3. mating and attraction Flashcards
e to the time demands of pregnancy and lactation, females have a limited number o
offspring they can produce
Given that the production of offspring is limited and physically demanding for females, evolutionary psychologists argue
that it may benefit females to be selective in choosing a mate, and be discerning in finding a male with high-quality genes
if females benefit most from having a mate who invests valuable resources and offers protection from predators and enemies, according to evolutionary psychology, they should be more likely to prefer males who
are willing and able to reliably provide these resources
while reproduction is less physically demanding for males, childrearing places considerable demands on males to
support and protect their offspring and their mother
Because males can produce a larger number of offspring, evolutionary psychologists would argue that they can maximise their reproductive output by mating with the
youngest and most fertile females
research has found that both men and women desire partners who are
intelligent, kind, understanding, and healthy
Both men and women also want partners with similar
personalities, attitudes, and religious beliefs to their own
a females’ reproductive value is greatest when she is
young
signs of health and fertility in females include
healthy hair, skin and facial features such as smooth skin, large eyes and plump lips
smooth skin, large eyes and plump lips are indicative of
high estrogen
Evidence also suggests that males tend to be attracted to females with a waist-to-hip ratio of approximately
0.7
recent findings indicate that there may be a preference among males for an ______ curvature of the spine
ideal
In a novel study design, Lewis and colleagues found that there is an ______ angle of lumbar curvature that men find most attractive in women
In a novel study design, Lewis and colleagues found that there is an “optimal” angle of lumbar curvature that men find most attractive in women
Lewis and colleagues argue that a possible reason for this could be that it might indicate
readiness for pregnancy, due to a shift forward in the centre of mass created by the foetus.
women tend to prefer males who possess the qualities that suggest they are
reliable source of investment for them and their offspring
research has found that women are more attracted to men who have
high social status and financial resources
Signs of physical dominance that women tend to prefer include
physical formidability, and masculine facial features
there is evidence that women tend to prefer the smell of a man’s sweat whose immune system is
different from their own
An evolutionary-based explanation for women’s preferring sweat of different immune systems is
the dissimilarity in immune systems of parents increases the strength of their offspring’s immune system since it leaves offspring with an enhanced pathogen-detection ability
recent findings suggest that the contraceptive pill reverses sweat preferences in women, such that women taking the pill tend to prefer the smell of sweat from men who have
similar immune systems
Birnbaum, Birnbaum, & Ein-Dor (2016) investigated this effect by comparing the children of couples who met while the mother was taking the pill, to the children of parents who met while the mother was not taking the pill. The results found that the children born to mothers who were on the pill at the time of meeting their partner were more likely to
get infections, needed more medical care, experienced more sickness, and were perceived as less healthy in general
Divorce, the legal dissolution of a marriage, has increased substantially since ____ when the Family Law Act 1975 was introduced
1976
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, there have been approximately _______ divorces in Australia each year since 1996
50 000
