Women's Mating Preferences II: Influences of Context - PowerPoint Presentation

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Women's Mating Preferences II: Influences of Context

Evolutionary PsychologySpring 2020Dr Chapman

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Importance of Commitment in a Long-Term Relationship

Preference for Love and Commitment Most important preferences for men and women. Why would women want a mate whom is committed to the relationship?

Fidelity (emotional)

Channel resources

TimeEnergyActs of commitmentTalk of marriageExpressing a desire to have childrenWhat's love got to do with it? acts of love as a signal of commitment

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Preference for Willingness to Invest in Children

Women have preference for men who are willing to invest in childrenRated men more attractive when interacting “

positively

”

with children (or child)Rated lower if ignoring a crying babyRated lower if doing house workMen did not show this preference

© 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Preference for Similarity

Men and women both show preference for mates who share similarValuesPolitical orientationsWorldviews

Intellectual levels

Personality characteristics

HomogamyPeople who are similar in these characteristics actually date and get married more often than those who are dissimilarAssortative mating: nonrandom coupling of individuals on the basis of resemblance on one or more genotypic or phenotypic characteristics See: Preferences

in Human Mate Selection

by Buss (1986) for more background on mate selection.

© 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Additional Mate Preferences

Kindness and understanding the highest ranked preferenceis an indicator of willingness to provide resources good personality characteristics

A good sense of humor

both humor production and humor appreciation

a marker of creativity and complex cognitive skillsIncest avoidance; sexual contact with close relatives is disgustingDeep voice as an indicator of sexual maturity and body sizegood genetics related to testosterone5

Issues of Cognitive Gender Difference

Figure 3.1 in Buss textbook This is not an issue of intelligence "who's smarter, women or men?" men are better at wayfinding by use of vectoringmental rotationtracking objects women are better at use of landmarks and routes

object location

memory

social cognitionA combination of genetic and environmental influencesThe connection between sexual selection theory and cognitive differences is difficult to determineSubstantial environmental “cultural” influencessee Geary's publications on sex differences 6

Context Effects on Mate Preferences

Context as a indication of the current condition or situation of the individual Context can include age, income level, marital status or day of the menstrual cycle Why is it important to consider context? preference for a characteristic may seem capricious

when it changes over time

for example: preference for masculine facial features

preferences that are predictably influenced by context strengthens support for the explanation for example: mate value 7

Context Effects on Mate Preferences

Role of Development in context effects Changing set of situations from birth through adult life rapidly changing early in life mating context occurs during particular developmental times

Cultural influence on mate preference can begin very early

emotional bonding with parents

parental role model play style with other children 8

Personal Access to Resources

Women’s preferences for men with resources are not sensitive to their personal access to resources Empirical evidence: preferences of resource-rich women for men with resources preferences of college women for intelligent ambitious men

in Bakweri society women are wealthy but still value wealth in spouse

migrant plantation labor so 2.36 men per female

women earn some income from casual prostitution most frequent reason for divorce is lack of support from husbands 9

Personal Access to Resources

Women’s preferences for men with resources are not sensitive to their personal access to resources Empirical evidence: Recent internet dating study; Anderson & Klofstad 2011

data were documented from a total of 2944 profiles (1481 men and 1463 women)

645 profiles listed preferences for income (442 women and 203 men)

daters that did report their own income, comprised of 674 women and 891 men women wanted a date with an income of from $50,000 – $75,000 men desired a date with an income of from $35,000 – $50,000 daters (men and women) seek partners with similar income levels individuals who live in expensive areas seek more resources from their mates10

Personal Access to Resources

Why are women’s preferences for men with resources not sensitive to personal resource status? females did not have access to resources during our evolutionary history women have always been responsible for taking care of children

personal mate value may increase with personal wealth thereby strengthening selection ability

maybe you can never have too many resources (this would apply to both men and women)

When there is more economic development as well as gender equality there are larger gender differences in willingness to take risks, patience, altruism, positive and negative reciprocity, and trust.Falk 2018 Science 19 Oct 2018:Vol. 362, Issue 6412, eaas989911

