Lecture 2 Flashcards
How do you attract and choose a mate?
Basic principles explaining sex differences. Conditional strategies. Flirting
Define Anisogamy
Sexual reproduction by the fusion of dissimilar gametes.
Discuss what Anisogamy is
Female and male gametes differ. Female gametes are few, large and immobile, they are called eggs that are waiting to be fertilized. Males have lots of gametes that are small and mobile. Females have to spend their investments wisely, thus they become choosy.
Discuss Bateman’s principle
Because men have the potential to produce more offspring, but limited to the number of females, there is a huge variation within male reproductive success. Thus females become choosy.
What are key factors in males mate preferences
Not choosy. Emphasis on mating effort, not rearing. Seek polygyny. Seek youth. Seek fertility.
What are the key factors in female mate preferences
Choosy. Emphasis on rearing effort. Seek monogamy. See genetic qualities. Seek ability for provisions.
What research is there in modern life that supports that females are choosier?
Dunbar, 1999. In lonely hearts adverts, females seek more and Grammer et al., 2000, found males are willing to date more. Grammer, 1989 found women use a variety of cues when choosing mates, and men tend to use attractiveness and youth as primary cues. Waynforth, 2007 found women rated men as more attractive when with an attractive woman (mate choice copying)
What patterns do we see in lonely hearts adverts that support Anisogamy and Bateman’s principle
Women seek resources and commitment and older men. Men seek physical attractiveness and younger women. And the traits offered reflect those that are sought by the opposite sex.
Define mate choice copying
When women rate men as more attracted when with an attractive woman.
Are humans polygamous
It is thought that men are more promiscuous, and women are more monogamous. However, there is no real evidence that men cheat more in marriages. A study on gay men and gay women also doesn’t show we are. Sexual dimorphism suggests recent polygyny but not much. However, some cultures are polygamous, whereas in other cultures monogamy is legally enforced.
Do men and women have physical characteristics that have been selected for?
If females are the choosier sex, we should see more sexually selected characteristics in men like in peacocks. For example, tall men have more marriages (Sear, 2006). However, the other differences between males and females such as muscular torsos and beards are subject to cultural preferences.
Are there sexually selected characteristics in women?
Because females are choosier, and they are the resource needed by men, there should be no competition between them. However, females have breasts (although we don’t know the purpose), neotenous facial features are seen as beuatiful (Jones, 1995), as well as this there is an optimal waist-to-hip ratio of 0.7 (Singh, 1993). So female-female competition must exist.
What is attractive in both sexes?
Symmetry; because it means developmental stability (growing on both sides equally therefore you must be robust), and it suggests a resistance to disease. Both making that persons genes desirable.
Averageness; studies have found that people view a composite of faces as more attractive than the individual faces; this may be because the special villainous irregularities have disappeared (Galton, 1878, p.135).
Discuss conditional strategies and who is ideal
In real life, choices have to be modified based on what you can offer and what is available. Assortative mating (matching principle) whereby people assess how they rank in the mating market place and use this to adjust their preference when choosing a mate!
Define what assortative mating is
People assess how they rank in the mating market place and use this to adjust their preference when choosing a mate
