alegerea partenerilor

Question 1

According to evolutionary theorists what did women evolve to do?

Answer 1

Women evolved to seek mates with good genes, a willingness and ability to supply resources and help with childcare.

Question 2

According to evolutionary theorists what did men evolve to do?

Answer 2

Men evolved to seek fertile mates with high reproductive potential, good genes and likely to be faithful (to avoid paternity uncertainty).

Question 3

What are age related preferences?

Answer 3

Females’ period of fertility: 13-45 years
Males’ period of fertility: 13-65 years

Therefore men should be fussier than women about age and physical features as an indication of youth and fertility.

Question 4

Age at marriage.

Answer 4

Buss found the actual mean age at marriage difference was 2.99 years with men being older.

Question 5

Why do women prefer older men?

Answer 5

Age is an indicator of status
Males mature sexually later than females

Question 6

Why do men prefer younger women?

Answer 6

Adult men will value younger mates because women have a narrower window of fertility and men are trying to maximise their reproductive potential.

Question 7

Why do teenage boys prefer older girls?

Answer 7

Adolescent males prefer women who are a little older because they have already entered the window of greatest fertility.

Question 8

What about same-sex relationships?

Answer 8

A study of heterosexual and homosexual men
No differences in age preferences for long-term or short-term relationships
Both groups preferred younger age-range for long-term relationships.

If men’s age-preference is related to fertility and reproductive potential - then you would expect heterosexual men to prefer younger women.

Question 9

Are there culturally universal criteria of attractiveness?

Answer 9

Evolutionary theory suggests we are attracted to indicators of reproductive value most of which will be common across all cultures.

• Facial attractiveness
• Body shape

Question 10

Body shape.

Answer 10

Overall body shape has been studies in terms of waste-to-hip ratio (WHR)

Ratio = waist/hips

Question 11

What is the WHR of a healthy pre-menopausal woman?

Answer 11

Between 0.67 and 0.8

Question 12

What WHR do other cultures prefer?

Answer 12

Indonesia, Afro-American and Caucasian men and women preferred 0.7

Matsigenka men of Peru (free from Western influence) preferred WHR of 0.9

Question 13

BMI OR WHR?

Answer 13

Swami and Tovee argued BMI, as an indicator of economic status, is much more important than WHR.
Dixon found that 3 remote tribes from papua new guinea responded more strongly to WHR than BMI

Question 14

What about WHR in males?

Answer 14

Low WHR is indicative of high oestrogen levels
High WHR indicates high levels of testosterone
Men with 0.9 WHR judged by women to look better, be healthier and more intelligent.

Question 15

Do human babies prefer attractive faces?

Answer 15

Babies 7 hours to a week old show preference for attractive faces.

Question 16

What did Langlois and Roggman find?

Answer 16

A face composed of 10 superimposed faces (10 merged faces together on computer) was judged to be more attractive than a face composed of 3.

Question 17

Are average features attractive?

Answer 17

Thornhill and Gangestad found that protein heterozygosity (an indication of genetic adaptability) is highest in individuals with average traits - average traits are a good indicator of genetic health

Rhodes found that women with average faces had fewer past health problems than women with more distinctive faces

Question 18

Are symmetrical features attractive?

Answer 18

Perret found that computer generated perfectly symmetrical faces were judged as less attractive than natural faces with a slight asymmetry.

Question 19

Are feminised female faces more attractive?

Answer 19

Feminised female faces are judged as more attractive
Feminine features correlated with the baby schema

Question 20

What is the baby schema?

Answer 20

Rounded head shape
Chubby cheeks and upturned nose
Large eyes
Large head to body ratio

These are signs of youth preferred by men as a sign of fertility

Question 21

Are feminised male faces more attractive?

Answer 21

Yes. Female preference for feminised male faces could be a mechanism for looking for long term male partners.

High testosterone could indicate social dominance, but also an unwillingness to invest in a relationship.

Question 22

When do women prefer masculine vs feminine male faces?

Answer 22

Women may find more masculine faces attractive when seeking short-term extra pair liaisons.

Women preferred more masculine faces during the fertile peak of their menstrual cycle, which is when they tend to be more interested in short-term sexual liaisons.

Non- pill users prefer feminine male faces in the long term.

Question 23

When have female been found to be more attractive?

Answer 23

Female faces rated as more attractive during the fertile phase of menstrual cycle vs the least fertile phase.