Men's Longterm Mating Preferences

Question 1

Define reproductive fitness

Answer 1

The ability to make babies

Question 2

What are some cues of reproductive fitness?

Answer 2

Youth and attractiveness

Question 3

Define reproductive value

Answer 3

The number of babies you are able to have given your current age

Question 4

What is the peak reproductive age for women?

Answer 4

17-20

Question 5

What is a quantitative representation of reproductive fitness?

Answer 5

The reproductive value

Question 6

What is fertility?

Answer 6

The number and quality of your offspring

Question 7

What is the peak fertility age for women?

Answer 7

~20

Question 8

What determines a woman’s peak fertility age?

Answer 8

When she ovulates the most and when she produces the greatest quality offspring

Question 9

What is youth an indicator of?

Answer 9

Reproductive value and fertility

Question 10

How old do men prefer their women to be? Are there any cross-cultural differences?

Answer 10

~2 years younger, Eastern countries prefer even younger

Question 11

How old do women prefer their men to be? Are there any cross-cultural differences?

Answer 11

~2 years older, Easter countries prefer even older

Question 12

What happens to homicide rates with an increased age gap between mates?

Answer 12

Homicide rates increase

Question 13

What happens to preferred female mate age as men age?

Answer 13

They will mate women that are much older or much younger than them

Question 14

Why don’t older men go for 25-year-olds?

Answer 14

They know they won’t get them, cultural norms

Question 15

What is the control hypothesis?

Answer 15

Men want younger wives because they are easier to control

Question 16

How was the control hypothesis disproven?

Answer 16

Teenage boys wanted women that were older than them by ~4-6 years

Question 17

What does facial beauty cue?

Answer 17

The ability to bear many healthy children

Question 18

What are three indicators of fertility?

Answer 18

Behaviour, facial beauty, physique

Question 19

How is facial beauty described in Western culture? What are the differences in Eastern cultures?

Answer 19

Smooth skin, an absence of sores, sound teeth, full lips, strong hair, there is no difference cross-culturally

Question 20

What do full lips indicate?

Answer 20

Estrogen

Question 21

What does healthy hair cue?

Answer 21

A record of good health

Question 22

What does light hair cue?

Answer 22

Youth

Question 23

What might poor hair quality signal?

Answer 23

Recently given birth

Question 24

What is the ideal skin presentation?

Answer 24

Light with rosy cheeks and unblemished

Question 25

What does pitted/scarred skin indicate?

Answer 25

Poor health, the presence of hormones unpreferred for reproduction and healing

Question 26

What does a feminine face look like?

Answer 26

Large eyes/lips, thin jaw, small nose, little distance between lips and chin

Question 27

What happens to female jaw width with age?

Answer 27

It widens

Question 28

What does facial femininity indicate?

Answer 28

An optimal sperm environment (pH) and increased likelihood of getting/staying pregnant

Question 29

What was the agreement rate when different races rated many faces of different races?

Answer 29

There was a 0.93 agreement rate

Question 30

What is the nucleus accumbens associated with?

Answer 30

Feelings of pleasure

Question 31

What happens to the NA when men look at pictures of beautiful women?

Answer 31

It is activated more (feelings of actual pleasure)

Question 32

What is reproductive success?

Answer 32

Actually having healthy babies

Question 33

What is the ideal body fat %?

Answer 33

It varies across time and place

Question 34

When might a greater %BF be preferred?

Answer 34

In cultures that experience famine

Question 35

What does %BF indicate in cultures where famine is unlikely?

Answer 35

Lower %BF indicates wealth

Question 36

What may %BF indicate in the extremes?

Answer 36

Reproductive success, anorexia = amenorrhea, obese = undesirable hormones

Question 37

What is the ideal waist: hip?

Answer 37

0.7

Question 38

What is the difference in SES preference for %BF?

Answer 38

Higher SES prefer lower %BF (BMI ~20) and lower SES prefer higher %BF (BMI ~25)

Question 39

What may waist: hip cue?

Answer 39

Age (pre-puberty-menopause differences), femininity, fertility (optimal hormone profile)

Question 40

What happens to estrogen when the waist: hip is 0.7?

Answer 40

It is greater by ~26%

Question 41

How is W: H typically determined?

Answer 41

By genetics and hormones

Question 42

How does W: H cue health?

Answer 42

It indicates a better sperm environment (pH), and the ability to get/stay pregnant

Question 43

What health correlates have been associated with a more masculine W: H?

Answer 43

Increased rates of death, CVD, HTN, cancer, depression, anxiety

Question 44

What was discovered with regards to W: H and attentional bias?

Answer 44

Men were more likely to look at women with a W: H of 0.7

Question 45

What was discovered with regards to line drawings and W: H and %BF?

Answer 45

The line drawings with a W: H of 0.7 were always preferred, there was a preference for normal body weight

Question 46

What was discovered when dummies with different W: H were rated on attractiveness by touch only?

Answer 46

The dummies with W: H of 0.7 were rated the most attractive

Question 47

When women underwent surgery that changes their W: H ratio to 0.7 but also increased their BMI, what were the results of their attractiveness ratings?

Answer 47

They increased

Question 48

What is the better indicator of men's long-term physique preferences?

Answer 48

W: H

Question 49

What are the benefits of commitment?

Answer 49

Sexual access, better quality mates, survival of the offspring, coalition building, increased paternity certainty

Question 50

What are the benefits of knowing when women are ovulating?

Answer 50

Increased likelihood of successful fertilization, efficient use of timing and resources

Question 51

What cues can be used to detect ovulation?

Answer 51

Skin (lightning/vascularization), body odour/composition, behavioural cues

Question 52

What happens to a woman's sexual desire when she is ovulating? How may this be noticeable to men?

Answer 52

It increases, she may flirt more

Question 53

What is the difference between mated and unmated women's sexual desires when they are ovulating?

Answer 53

Mated women's sexual desire increases more

Question 54

How does marriage increase the certainty of paternity?

Answer 54

Social traditions, ease of mate-guarding, ease of cheating detection, consistent sexual access

Question 55

What are character traits in women seen as the most and least desirable?

Answer 55

Faithfulness and unfaithfulness

Question 56

What type of cultures has a preference for chaste brides?

Answer 56

Male dominant ones

Question 57

Why is a chaste bride desirable?

Answer 57

There is 100% confidence she is not pregnant

Question 58

Why might increased gender equality decrease the amount a desire for a chaste bride?

Answer 58

Women are better able to dictate what the man can want

Question 59

What is a good indicator of fidelity?

Answer 59

Low premarital promiscuity

Question 60

Is promiscuity in a woman a turn on or turn off for men?

Answer 60

It is a turn off for LT mating but a turn on for ST mating

Question 61

What are the downsides of being cheated on?

Answer 61

Reproduction, inefficient use of resources, reputation

Question 62

What may be a sign that you are being cheated on?

Answer 62

Jealousy

Question 63

What were the results when men and women were asked if sexual or emotional cheating was more upsetting?

Answer 63

Men found sexual more upsetting and women found emotional more upsetting

Question 64

What were the physiological responses when men were asked to imagine their mate sexually or emotionally cheating on them?

Answer 64

There was a greater response to sexual cheating

Question 65

What happens to the sperm of men that are concerned about cheating?

Answer 65

They produce more blocker sperm/stronger and healthier sperm

Question 66

Who produced more sperm when ejaculating, men who spent more or less time with their women?

Answer 66

Men who spent less time with their woman

Question 67

What was the effect of showing men pictures of faithful and unfaithful women?

Answer 67

When men were shown unfaithful women they produced more sperm