Lesson 2 - Evolutionary Explanations for Partner Preferences

Question 1

What is Sexual Selection?

Answer 1

Sexual selection is when people select their partners based on the idea of reproduction. It is usually based upon positive characteristics.

Question 2

What is Anisogamy?

Answer 2

This is reproduction where the gametes provided from each individual are dissimilar. Sperm and eggs are quite different, despite them combining to form a baby. This is relevant as it connects to why women and men select their sexual partners differently.

Question 3

Why are females choosy?

Answer 3

They have one egg per month, and they would have to commit to creating a baby for 9 months after reproduction. Due to this, they want to ensure that their partner is healthy and will help create healthy and strong offspring with positive characteristics.

Question 4

What qualities do women commonly look for?

Answer 4

Healthy, attractive, wealthy, tall.

Question 5

Why might women ‘test out’ a man before reproduction and why?

Answer 5

They do this in order to ensure that the man will willingly invest time, money, effort and he will stay with her to raise the child. They may do this by getting their friend to hit on the guy, or by asking the man’s female friends about his track record in the past of commitment.

Question 6

What can men do sexually that women cannot, which arguably makes them more unfaithful?

Answer 6

They can reproduce many times with many women, as they do not need to commit for 9 months.

Question 7

What qualities do men look for in a female partner?

Answer 7

Young, healthy, attractive, have a small waist, curvy hips, and large breasts.

Question 8

How do men compete with one another to get the opportunity to reproduce with a female?

Answer 8

They will attempt to appear big and strong, in an attempt to show security to the woman, and scare off other guys.

Question 9

What is mate guarding?

Answer 9

This is where men will guard their partner from talking to other men, or acting in a certain way with them, to ensure that she is not unfaithful.

Question 10

What is cuckoldry?

Answer 10

This is when a man’s partner gets pregnant by another guy. This is an innate fear for men, and mate guarding is in an attempt to prevent this.

Question 11

Evaluation of Sexual Selection - Ignores infertility and homsexuality

Answer 11

Schwarz argues that we must acknowledge homosexual couples and couples that cannot infertile. They obviously did not get together for the aim of reproduction, so this explanation must be missing something.

Question 12

Evaluation of Sexual Selection - Height matters.

Answer 12

Dunbar (2000) found that on average, men without children were shorter than men with children. This suggests that females that want to reproduce do indeed choose taller and more healthy men.

Question 13

Evaluation of Sexual Selection - Men like Waist:Hip ratio

Answer 13

Singh investigated whether men found body size or the waist:hip ratio of women more attractive. He found that men preferred the waist to hip ratio (0:7). This is a sign of fertility and show that men do prefer women that would have an easier birth.

Question 14

Evaluation of Sexual Selection - Gender Bias

Answer 14

The evolutionary explanation of partner preferences sees it as optimal, and actually encourages men having many different partners, but women only having one.

Question 15

Evaluation of Sexual Selection - Relationship Tensions

Answer 15

If males need to be tall and strong in order to protect their partner, then this may become an excuse for some men to abuse their power in relationships. This could ultimately lead to domestic violence and abusive relationships being more common as a result of this view.

Question 16

What is the procedure of the key study by Buss (1989)?

Answer 16

Buss aimed to look into what both genders look for in a long term relationship.
He gathered 10,000 participants from 37 cultures, and got them to rate 18 characteristics on a scale from 0-3 (0 being irrelevant and 3 being crucial).

Question 17

What were the findings of the key study by Buss (1989)?

Answer 17

Men wanted women that were fertile, and younger than them.
Females wanted men that were financially stable, ambitious and had resources.
Both genders wanted their partner to be kind and intelligent.
This ultimately backs up the sexual selection theory.

Question 18

Evaluation of Buss’ study - Narrow Sample

Answer 18

Buller (2005) has criticised this study as it uses female undergraduates at university as the sample for the females in this study. They are likely going into high paying fields themselves, and will thus want a man who is on an equal level financially to them. For this reason, the results may be skewed.

Question 19

Evaluation of Buss’ study - Cross Culture study

Answer 19

The ideas that women want a financially stable and healthy man, and the ideas that a man wants a fertile and younger woman are universal and not blocked by culture. This inherently helps the theory as it shows that it is an intrinsic idea among people, about what they find attractive.

Question 20

Evaluation of Buss’ study - Trying to appear younger

Answer 20

Dunbar (1999) found that men do universally prefer women that look younger. This applies in real life as many women try to look younger, potentially in the hopes of a man then choosing to reproduce with them. This is seen in the fact that things such as plastic surgery exist.