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Flashcards in Evolutionary Explanation For Partner Preference Deck (13)
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1
Q

What is meant by sexual selection

A

The reproductive success

2
Q

What is evolution

A
  • humans have adapted to the environment over millions of years
  • humans have evolved so our behaviours have evolved
  • a behaviour is adaptive if it leads to increased survival and reproduction of and organism
3
Q

What is anisogamy

A

The differences between male and female sex gametes

  • males produce small gametes but in large amounts
  • females produce larger gametes but in smaller amounts
4
Q

What are females more chosy then males

A
  • females invest more in the production, because the egg is more costly to produce and they have to nourish their child for 9 months which means they can only have a limited number
  • where as males can have as many offspring as they want
5
Q

What is intrasexusl selection

A
  • females have the most investment so she has to be chosy
  • she devises a set of criteria that he has to meet
  • she does this on reproductiveness, looks and resources
  • modern time resources would be Money and status
  • pays for women to be chosy because she selects genetically fit partner and makes the best offspring that she can
  • quality over quantity
6
Q

What is the runaway process

A

This is when an adaptive feature will be selected for when females choose a sexual mate. This may result in a feature becoming exaggerated over many generations

7
Q

What is intrasexual selection

A
  • strategy of the males
  • they have to compete with other males for the opportunity to mate with females
  • refers to the competition
  • the winner gets to reproduce and pass on his genes to his offspring
  • this strategy has given obvious differences between males and females
8
Q

Impact of inter-sexual selection

A
  • preferences of both sexes determine attributes that are likely to be passed, over time this leads to taller and taller men
9
Q

Intra-sexual selection impacts

A
  • leads to pressure to act a certain way
  • aggression- most aggressive men are more likely to reproduce therefore this trait is likely to pass on
  • male preference for younger women- sign of fertility
10
Q

What is the baby face hypothesis

A
  • an alternative theory
  • research suggests that men universally seek characteristics in a mate that signify fertility
  • this theory suggests there are other traits why there are universal standards of beauty
  • ‘baby face’
  • adults may have evolved a preference for baby features because this ensures that we care for our young
11
Q

Main evaluation key study

A
  • Clark and Hatfield
  • one male actor and one female actor went round campus and said ‘ they were very attractive and would they sleep with them to ight’
  • 75% males said yes
  • 0% women said no
  • males have evolved mechanisms to increase their reproductive success, including a preference for sexual variety
  • supports inter sexual
12
Q

General evaluation

A

:( ignores social and cultural influences
- influenced by rapidly changing social norms of sexual behaviour
- these develop much faster than evolutionary timescales
- suggests come about due to cultural factors such as contraception
- women have a greater role in the workplace so no longer dependent on men
:( doesn’t take into account why there are all sorts of different relationships such as homosexual

13
Q

Issues and debates

What type of gender bias is this

A
  • alpha

- it exaggerates the differences between males and females choices when choosing a partner