Evolution of Attraction Flashcards
What is the Evolution of Attraction?
Evolution is the changes in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations.
Evolutionary theories:
- Human behaviours have a basis in our distant past.
- It is assumed that traits that are beneficial in passing on our genes will be carried through generations.
What is the aim of Buss et al’s 1990 study?
To test for gender specifics in heterosexual mate selection.
Procedure of Buss’s study?
Sample: 9.477 individuals, 33 countries and 5 islands on 6 countries, mean age 23.15
Participants filled out questionnaires containing 3 main sections:
1st section: biographical information e.g. age, religion, gender
2nd section: desired age of marriage, desired age differentials between spouses
3rd section: rate 18 characteristics on their importance when choosing a mate
These questionnaires were initially developed in the USA and then translated into different languages.
Findings of Buss’s study?
Buss found that there were significant gender differences in the responses.
Females:
- Valued financial capacity of mates more than males in 36 out of 37 samples
- Preferred older males in all 37 samples
Males:
- Valued physical attractiveness and youth more than females
- Chastity showed the largest effect of cultural differences: it was valued in China, India, Palestinian Israel and Iran, while countries like the Netherlands did not care about chastity
Conclusions of Buss’s study?
The findings support the evolutionary theory of male selection for both males and females.
Males, in valuing youth and attractiveness, show a preference for females with high reproductive capability. Females, in valuing finance and age, show a preference for males that will be successful partners in raising children, as well as have good genes.
Strengths of Buss’s study?
To check credibility of the data, Buss checked the age preferences data from his questionnaire and compared them against marriage statistics and found that the two corresponded closely.
Limitations of Buss’s study?
Limitations of self-reported data, which may not reflect actual outcomes.
What is the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC)?
A set of genes linked to body odour and immune system.
What is the aim of Wedekind’s 1995 study?
To determine whether human body odours and female preferences for them are dependent on one’s MHC. The idea is that parents with different MHC genes will pass on a stronger, more broadly defensive immune system to their children, because children inherit immune function from both parents.
Procedure of Wedekind’s study?
The sample was made up of 49 female and 44 male students from the University of Bern, Switzerland.
Each participant was “typed” for their MHC, and a wide variance of MHC was included in the sample. It was noted if the women were taking oral contraceptives.
The men were asked to wear a T-shirt for two nights and to keep the T-shirt in an open plastic bag during the day.
They were given perfume-free detergent to wash clothes and bed clothes and perfume-free soap for showering. They were asked not to use any deodorants or perfumes, to refrain from smoking tobacco or drinking alcohol, to avoid all spicy foods and to not engage in any sexual activity.
Two days later, the women were asked to rank the smell of 7 t-shirts, each in a cardboard box with a “smelling hole.” Three of the seven boxes contained T-shirts from men with MHC similar to the woman’s own; three contained T-shirts from MHC dissimilar men; and one contained an unworn T-shirt as a control. Alone in a room, every woman scored the odours of the T-shirts for intensity (range 0-10) and for pleasantness.
Findings of Wedekind’s study?
Women scored male body odours as more pleasant when they differed from their own MHC than when they were more similar. This difference in odour assessment was reversed when the women rating the odours were taking oral contraceptives. This suggests that the MHC may influence human mate choice.
Conclusions of Wedekind’s study?
The smell of the MHC appeals to humans because they are different to the ones that one has themselves. It means that the offspring created will have a strong immune system, and thus a greater chance of survival.
Our attraction to other people could be due to the smell of their genes and the more dissimilar the genes are to our own the more likely we are to be attracted to the scent.
Strengths of Wedekind’s study?
The design of the study was a double-blind experiment. This means that neither the researchers nor the participants were aware of which t-shirt they were being exposed to at any point in the study. This was done in order to minimise demand characteristics.
Limitations of Wedekind’s study?
It was not very generalisable to a larger population size as only students were tested - perhaps the effects of pheromones differ between age groups.
