Evolutionary explanations for partner preferences Flashcards
What is human reproductive behaviour?
any behaviours which relate to opportunities to reproduce and increase survival of genes
What is sexual selection?
evolutionary explanation of partner preferences
- attributes or relationships that increase reproductive success are passed to the next generation
What is anisogamy?
the difference between male and female sex gametes
- sperm are small & created in vast numbers from puberty to old age whereas female eggs are large and limited in number
- there is never a shortage of fertile males but a fertile female is rarer
What is intersexual selection
selection between the sexes
strategies that males use to select females and vice versa
- fe/males differ in selection as they have different needs that are rooted in our genetic code
What is the preferred selection strategy of females
Quality over quantity
- they make a greater investment of time, commitment etc during pregnancy and after giving birth so it makes evolutionary sense for women to be choosier when selecting a partner
- consequences of choosing the wrong partner are greater than a man
What do females look for in a partner?
someone genetically fit who can provide for her and the baby with resources necessary for survival
- seek indicators of socioeconomic status
What do men look for in women?
quantity over quality
men prioritise physical appearance and are responsive to women who are young and attractive
- these are physical cues to a woman’s reproductive value
What is the sexy sons hypothesis
the genes we see today are those that enhanced reproductive success
- a female who mates with a male who has certain characteristics will then have sons with this ‘sexy’ trait
- then her sons are also more likely to be selected to mate
What are strengths of intersexual selection?
- supported by evidence:
Buss’ study & Clark and Hatfield - high face validity
Evaluate Buss’ study as a strength of intersexual selection
- intersexual selection is supported by evidence from Buss
- in an extensive study of 37 cultures Buss analysed the results of more than10000 questionnaires asking respondents to rate factors such as age intelligence and sociability for the importance of a sexual partner. He found that men valued attractiveness more than women and women valued good earning potential and high occupational status
- strength because evidence supports the theory of intersexual selection and that males prefer attractiveness and females look for someone to provide for them
- in addition the study has high population validity across a large cultural sample making findings representative
Evaluate social desirability as a limitation of Buss’ study
- limitation as social desirability may have affected female responses
- females may be less likely to want to report finding physical attraction in a potential male partner as it may be deemed shallow or they feel they will be judged
- limitation as the findings of female respondents may not be valid reflections of theeir preferences
- study may only provide limited evidence
Evaluate Clark & Hatfields study as a strength of intersexual selection?
- intersexual selection is supported by evidence from C&H
- They sent an attractive female and male across a uni campus and approached other students with the question, “ I’ve noticed you around campus and you’re attractive would you go to bed with me tonight?” 75% of the males agreed whereas 0% of women agreed
- this supports female choosiness when selecting a mate, whereas males opt for a different strategy to ensure reproductive success
Evaluate high face validity as a strength of intersexual selection
- has high face validity
- the existence of ‘trophy wives’ ‘good diggers’ and ‘sugar daddies’ and that females often alter their appearance through the use of makeup and cosmetic surgery and lie about their age to appear younger and more fertile gives real-world support of the validity of intersexual selection. In addition, males use deceit to exaggerate the recourses to persuade females to mate. This indicates that males and females use different strategies to maximise reproductive potential.
- these behaviours provide real-world evidence in support of the validity of gender differences in mate choice
What in intra sexual selection?
strategies (competition) amongst males to be selected
- the winner of the competition gets to reproduce and the characteristics that contributed to the victory are passed on
What is dimporhism?
Males and females end up looking different due to intra-sexual selection
- males are the ones competing and larger males have an advantage whereas females don’t compete so don’t need to be larger
- human males are on average 15% larger than females
What are the behavioural consequences of intra-sexual selection?
the characteristics that enables a man to outcompete his rivals include deceitfulness intelligence and aggression
- males benefit from behaving aggressively in order to acquire fertile females and protect them competing males
- this leads to the selection of aggressive males
Evaluate supporting evidence from Buss and Daly and Wilson as a strength of intra-sexual selection
- supporting evidence from Buss and Daly and Wilson
- Buss found that men are significantly more likely than women to make threats of violence towards others who may have made sexual advances towards their mate.
In contrast, females are more likely to use verbal aggression towards rivals and often target the attractiveness or sexual conduct of their competitors. They aim to reduce their competitor’s attractiveness in the eyes of a male
Daly and Wilson found that 90% of all same-sex murders involve men at an age where mate competition is most intense and this violence is connected to sexual rivalry - strength because it supports the theory of intrasexual selection and males competing with other males leading to violence, therefore providing it with validity
What are limitations of evolutionary explanations of partner preferences?
- doesn’t explain homosexual relationships
- deterministic
Evaluate not explaining partner preferences of gay relationships as a limitation of sexual selection theory
- cannot explain the partner preferences of gay relationships as they do not have a reproductive aim
- Lawson et al looked at personal ads placed by hetero and homosexual men and women. The ads described what the person was looking for and what they were offering. They found that the preferences of homosexual men and women differ just as they do in hetero. Men emphasised physical attractiveness and women emphasised resources
- limitation as based on this it seems that homo men still prioritise physical appearance and women still prioritise resources even when they don plan on having children. Therefore evolutionary explanations may not be a valid explanation of all relationships
Evaluate determinism as a limitation of evolutionary explanations of partner preferences
- deterministic
- Due to non-hetero relationships and the fact that human reproductive behaviour has changed with the widespread use of contraception and couples choosing not to have children implied that we have more control over our behaviour than this theory implies. The fact that women have been denied economic and political power in many cultures might account for their tendency to rely on the resources of men
- limitation because it shows mate preferences are the outcome of a combination of evolutionary and cultural influences. The evolutionary theory underestimates this impact as it is based on genetic factors. Therefore evolutionary explanations may not be a valid explanation of human reproductive behaviour and partner preferences
What is parental investment?
any investment by a parent in an offspring that increases the chance that the offspring will survive at the expense of the parent’s ability to invest in any other offspring
Why do males have low parental investment?
they have low paternity confidence
they can produce a vast number of offspring in their lifetime so its not necessary for them to invest heavily in any one child
It makes reproductive sense for males to mate with as many females as possible, as this will enable more of their genes to be passed on
Why do females have high parental investment
They’re 100% certain that the child is theirs and carry the child for 9 months. Most women can only have a maximum of 12 pregnancies in their lifetime
Women therefore must invest heavily in their offspring so that the few children they have will survive and pass on her genes
- it makes reproductive sense for a woman to be choosy and only mate with a male she can be sure will provide an dprotect her offspring
Evaluate irrelevance as a limitation of parental investment
- may not be relevant in todays society
- due to changes in social attituides its now acceptable for women to be sexually active. Sex isnt always direcctly linked to reproduction as women are less dependent so male resources are less importans. Womens greater role in the wokrplace mean theyre no longer dependent on men and no longer have resource orientated mate preferences
- limitation because findings of research may not be relevant today and lack temporal validity
