Definitions
Anisogamy |
Differential gamete size as a result of disruptive selection e.g. human egg = big and full of resources, human sperm = small and speedy. |
WEIRD societies |
Western, Educated, Industrialised, Rich and Democratic people. Used for a lot of psychological and anthropological research, which is definitely controversial and unrepresentative of overall populations in the world. |
Mate choice - Bateman's principle (1948)
Males |
- undiscriminating eagerness. |
Females |
- discriminating passivity. |
Sex with the largest parental investment (usually the female) will become a limited resource to compete for. |
1. Males = higher variance in numbers of offsprings > females (higher reprod. success). |
2. Males = higher variance in sexual partners > females (higher mating success). |
3. Males = stronger rship b/w RS and MS > females. |
Challenges to Bateman's principle
Hrdy |
female primate research - females are not universally coy + choosy. |
There are advantages for females to have multiple male mates (polyandry) e.g. lower infanticide + higher fertilisation. |
Females = choosy if population contains high variability in male quality and/or lower paternal investment. |
Males = choosy if above is true for females. |
Both = choosy if encounter rate is high = parental investment = similar for both sexes, similar and high variation in mate quality in both sexes. |
Neither = choosy if low population density with low encounter rates. |
Brown et al. |
Sex roles are not universal, inter-population variation in reprod success b/w human males and females. |
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WEIRD societies show higher mating success in males > females, but most modern societies involve institutionalised monogamous rships (so similar mating success). |
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Rship b/w MS and RS varies b/w populations e.g. if paternal investment is high, then MS and RS = low. |
Anisogamy
Sexual reprod leads to the evolution of anisogamy and sex-specific reprod processes and associated strategies. |
Sex biases in behaviour: |
Mate choice, parental investment... |
Leads to competition b/w members of same sex (e.g. stag antlers only in males, so not useful for survival generally) and intersexual competition (e.g. peacocks = costly tails, so must be fit to survive w/ tail, compete for female attention). |
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Attractive traits
Sweat signals compatibility |
Hybrid vigour: sweat from someone w/ immune system most different to your own (i.e. variation) = most attractive. |
Beauty |
Cultural? Babies stare more at "attractive faces". Symmetry signals fitness (although symmetry is also selected for if only half the face is shown?). Averageness is preferred - familiarity = safer, no genetic anomalies. |
Testosterone |
High testosterone = major costs e.g. reduce immunity. Testosterone + male jaw -> sharp jaw signals high testosterone, therefore must be fit to survive with sharp jaw. |
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Evolutionary psychology (EP) and mate choice
Beh. = predetermined by genes. -> universality of behaviours because evolutionary behaviours are part of our shared human nature. |
Mate choice: Focus on sex differences, with recognition to a minimal role played by social learning. |
EP evaluates attractiveness of traits based on parental investment, reprod value and paternity certainty. |
Parental investment |
Effort + resources required to maintain offspring. |
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Leads to trade-off b/w mating + parenting efforts - looking after offsprings requires energy, so less energy is put towards mating. |
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Humans: males usually invest through provision of resources, so cues to attractiveness related to provision = attractive to females (e.g. wealth + status + ambition). |
Human Behavioural Ecology (HBE) and mate choice
Socioecological context impacts beh. + most valued traits in potential mate. |
Beh. = result of adaptations toward optimum reprod success. |
Beh. = flexible + adaptive w/ underlying genetic mechanisms. |
Mate choice - Cross-cultural study by Buss
37 cultures tested. |
Males |
Preferred young + attractive females. |
Females |
Valued financial resources - women = less economically independent? |
High cultural variation b/w sexes. |
e.g. Hadza hunter-gatherers: men aren't the only providers, so woman's work ethic was an important factor of attractiveness. |
Sex differences: |
Female attractiveness |
Full lips, sprightly gait, luscious hair and clear skin. |
Male attractiveness |
Wealth + status. |
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Study w/ attractiveness rating of males by females in nice v. average car = most attractive in nice car. |
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