FE11

Question 1

Describe in detail three different kinds of information that can be gained through olfaction that would be adaptive in informing mate choice, and explain the adaptive significance of each kind of information.

Answer 1

•	MHC genes
o	Genetically enhanced partner
o	Symmetry and good smells go together.
•	Degree of relatedness
o	Hamilton’s rule
o	Investment strategy
•	Health, disease
o	To know the mate you’re selecting, that they have good genes, good health/not sick

Question 2

Drawing on material present in lecture, describe three pieces of evidence indicating that olfactory experience differs between women and men

Answer 2

• Tshirt study
o Donors that were dissimilar from themselves (the women) reminded them of past partners about twice as often as men. (inverse relationship with women that were on the pill).
• Women have greater olfactory senses than men do. Women should be more selective than men because there’s a greater use of their potential output for each man. Women can detect a given scent at a lower concentration than men can
• Hertz and Cahill; complex study(?)
o They asked people how important the olfactory experience in sexuality
• An adverse olfactory experience can trump women from a potential partner
• Women are more likely to dream about scents.
• Women are more attracted to people of more dissimilar MHC

Question 3

Addressing your answers to parts (a) and (b), provide an ultimate explanation for why the body scent of a potential sex partner might have a stronger effect on a woman’s choices than on a man’s choices

Answer 3

• Because women have to be more selective because they have to invest more. So it makes sense that they would have an adaptation that would help them select mates

Question 4

Describe the relationship between the extent of a man’s fluctuating asymmetry (FA) and women’s assessments of his scent. What explains the relationship between these two attributes

Answer 4

• The fact that symmetry is hard to produce, it can reveal the quality of the individual.
• When women are sniffing men’s tshirts, there is relatedness to mfa and physical attractivesness of men
• Symmetrical men smell better. So women prefer the scent of symmetrical men.

Question 5

If females are generally attracted to particular scents in males, one might expect selection pressure on males for the ability to produce these attractive scents. However, if this were to happen, all males would soon produce similar scents, and variation between male scents would cease to exist. Given the female preference for particular male scents, why then do male scents still vary? In other words, why don’t all men “smell good”?

Answer 5

• Male scents still vary because there would still be competition even if they did develop a trait that made them “smell good.” Variation would not cease to exist.