evolution explanations partner preference

Question 1

what is sexual selection

Answer 1

refers to the competition for mates between members of the same sex which has a significant impact on the evolution of certain physical and psychological traits (greater height, facial hair, bodily features)

Question 2

what is inter sexual selection

Answer 2

one sex chooses from a group of prospective mates according to attractiveness - woman’s choice
strategy of the female - quality over quantity
- females make greater investment of time, resources and commitment before, during and after birth of their offspring
= fussy, wisely choose partner who can offer resources (food, protection) - can be translated today as money and status
- strategy = select genetically fit partner able and willing to provide resources
= males competing for opportunity to mate with fertile female
= sexy son hypothesis - mates with male with desirable characteristics in which can be inherited by her son
= increases likelihood that successive generations of females mate with her offspring

Question 3

what is intra sexual selection

Answer 3

competition between males
male strategy - quantity over quality
- winner of competition reproduces and passes on his characteristics that contribute to his victory (strength height)
- given rise to dimorphism (obvious differences between men and women)
- larger males have the advantage and are more likely to mate whereas females don’t compete for reproductive rights and so there is evolutionary drive towards favouring larger females

Question 4

rship between sexual selection and human reproductive behaviour

Answer 4

sexual selection explains why some characteristics might appear disadvantageous in terms of survival but actually give an advantage in human reproductive behaviour - characteristics are attractive to potential mates; either they provide an adv over competitors for reproductive rights
DARWIN - realised the bigger a peacock’s tail the more attractive they were to mates, giving them an adv (also it may slow them down due to the weight)

Question 5

what are male mating strategies

Answer 5

courtship rituals (allows showing off genetic potential and resources)
size (bigger body sizes demonstrated physical strength + ability to protect partner + offspring from threats)
sperm comp (men have evolved to have bigger testicles and faster swimming sperm)

Question 6

what are female mating strategies

Answer 6

handicap hypothesis (same women may pick men with handicaps as it shows an ability to thrive despite adversities - may explain why some women are attracted to men take drugs + drink a lot)
sexy son hypothesis
courtship (dating is an important strategy for females to establish a man’s worth to produce offspring)

Question 7

what is anisogamy

Answer 7

difference between male + female sex cells
- ova are rarer than sperm and require greater energy to produce
- woman can produce one egg a month - roughly 300 eggs over course of reproductive lifetime (25 years) = limited in no. of kids
= lots of investment - pre and post natal
men can reproduce for majority of their lives - reproduce roughly 100 million sperm in single ejaculation - repeated multiple times which means ejaculation doesn’t cost men too much in terms of reproductive materials - unlimited amount of kids
- minimal investment pre and post natal

Question 8

positive EV evolutionary explanation

Answer 8

evidence - evo expl partner preference
BUSS - studied 10,000 adults in 33 different countries - men preferred younger, physically attractive females (signs of good reproductive capacity)
- females preferred dependable, ambitious, older men
= theory is valid in expl integral human behaviour - consistent sex difference in partner pref

CLARK + HATFIELD
- sent male +female psych students across the uni campus to approach other students + say ‘i have been noticing you around campus, i find you very attractive, would you like to go to bed with me tonight’
- not a single female student agreed, whereas 57% males did immediately
= females are choosier than males when selecting a sexual partner

Question 9

negative EV evolutionary explanation

Answer 9

low external validity - explanations tend not to take into account same sex rships where children are not desired and thus can’t be attributed to all indvs
- expl for partner preferences can only be used to explain the majority f heterosexual rships
= usefulness of expl are limited

flawed methodology - research into evo expl tend to use self report which are subject to misinterpretation + demand characteristics
= much of the theory based on faulty data collection - BUSS - asked pts to fill questionnaires about their partner preference
= evo expl of sexual selection + reproductive success may lack scientific rigor