week 6- long term mate preferences in women Flashcards
match these: males/females and large/small gemates. also identify the male and female gametes
females- larger gametes: ovum/egg (genetic info AND nutrients)
males- smaller gametes: sperm (genetic info)
what are gametes?
specialized cells that determine the sex of a fetus solely by the size (of these specialized cells)
what sort of things are included in parental investment?
making the gametes (big or small), time spent developing the offspring inside the body or outside of it, feeding and caring for the young
what is Trivers’ Theory of Parental Investment?
Whichever sex “invests” more in offspring will be more choosy when it comes to mate selection.
– Whichever sex “invests” less will be less choosy and more competitive over the mating opportunities
with the high-investing opposite sex
what predicts behaviour in the parental investment theory? explain
INVESTMENT not gender, so even if males in some species invest more in offspring than females, the theory of parental investment predicts that they will be choosier than females AND that females will compete more with each other to mate with males
For humans, women have a greater ________ investment in children than men. However, both men and women ___________ invest heavily in children
obligatory
typically
why do women put more investment into their fetus’ than men (two reasons)
Eggs- their eggs are wayyyy bigger than sperm, theyre limited in number, and its loaded with nutrients (compared to sperm which are small, theres a shit ton, and no nutrients)
Gestation- gestation (pregnancy) happens in women, not men
what are some parental investments that men provide?
material resources (e.g.,
food and shelter), non material resources like protection, and time spent educating children in hunting, fighting, and other social/cultural activities
what are the 3 necessary conditions that have to be present for the notion that women prefer long term mates with material resources to be true?
- During human evolutionary history, men would have had the capacity to acquire and control material resources.
- Men would have to differ from each other in their material resources and willingness to invest resources in a woman and children
- These material resources would have to provide some survival benefit to the woman and her offspring
what would be the likely mate result when looking at the finding that wealth affects women’s survival, onset of reproduction, number of offspring, end of reproductive life, and survival of offspring to adulthood
any genes that create a predisposition for a woman to be inclined to direct her mating effort towards men with material resources (or resource-holding potential), will likely be selected for (given that those resources improve her, and her
offspring’s, chances of survival)
-BUT REMEMBER this is just one predisposition, so its not the sole determinant of a mate
what was found for mate preferences in Hadza women in Tanzania
were more likely than men to state that the ability to hunt or provide food was important in a partner
how would “preference for material resources” show in modern western societies
since hunter/gatherer skills are basically irrelevant now, women now prefer someone with good financial resources
how do men vs. women view financial prospects in a mate?
women rate it as important, men would like it but they don’t really care, this is significant and is a huge difference in this study, BUT it was also conducted in 2001, so it should be replicated now
what is the cross cultural evidence for financially stable mate preferences?
Buss et al., (1990) – 50 authors, approx. 10 000 participants in 37 cultures across the world.
-Included urban and rural cultures, places practicing polygyny and monogamy, some in which marriage was less common, some in which cohabitation before marriage is taboo, some capitalist, some socialist
-found cross culturally women value good financial prospects more than men
studies how women also prefer males who has a high social status, is ambitious, and hardworking. why?
indicates either probable or future access to resources
studies show women prefer older men. why?
because in most cultures, access to resources increases with age
if studies show that women prefer older men, why is it that they prefer men who are on average only 3.5 years older? shouldn’t it be the older the better?
because we have to remember that preference for resources is only ONE FACTOR. mate selection is multiply determined!
what is an alternate hypothesis for why women prefer males with access to resources
what if its not because of evolved adaptation, but because women in society have greater structural powerlessness or social roles
-In other words, if we were to suddenly somehow give women relatively greater access to resources,
would this immediately change their (rational) preferences or would the pre-disposition still work?
explain the results of Buss’ (1989) study that involved 100 men and 100 women, where women were making more money
Women who make more money tend to value income and professional
status of a potential partner more (not less) than those who make less money
explain Gustavsson’s sweden study.
interesting because sweden ranks high in gender equality (more women in the work force)
-Women used words such as financially stable, professional, big house, etc. significantly more often
in describing the man they were looking for (40%of ads contained at least one of those words) compared to men describing the woman they were looking for (15% of ads)
-Men used these words significantly more often in describing themselves (55% of ads) than women did (23% of ads).
explain Fales’ (2016) study that asked people if it is “very important” or a “must have” for people of different incomes to have a partner to make at least as much money as they do
women significantly said it is very important and a must have wayyyyy more than men did
do women prefer tall or short men/
tall obv we wanna dance w jorj
what ratios did women find most attractive in Dixson et al.’s 2003 study
waist to hip ratio and waist to shoulder ratio
what type of facial feature is most attractive to women
facial masculinity such as thick brows and broader jaw
why (from an adaptive pov) is facial masculinity attractive?
The qualities that make a face more masculine are those affected by testosterone during puberty, meaning that a highly masculine face may signal high testosterone.
– There are many ideas about why high testosterone may be desirable, although the exact reason is still
(fiercely) debated. One idea is that testosterone may relate to muscle strength and so this may be why it is desired.
apart from facial masculinity, what other facial aspect is most attractive to women?
facial symmetry
what are some studied reasons as to why facial symmetry is regarded as more attractive?
symmetrical faces are a cue to good health, in that injuries, illnesses, and “genetic stressors” during development produce asymmetrical faces, its been shown that there are correlations between facial symmetry and markers of physiological (e.g., fewer headaches and gastrointestinal problems), psychological (e.g., less depression and neuroticism), and emotional health (e.g., less envy and jealousy).
what are the problems with facial symmetry studies
all results are from small sample sizes, the results were inconsistent across samples, and precisely quantifying what is symmetrical and what is not is difficult
do women’s stated preferences affect their actual behaviour? use Pawlowski and Koziel’s (2002) study to explain
they examined ads placed by men for women and the responses from women they received
-the hit rate was highest with greater education, age, height, and offered resources, BUT not self described attractiveness or weight
Are men aware of women’s preferences and, if so, does it change their (mis)behaviour? use Hall’s study on personal assets to explain
Men were slightly more likely than women to report a willingness to lie about their personal assets (e.g., income), although in general neither men nor women admitted much willingness to lie (the scale went from 1 - “not at all likely to misrepresent myself” to 10 - “very likely”).
Are men aware of women’s preferences and, if so, does it change their (mis)behaviour? use Hall’s study on height to explain
While women’s self-reported height matched the height the researchers measured them to be, men, on
average, stated that they were half an inch taller than they actually were when the researchers measured them
