Evolutionary Psych Ch. 3 - WBPHMD - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

Evolutionary Psych

Ch. 3 - WBPHMD

Barbie – Manufactured by Mattel, Designed by Evolution: The Evolutionary Psych of Sex & Mating Slide2

Etic Attraction?

Buss (1989) – 10k

Ppl

from 37 cultures asked for ideal characteristics in a mate

The men wanted the same things, the women wanted the same things, but they didn’t want the same things as each other

Your genes are looking for ideal reproductive traits in a mate

Most evolutionary psych comes down to sex & matingSlide3

Why do Men like Blonde Bombshells

(and Why do Women Want to Look Like Them)Slide4

Question…

How many of you have heard something like this – the media imposes arbitrary, harsh beauty standards on women…that the only reason women want to look like models and pop stars is because they are bombarded with these images?

Presumably if the media stopped portraying women this way, then women wouldn’t aspire to those standards

The problem with this is that Evolution can actually explain it – with evidenceSlide5

Evidence

Women have been dying their hair blonde for at least 500 and possibly 2000 years

Titian – Woman with MirrorSlide6

Evidence

Iranian women (unexposed to Western culture and often covered by loose fitting form hiding clothing) are more concerned with body image and want to lose more weight than their American counterparts

(

Abdollahi

& Mann, 2001)Slide7

So…why DO women want to look like blonde bombshells?

Probably b/c men want to mate with them

Ok, wise guy, why do men want to mate w/ them?

Because they have higher reproductive value and fertility and a higher rate of reproductive success on average

There’s nothing arbitrary about the ideal female lookSlide8

So, what makes a blonde bombshell?

Youth

Long hair

Small waist

Large breasts

Blonde hair

Blue eyes i.e. BarbieSlide9

Youth

Reproductive value

(# of kids potentially producible

over the course of her

remaining reproductive years) is

at its height at menstruation &

steadily declines – hits zero at menopause

Fertility (avg. # of kids capable of having at any given time) peaks in her twenties

The goal! Teen pregnancy BarbieSlide10

Modern world connection

Male teachers and professors (but not females) have higher divorce rates and lower remarriage rates – why?

Constantly exposed to women (students) with higher reproductive value than any woman they’d marry.

Possibly why Hollywood marriages never last – male actors constantly working with young starlets

Also remember – no laws or statutory rape on Savanna so creepy old men have a defense-

ish

http://ourwayit.com/Multicultural/MPj04225810000[1].jpgSlide11

Long Hair

Health is essential for reproductive success

Her hair tells her health history – a “

hairstory

” if you will

Body conserves essential nutrients during crisis – diverts from hair which loses luster

Hair grows ~6in/yr so shoulder length hair gives 3-4 years of a woman’s health historySlide12

Also…

Young

women tend to be healthier

Young women tend to have longer hair

Ergo older women cut hair shorter to disguise their declining health

Try it – discreetly observe a woman’s hair and take nothing else into account guess her age, then discreetly observe her face and see if you were rightSlide13

Thin waist

Healthier, more fertile, easier to impregnate (fecundity) at earlier ages b/c of higher sex hormone count

Women already pregnant w/

another man’s child cannot maintain low waist to hip ratio

Ideal

etic

waist to hip is .7 in women and .9 in men36-24-36Slide14

Real world

connection

Corsets

Midriff baring shirts

Again, it’s a young woman’s game

Britney Spears didn’t cause young girls to want to bare their stomachs, she was a consequence of itSlide15

Large Breasts

Long a mystery – it has nothing to do w/ lactation – small & large breasts produce the same – so what is it?

(Marlowe, 1998) Large breasts are heavier and thus sag more with age thus it’s easier to ID a woman in an ancestral environment with no birth certificates, drivers licenses or calendarsSlide16

Or…

Competing theory – large breast + tight waist = higher fecundity due to high 17-B-estradiol and progesterone – more empirical research necessary (

Jasienka

et. al., 2004)Slide17

Real world connection

Waists, hips, and breasts are easily concealable if one dons clothing – especially in Northern, colder climates so what do men do to determine someone’s age?Slide18

Blonde

Women were dying their hair blonde during the Renaissance & the Roman Empire long before peroxide was discovered in 1812.

Initially thought it was due to blondes having light skin tone (which men prefer as pregnant women and women on the Pill have darker skin)

Problem with this line of reasoning?

Lightest skin tone is assoc. w/ red hairSlide19

Turns out…

Blonde hair is an indication of youth

Blonde is unique among hair colors – young girls with really light blonde hair rarely keep throughout life. It changes dramatically – usually light blonde girls become brunettes.

No coincidence it developed in Scandinavia/North Europe – it’s how you tell youth without seeing a bodySlide20

So why the dumb blonde stereotype?

What’s the avg. age of a light blonde in the ancestral environment of N. Eur. sans dye?

15?

What’s the avg. age of a brunette in N. Eur. at the same time?

35?

I’m not sure about you, but most 15 year olds I know are pretty dumb compared to the 35 year olds I know. Slide21

Blue Eyes

Why blue eyes? This one does seem arbitrary but it is universal & undeniable

Also the only trait of those mentioned above that applies to men and women

A mystery until undergrad Lee Ann

Turney

suggested that since pupils dilate when we see something we like and most pupils are dark it’s easier to gauge whether they like us in a blue eyed person. Slide22

Appeal of this theory

It explains why blue eyes are attractive to men and women. Both sexes need to gauge interest from a potential partner.

