Relationships: Sexual selection Flashcards
(7 cards)
what’s sexual selection?
an evolutionary explanation of partner preference. attributes or behaviours that increase reproductive success are passed on and may become exaggerated over succeeding generations of offspring.
what’s anisogamy?
the difference between male and female sex cells. sperm are small, mobile, created in large amounts and require little energy. eggs are large, static and require huge amounts of energy. a consequence of anisogamy is there is no shortage of fertile males but there is shortage of women. it also gives rise to two mating strategies.
what’s inter-sexual selection?
female’s preferred strategy - quality over quantity. females are more choosier as they put in more time, energy and investment. her strategy is to select a genetically fit partner who can provide resources. this leaves the males competing for the oppotunity to mate.
what’s intra-sexual selection?
male’s preferred strategy - quantity over quality. it’s the competition between males to mate with a female. the winner reproduces and gets to pass on his victorious genes to his offspring. anisogamy dictates the male’s optimum reproductive strategy to mate with as many females as possible because it requires little effort.
what’s research support for preferences related to anisogamy? (A03)
Buss carried a survey with 10,000 adults in 33 countries, asking questions about age and variety of attributes that are important in partner preferences. he found females placed greater value in resources-related characteristics. men valued reproductive capacity and preferred younger females. these findings reflect sex differences in mating strategies due to anisogamy. these findings can be applied to a range of vastly different cultures.
what’s the research support for inter-sexual selection? (A03)
Clark and Hatfield showed that female choosiness is a reality of heterosexual relationships. psychology students were sent around campus and approached other students, asking them ‘Would you go to bed with me tonight?’. 75% said yes while 0% females said yes. this supports evolutionary theory that females are choosier than males.
how does sexual selection ignore social and cultural influences? (A03)
partner preference has been influenced by changing social norms. womens greater role in the workplace means they are no longer dependent on men to provide for them. Bereczkei argued that this social change has consequences for women’s mating preferences which are no longer resource-oriented. Chang compared partner preference over 25 years and found it had changed corresponding with the social changes in that time. Mate preference is a combination of evolutionary and culture influence
