Relationship formation Flashcards
Symons (1979)
Believed that males look for females who have high reproductive value meaning that they look for a female who can have many children over a long period of time.
Williams
Stated that males would look for a female who had high fertility.
Even though a 13-year-old female may be able to have offspring for many years, her fertility would not be good enough and she could not look after a baby successfully. For that reason, males should look for a female who is very fertile but can also look after herself and her offspring.
Trivers (1972)
Claimed that the formation of romantic relationships is driven by evolution, specifically how each sex has a different level of investment in ensuring that their offspring survives in order to pass on the family genes.
Geary (2000)
Females carry their offspring and thus have the larger investment in terms of the risk to their health and changes to their life when carrying and looking after their baby.
Therefore, females are very particular in choosing a mate.
Hamilton (1987)
The idea that we have an interest in looking after our siblings as enhancing the survival of those with similar genes promotes the survival of our groups’ genes.
Parental investment theory
The males must have lots of resources for her and her child.
Today, this means a female would prefer a male with ambition, shelter, and high earning capacity.
The female also may look for a male who is older than her because he is more likely to have resources.
However, from an evolutionary perspective, men do not invest as much in their offspring.
They can have many children with many different women in a short space of time.
Once the male impregnates the female, there are no risks to him because he’s not physically involved in the pregnancy.
Men look for signs of youthfulness reproductive success in a female, such as smooth skin, white teeth, wide hips and large breasts.
These are all sings of good genes and the ability to carry and feed their offspring successfully.
Orbitofrontal cortex (OFC)
The OFC is located in the frontal lobe region of the brain.
Involved in impulse control and response inhibition.
The OFC decides if it is beneficial for an individual to act on a sexual stimulus depending on the rewards that would be given.
Little et al (2011)
Found that observing beauty in members of the opposite sex raises action of the OFC for both males and females.
Therefore, providing evidence of a link between the localisation of brain function and the formation of romantic relationships.
The OFC indicates to the individual whether a male is desirable and if so, the individual will most likely act on the biological signal.
Neurotransmitters - romantic relationships
Oxytocin has been linked to romantic attachment and a lack of physical contact can reduce levels and create a longing to bond again.
We have a chemical drive to bond with others.
The pleasure associated with finding a partner gives us a hit of dopamine and the memory of the experience will be saved in the dopamine pathway. Humans are driven to form relationships to experience and repeat this feeling.
Neurotransmitters - mother and baby relationships
Oxytocin acts as a chemical messenger in the brain that is linked to pregnancy and birth behaviours. (Such as contractions and breast milk production)
When a new-born is placed on their mother’s chest after birth, oxytocin is released.
This skin-to-skin contact enables the new-born and their mother to learn each other’s unique scent which forms the first bond.
Oxytocin causes a new-born to seek out and latch on to their mother’s breast. Oxytocin then floods the body during breastfeeding, which further strengthens the formation of the relationship between mother and baby.
