Relationships - Evolutionary Explanation for Partner Preferences Flashcards
What’s Human Reproductive Behaviour Driven by?
Driven by the need to survive and reproduce.
What do Both Males and Females Need to Ensure?
Need to ensure they have children and those children survive to adulthood.
What Does Sexual Selection Act On?
Acts on creatures ability to complete with others of the same sex (often males) for mates and to attract the opposite sex (often females).
Genes that provide reproductive advantage will be selected for, increasing human gene pool.
What’s Intersexual Selection?
When members of one sex (typically females) choose mates of another sex choose mates of another sex to reproduce with based on specific traits.
Most animals including humans, generally females who choose as females often invest more in offspring (time, energy, resources) than males, making them more selective, picking highest quality mate from wide selection of mates available to them.
What’s Intrasexual Selection?
When members of the same sex (typically males) compete with eachother to access and attract members of opposite sex.
Could be displays of physical power, social dominance, resources.
In most animals, including humans, males compete due to low investment costs and a lack of parental certainty: males compete for access to as many members of other sex as possible
What’s Male-Female Dimorphism?
Enhanced secondary sexual characteristics selected by both genders, making physical characteristics more common in population.
Females look for qualities that will help raise child to adulthood e.g. money, physical characteristics linked to dominance.
Males look for qualities of fertility that indicate production of healthy offspring: large breasts, youthful features.
AO3: Research to support sex differences in human reproductive behaviour
P: Clarke and Hatfield.
E: Had males and females approach members of opposite sex and ask question “will you have sex with me?”
E: Found that 75% of males said yes to female, whereas 0% of females agreed to have sex with male.
L: Supports differences in human reproductive behaviour of males and females as it demonstrates idea females are choosy and males are promiscuous.
AO3: Biological Determinism
P: Criticised for biological determinism.
E: Because theory states individual’s controlled by internal factors, e.g. genes that’ll inevitably control partner choice and reproductive behaviour.
E: Neglects the role of free will and choice individuals have and could leave individuals feeling like they have no control over partner preferences.
L: Limits theory.
AO3: Lacks Validity
P: Theory lacks temporal validity
E: As it can’t explain modern relationships.
E: e.g. can’t explain homosexuality, etc
L: Limits explanation, can’t be sole explanation for partner preferences, individual differences wouldn’t exist.
