Sexual Selection.

Question 1

Outline- Anisogamy

Answer 1

Males produce sperm all the time therefore they can reproduce all the time.
Women have a limited amount. So men want to sleep with as many as possible to reproduce, but women want to select the right mate perfectly.

Question 2

Evaluation- support for preferences related to Anisogamy

Answer 2

Buss (1989)- survey on 10,000 adults in 33 countries
-asked Q’s related to age and a variety of attributes that evolutionary theory predicts should be important in partner preference.
Results- females placed greater value on resource-related characteristics such as good financial prospects, ambition and industriousness, than males did.
-males preferred good looks and younger mates.
So- this supports predictions of partner preference.

Question 3

Evaluation- support for inter-sexual selection.

Answer 3

Clarke and Hatfield (1989)
have shown that female choosiness is a reality of heterosexual relationships.
- males approaches females asking for sex tonight, and the same for females on men.
-75% of men said yes but only 50% would go on a date
-almost no women said yes.
So- this supports evolutionary theory, because it suggests females are choosier than men.

Question 4

Evaluation- Chang et al

Answer 4

Limitation
- compared partner preferences in China over 25 years and found they had changed along with social changes.
So- poor temporal validity and limited in the cultural differences.

Question 5

Outline- inter-sexual selection

Answer 5

Definition- between the sexes. Strategies that females tend to use to select a male. Here a woman will choose a male from an array of options
Females- they want quality Over quantity, resources and are especially choosy (as they have limited eggs)

Question 6

Outline- intra-sexual selection

Answer 6

The preferred strategy of males
Males want- quantity over quality, as they’re in great competition for the eggs available. And they want to reproduce.
-males then compete for women!