Also helps explain the stereotype that dark eyes are mysterious.Slide23

Ahhh

the irony…

As you have all been pointing out – the irony is that in the modern world none of this matters

Anyone can use the plethora of modern options to stay looking young – bras, makeup, surgery, wigs, dyes, contacts etc. so men can cognitively know women who look 15 aren’t but that doesn’t stop them from thinking they look hot

47

44

57

57

64

71Slide24

Why is Beauty NOT in the Eye of the Beholder or Skin Deep

It is innate – cross culturally there is great agreement on what faces are considered attractive (including obscure indigenous tribes) even when controlling for exposure to western media

Even 2-3 month old babies stare at what adults deem attractive faces longer than unattractive faces, they play with attractive dolls more and exhibit more comfort etc. when playing near strangers in attractive vs. unattractive weddingsSlide25

What features are “attractive” and why are they so – based on Evolution

Bilateral Symmetry

Affected by parasites, pathogens and pre-natal toxins – also thrown off due to mutations and inbreeding

Huge emphasis on facial symmetry in societies afflicted with parasitesSlide26

Facial Averageness

Faces closer to the population average are preferred over the extremes

Not as clear why – heterogeneity rather homogeneity of genes?

Two dif. copies of alleles lead to increased parasite resistance and less likelihood of deleterious genesSlide27

The face deemed most attractive to men and women world wideSlide28

Why is Prostitution the World’s Oldest Profession and Why is Porn a Billion Dollar Industry

Men have a high genetic incentive to have sex with as many women as possible (1000 sex partners yields ~30 births – 3% chance of pregnancy per sex act) whereas women don’t (sex with 1 man 100 times in 1 yr = 95% chance of pregnancy)

Prostitution exists to cater to men’s “needs” to have sex a lotSlide29

Soooo….porn?

Same concept as prostitution b/c men’s brains can’t really tell the difference b/w actual sex and porn.

Every naked and sexually receptive woman was a potential sex partner in the ancestral environment so now they get aroused by porn

Women’s brains work w/ the same limitations – hence they don’t consume porn as much as they don’t seek sexual variety the way men do and their brains don’t realize they can’t get pregnant form the naked, sexually receptive

pornstarSlide30

Gender Differences in Receptivity to Sexual Offers (Clark & Hatfield, 1989)

2 trials at FSU in ‘78 & ‘82 – average attractive male/female approach college students

Solicit them with 3 questions:

Date?

My place?

Sex?

Males: Yes – 50%, Yes – 69%, Yes ~ 72%

Female: Yes ~ 53% , Yes ~ 3%, Yes – 0%Slide31

Why Sean Connery &

C

atherine Zeta-

J

ones but not Brad Pitt & Lauren Bacall?Slide32

Why?

Two way street – men prefer younger women and women prefer older men

Greater reproductive value & fertility and greater security, resources, & status

Exception that proves the rule are teenage boys want older women – why?

For teens, older not younger women offer greater reproductive valueSlide33

He Said, She Said – Why do Men & Women Perceive the Same Situation DifferentlySlide34

Despite being the plot of a zillion romantic comedies – misinterpreting the same situation is common for men and women.

Study: 5 min conversation b/w male & female while an unseen male and female observe

Both males rated the female conversationalist as more promiscuous and seductive than either female didSlide35

Safeway Corporate Policy - FAIL

Look customers in the eye, smile and call them by name while thanking them when they are checking out

What went wrong?Slide36

Misreading Signs - Men

False Positive – you think she’s interested but she’s not

Cost? Turned down, laughed at, slapped?

False Negative – you think she’s not interested but she is

Cost? Missed sexual opportunity, failure to reproduce

http://www.buzzhunt.co.uk/wp-content/2012/05/I-love-cats.jpgSlide37

Misreading Signs - Women

False Positive – you think he’s interested but he’s not

Cost? Pregnant, abandoned, cheated on

False Negative – you think he’s not interested but he is

Cost? Missed opportunity for a committed romantic relationship

http://global3.memecdn.com/the-best-misread-ever_fb_880829.jpgSlide38

Therefore – Error Management Theory (

Haselton

& Buss, 2000)

It is men’s best interest to overestimate how interested women are and in women’s best interest to underestimate how interested men are

If a man misses a sexual opportunity then he may fail to pass on his genes. If a woman fails she can always have another

Conversely, if a man thinks she’s into him and fails he is embarrassed but not too put out. But, one mistake by a woman can burden her with a child and ruin her future male prospectsSlide39

Secondly…

Men’s overestimation of women’s sexual interest should not apply to their sisters as they need to protect them from unwanted male advances.

In other words, overestimation of interest is not blind.

Haselton

and Bass’ research confirms this as well

http://images4.fanpop.com/image/answers/2010000/2010289_1316684920816.7res_468_359.jpgSlide40

Other applications of attribution

Freeload or Not – If dependent on a group for survival etc. freeloading behaviors highly reduced

Something happens to you – is it random luck or a purposeful act? Far better to be wrong in thinking that it’s purposeful when it’s not. Origin of religion?

Paschal’s

Wager