attraction Flashcards
what did Walster et al’s experiment on the computer dating paradigm show?
huge halo effect to attractiveness- predicted if there was a second date
wasn’t until 5th date that personality became more important
what are the positive life outcomes of being attractive?
– Higher income (Hamermesh & Biddle, 1994) – Better mental health – More social influence (Chaiken, 1979)
what did Berscheid and Walster show with their computer dating scenario?
similarity of attractivness is more important than attractiveness
especially for women
what does the matching hypothesis predict
that if the couple are equally attractive the relationship will be long
what are the arguments to say that beauty is objective cross culturally
1) High level of agreement across cultures
(Langlois et al, 2000)
2) Certain features of faces are reliably
associated with attractiveness
(Cunningham, 1986)
3) Babies prefer attractive faces
what are the arguments to say that beauty is subjective cross culturally?
1) Different cultures “improve” beauty in
different ways (Newman, 2000).
2) Different body types are judged to be
more attractive in different parts of the
world (Anderson et. al 1992)
3) Body type standards vary over time
(Silverstein et al, 1986).
what did Boothroyd show?
in Nicaragua those who got tv 5 years ago and those who lived in the city found people with a lower bmi more attractive than those who lived in a village with no tv
what is the evolutionary approach to attraction?
sexual selection- attractive traits are passed on
- attractive trait benefit the chooser
- averageness is associated with health
what does morphology suggest?
that humans are less polygynous than gorillas but there is more sperm competition than gorillas (more polyandry)
there is less sperm competition than in more promiscuous chimps and bonobos.
what are humans in terms of mating patterns
- mildly polygnous (several females one male)
- females are the limiting factor
in terms of looking for acceptable age criterion for sex, dating and marriage what did buss and schmitt find?
looked for younger people for sex, bit older to date and again bit older to marr.
women in each had a older minimum acceptable.
what are male priorities within short term relationships?
proceptivity
fertility
what are male priorities within long term relationships?
youth
fertility
faitfulness
what are female priorities in short term relationships?
good genes
what are female priorities in long term relationships?
resources
status
generosity
what is Buss and Schmitt’s sexual strategies theory
men and women look for different things in short term and long term relationships
what are fertility cues that can make women more attractive to men?
wast-hip ratio
femininity
what is Zahavi’s handicap principle?
The central idea is that sexually selected traits function like conspicuous consumption, signalling the ability to afford to squander a resource. Receivers know that the signal indicates quality because inferior quality signallers cannot afford to produce such wastefully extravagant signals.
is honest advertising
e.g. peacocks tail feathers
Describe the parasite infestation theory Hamilton and Zuk
1) females choose mates on the basis of secondary sex characters; 2) the full expression of these characters is limited by parasite infection; 3) females choose males with exaggerated secondary traits in order to obtain resistance genes for their offspring; and 4) heritable variation in parasite resistance is maintained due to coevolution between parasites and hosts (Hamilton and Zuk 1982). Two major predictions arise from this hypothesis. According to the intraspecific prediction, females should preferentially mate with the brightest or most ornate males available, and these males should carry lower parasite loads than less showy males.
explain Immunocompetence (Folstad & Karter
Immunocompetence Handicap Hypothesis (IHH) states that testosterone-dependent ornaments honestly signal such quality because of physiological costs associated with testosterone, such as impaired immune function.
why is symmetry in faces attractive?
shows a cue to health- symmetry predicts apparent and skin patch health
benefits–> offspring inherit immunity to current pathogens and avoid infection
explain market value and mate preference
individuals with greater market value will be better placed to translate their preference into choice
what animals other than humans has market value been shown in
sticklebacks
zebra finches
what did Pawlowski and Dunbar find regarding market value
in lonely hearts ads older women make fewer requests upon a man
what is FA
Fluctuating assymetry- indicates bad immunity
what did Gangestad & Thornhill (1999) do/ show
used FA and Relationship-Specific Investment Inventory
what did little et al. show about market value
more attractive women prefer symmetric men
what is ornamentation
serves to emphasise secondary sexual characteristics (e.g. muscle mass, facial structure, breasts, waist-hip ratio)
what did singh and bronstad show about scarification
more prevalent in societies where there is a higher pathogen prevalence.
what did Wohlraub find about tattoos
they show dominance and attractiveness
what is sexual imprinting?
Parents influence mate preferences in
many birds and mammals
what is Assortative mating?
helps keep good gene-complexes together?
increases parents’ relatedness to their own children?
what did Perrett show about sexual imprinting?
if parents were younger than 30 women found younger faces + attractive
if parents were older than 30 then older faces more attractive
both showed peak at about 30 and followed same general trend
What does a more symmetrical face lead to? Thornhill
more symmetrical= more potential partners (men and women)
What did Thornhill find about men with symmetrical faces when in relationships
symmetrical men= less honest, less time with partners and oversexualise other women
actually same levels of general commitment to one partner- more likely to have brief opportunistic sex.
