Relationships: Sexual Selection and human reproductive behaviour Flashcards
Sexual selection is a…
Evolutionary explanation of partner preference
Attributes or behaviours that increase reproductive success are passed on through generations of offspring
Human Reproductive behaviour is..
Any behaviour which relates to opportunities to reproduce therefore increase survival chance of our gene
Mate choice and mate competition
Outline Sexual Selection and Human Reproductive Behaviour:
- Anisogamy
- Inter-sexual selection
- Intra-sexual selection
Outline Sexual Selection and Human Reproductive Behaviour:
- Anisogamy
refers to differences between male and female sex cells
Sperm:
- small
- mobile
- created vast and continuously
Egg:
- Larger
- immobile
- produced in intervals
- Limited amount
Consequence of Anisogamy =
Inter-sexual selection
Intra-sexual selection
Outline Sexual Selection and Human Reproductive Behaviour:
- Inter-sexual selection
Competition between sexes
Preferred strategy of females - quality over quantity
Making a wrong choice for women is more serious
Impact: Preference of women passed onto offspring ‘sexy-son hypothesis’
Outline Sexual Selection and Human Reproductive Behaviour:
- Intra-sexual selection
Competition within sexes
Preferred strategy of males - quantity over quality
impact: dimorphism (obvious difference between men and women) and male aggression to fight for and protect female
Evaluate sexual selection and human reproductive behaviour:
+ Buss found females preferred men with good resources wheres as men preferred young women (fertile)
+ Clark students asked other students “would you go to bed with me tonight” no female student agreed but 75% of males did immediately
- Ignores social and cultural influences (women greater role of work place means no longer have to rely on men)
+ men preferred women with hip:waist ratio of 0.7 no matter what size. Shows honest sign of fertility but not pregnant
+ Lonely hearts women look for resources, men look for youthfulness
