a state of intense longing for union with another (Romantic love, puppy love)
What is nurturant love?
feelings of tenderness and concern central to parents caring for their children
What is attachment love?
desire to be cared for, and protected by another person
What is companionate love?
affection and tenderness felt for those whose lives are entwined with your own
(Parental love, maternal love, family love, brotherly love)
What is passionate love?
a state of intense longing for union with another (Romantic love, puppy love)
What is the difference between romantic relationships and friendship?
a desire for sexual union
What are the features that are considered universally attractive?
WOMAN ATTRACTIVENESS
-Men generally prefer a normal weight woman with a small waist and larger hips (these people tend to be more healthy and fertile and have healthy offspring)
-Shiny and long hair - associated with youth and health
-Larger eyes and smaller nose is also attractive in women
-Men find women with a higher pitch in their voice more attractive
MEN ATTRACTIVENESS
-Medium-sized nose and large jaw is attractive in men
-Woman prefer deeper voices in men
- In choosing sexual partners women also prefer men who are atletic and muscular
BOTH SEXES
-Body symmetry is attractive en both sexes
Women choose symmetetric men because this is linked to health and medical resistance
How can attractiveness be enhanced?
by positive expressions and behaviors
How does the testosterone level in men in a short-term relationships and married men differ?
Men in short-term relationships = high levels
Married men = low levels
What is sociosexual orientation?
individual differences in the tendency to prefer either unrestricted sex (without the necessity of love) or restricted sex (only in the context of a long-term, loving relationship)
How does sexual situation look different to men and women?
Women underestimate men’s sexual interest and men overestimate woman’s sexual interest
- These biases can be seen as adaptive
Because woman can become pregnant it is not in her interest to be uncritical about a man’s intention
Because woman are reticent it is in a man’s interest to not miss any signs of sexual interest
What does it mean that all humans have a general need to belong
the human need to form and maintain strong, stable interpersonal relationships
Women prefer ____ and men prefer____
Women prefer status/wealth and men prefer reproductive resources (this is why they like younger women)