Structural Powerlessness

HypothesisWomen value power, status, earing capacity in a mate because our societies are structured in a way that makes resource unavailable to women

Women try to marry up to gain access to resources

So women without resource try to obtain resources

What about women with resources?Women with high incomes value a potential mate’s income and education more, not less, than women with lower incomesBuss uses this as evidence that the hypothesis is not supported But, why is there a positive correlation between personal resources and preferences for mates resources level? This could be related to similarity, the

assortative

mating

When

there is

more

economic

development as well as gender equality

there are

larger gender differences

in willingness to

take risks, patience, altruism, positive and negative reciprocity, and

trust.

Falk 2018 Science 19 Oct

2018:Vol

. 362, Issue 6412, eaas9899

Mate Copying: the mere presence of attractive others

This is a social context effectWhen mate preferences of others influence you individuals whom are seen as good mates by others influences your mate preference for example

a man in the presence of attractive women will appear more attractive

especially if they show interest in him

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Long-term versus Short-term Mating Preferences

What women value in a long-term mate good character good provider good father

What women desire in a short-term mate

masculine face and voice

social presence direct intrasexual competitiveness (dominance)More on this in chapter six14

Long-term versus Short-term Mating Preferences

Qualities

Long-Term

Short-Term

Ambitious/Career Oriented2.451.04College Graduate2.38

1.05

Creative

1.90

1.29

Devoted

2.80

0.90

Fond of Children

2.93

1.21

Kind

2.88

2.50

Understanding

2.93

2.10

Responsible

2.75

1.75

Cooperative

2.41

1.47

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Women’s ratings on a scale from -3 to +3 of qualities that are more desirable in long-term vs short-term mates

Mate Preference Affects Actual Mating Behavior

Mate Value your desirability as a mate women with high mate value

are in the best position to get what they want

so their mate selections are most revealing

physically attractive women do indeed tend to marry men with higher incomes and occupational status Women's responses to men's personal ads: respond more often to older men with higher income and higher levels of education Women's marriages to men who are older: on average men are 2.99 years older across 27 counties 16

Mate Preference Affects Actual Mating Behavior

Effects of Women's Preferences on Men's Behavior mate preferences of women puts sexual selection pressure on men increases male-male competition (see Puts and chapter ten) for economic resources and social status

by derogating other men related to resources

by using deception related to resources and status

because of jealousy related to sex partners (see chapter 11) increase in male-male aggression to get resources, status and sex partners (see chapter 10) 17

Mate Preference Affects Actual Mating Behavior

Effects of Women's Preferences on Men's Behavior exposure to young attractive women increases men's concern for resources, ambition, creativity and nonconformity (see chapter 5 testosterone) But also increases many of the other preferences such as Love/Commitment, Dependability, Athletic Ability, Emotional Stability and so on.

Natural selection related to survival and sexual selection related to mate preferences are independent factors because both can influence specific male traits.

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What about Sexual Orientation?

Sex is “mostly” a typeMale sex – genetic XY – anatomically penis and testes

Female sex- genetic XX – anatomically vagina and ovaries

However some individuals are Intersex

Gender Identity:an individual's self-conceptiondistinguished from actual biological sexXY Person with prenatal T, testes and penis could identify as a womenXX person with no prenatal T, ovaries and vagina could identify as a manNeither

genetic sex or gender are

the same as sexual orientation

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What about Sexual Orientation?

Evolution of Homosexuality in women How could homosexuality be selected

if it reduces an individuals reproductive success?

Genetic female (XX)

mostly Heterosexuala small percent of lesbiansCAH individuals slight increase in Homosexual and BisexualExposure to androgens during early fetal development

Mate preference related to sexual orientation

some evidence of mate preference differences between so called "Butch" and "Femme" but more studies need to examine these differences.

Genetics of sexual orientation

Several studies have reported higher concordance rates of Homosexuality in dizygotic versus monozygotic twins

A few studies have reported genetic makers in comparisons of

DNA

Even though lesbians have a lower reproductive rate their families have higher reproductive success

Maybe from helping the family “cooperative breeding”

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