partner preferences Flashcards
definition of human reproductive behaviour
refers to behaviour that relate to opportunities to reproduce thereby increasing the survival of genes - includes evolutionary mechanisms underlying our partner preferences and parental investments
definition of sexual selection
an evolutionary explanation of partner preferences . attitudes or behaviour la that increase reproductive success are passed on to the next generation and may become exaggerated
summary of human reproductive behaviour
Anisogamy - is the difference between male and female sex cells ( gametes )
male sex cell ( sperm ) - small , mobile , created in vast numbers and doesn’t need a lot of energy to be created
female sex called ( egg ) - large , limited number and needs a lot of energy to be created
consequence of anisogamy - never a shortage of fertile males but rare to find and fertile female
anisogamy - leads to difference in parental investment - a female is born with all the eggs they will have ( 300 ) whilst a single male ejaculation contains 40-600 million sperm .
sperm is plentiful and cheap so males benefit as with every female they mate with the reproductive success increases
mating increase the reproductive success of males not females consequently females become more choosier ( inter - sexual ) & males compete for women ( intra - sexual )
inter sexual selection
males and females look for different characteristics in a mate and instinctively behave differently to attract that mate . when it comes to to selecting a partner men value physical appearance and have evolved to be more responsive to young and attractive women - these are questions to a women’s reproductive value and show that she will be able to pass on the man’s genes . women seek indicators or social economic status and are sensitive to cues that suggest that the man has the necessary resources to help with the females survival as well as the offspring to ensure her genes are passed on. - women value quality over quantity
inter - sexual selection - studies
singh ( 1993,2002 ) - waist to hip ratio
fisher (1930 ) - ‘ sexy sons hypothesis ‘
singh ( 1993 , 2002 ) conducted a study on waist to hip ratios and he fourth that the male preferences was not on body size but on waist to hip ratio . male find any waist to hip ratio attractive as long as the ratio of 1 to the other is 0.7 . this combination of small waist and big hips is a honest signal of a women’s fertility and that she is not pregnant
fisher ( 1930 ) - created the sexy sons hypothesis - that all the genes we see today enhanced reproductive success . a female who mates with as male with a specific characteristic will then have sons with that sexy gene who then will be more likely to be selected by females in that generation who will that have offspring so that then the sexy trait will pass on
what is intra sexual selection
refers to competition of reproductive success between members of the same sex
male compete for access to a fertile mate and to drive away any threats for her fertility as this would cause significant risk to a man’s chances to pass on his genes
men are bigger and stronger that women and this is due to sexual dimorphism which is the difference in size between males and females
intra sexual selection also stated that hens have involved over time and aggression in a instinct behaviour that allows males to fight for the most fertile mate
traits that allow men to outcompete their competition is aggressive , intelligence and deceitfulness
A03 - ( + ) - inter sexual selection - supporting evidence ( buss 1989 ) - questionnaire
counter argument : social desirability ( can be used as a separate point )
in a study of 37 cultures in 33 countries buss analysed the results of over 10,000 questionnaires that asked respondents how important factors such as age , intelligence and sociability was in a sexual partner . men valued physical attractiveness whilst females valued the earning potential and the occupational status of a man . Buss also found that me ln valued the youth and chastity more than women
strength as it provides support of the theory of inter sexual selection
therefore adds validity to the theory
counter argument : however social desirability may have affect females answers as they may have been less likely to report valuing physical attributes in a male partner
therefore the findings may not be an accurate reflection of their preferences
A03 - (+) Buss ( 1988 ) - intra-sexual selection
Buss found that male were more likely to use threats of violence to anyone the believed had made sexual advances to the mate . females were more like to use verbal aggression towards rival targeting attractiveness and sexual conduct or reducing the attractiveness of the female in the eyes of the male
strength as it supports the theory of intra sexual selection
further E :
daily & watson found ( 1988 ) that 90% of the same sex murders where done by men at the ages were mate competition was intense and a large proportion of violence is due to sexual rivalry
A03 - (-) - Only cares about heterosexual couples- online relationships / people not wanting children
it cannot explain long distance relationships- those that are online , it cannot explain relationships were the partners have decided they don’t want to have children as this theory sates that relationships are motivated by the desire to reproduce - a similar point can be made for same sex relationships
limitation as it might not be a valid explanation for all relationships as it is over simplistic and lacks diversity of human relationships
A03- (-) Deterministic and lack free will
Human reproductive behaviour has changed over the century with the wide spread use of contraception and people in relationship deciding to not have children which suggest that we have more free will over our behaviour than implied in the evolutionary explanation. gender differences may be due to cultural differences and not evolved characteristics . the fact that women have been defined economic power may suggest why women rely on the economic resources supplied by men
