Transcript Men`s Long-Term Mating Strategies

Chapter 5
Men’s Long-Term Mating Strategies
Claire Brabec
Fall 2006
Chapter Overview
• Theoretical background on men’s mate preferences
– Commitment and marriage
– Assessing a woman’s fertility and reproductive value
• Content of men’s mate preferences
– Youth
– Evolved standards of beauty
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Emerge early in life
Consistent across cultures
Average and symmetrical faces more attractive
Brain centers for beauty
Sex differences in the importance of appearance
– Body fat and WHR
– Ovulating women
– Solutions to paternity uncertainty
Chapter Overview
• Effects of context on men’s mating behavior
– Men in positions of power
• Why do they get younger women?
– Viewing attractive models
• Advertisements
• Real women?
• Effects of men’s preferences on actual mating behavior
– Response to personal ads
– Age preferences and marital decisions
• Preferred age of wife decreases in later marriages
– Women’s attraction tactics
• Enhancing appearance
• Derogating a rival’s appearance
• Derogating a rival’s sexual fidelity
Why do men marry?
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Women require reliable signs
of commitment before
consenting to sex
Men can attract more
appealing women if they
demonstrate that they are
willing to commit
Increased paternal certainty
Increased survival of children
Increased reproductive success
of children through paternal
investment
An Important Concept
For Understanding Chapter 5
** In order to be reproductively successful,
men needed to develop preferences for
qualities that signify a woman’s
reproductive value **
Reproductive Value
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The number
of children a
person of a
given age
and sex is
likely to have
in the future
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Expected
future
reproduction
Fertility
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A person’s actual reproductive
performance, measured by the number
of viable offspring s/he produces
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Men can father
children throughout
their lives
Fertility peaks at
mid-twenties
for women
Problem: Concealed Ovulation
- The reproductive
value of human
women cannot be
viewed directly
by men.
- Possible theories
for why concealed
ovulation evolved.
The Content of Men’s
Mate Preferences
** It is important to remember that in a longterm mating context, the differences
between men’s and women’s preferences
decrease. Most of the differences observed
between men and women occur in a shortterm mating context, which Kristin will
discuss next week.
YOUTH
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Age is probably the cue that is utilized most
by men when choosing a mate.
Youth is highly linked to fertility, because a
woman’s reproductive value steadily
declines after she reaches age 20.
Therefore, younger women are usually
more preferable than older women (in
terms of men choosing a long-term mate).
Male Age Preferences for
Short-Term and Long-Term Mating
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Article Discussion: Young et al.
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Do men prefer fertility (short-term mating) or future
reproductive value (long-term mating)?
Results and support of presented theory: Why
was the desired age for a brief sexual encounter
higher than that for the age of marriage?
Do you think sexual fantasies actually “release”
men from social constraints of age-appropriate
sexual partners?
Waist-to-Hip Ratio
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Most variable standard of beauty
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Cultural influence?
Before puberty, the waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) for
both sexes is between .85 - .95.
After puberty, men’s WHR stays the same, while
women’s decreases. A healthy woman has a
WHR of .67 - .80.
Men have developed a preference for women
with a lower WHR because it is one cue of
fertility.
Waist-to-Hip
Ratio
And Body
Mass Index
- Correlation
- Hourglass shape
- Gynoid vs.
Android fat
deposits
- BMI for societies
with less nutrition
- WHR for societies
with more nutrition
Differences in Men’s Preferred
Female Body Shape
Article Discussion: Fundamentals Human
Mating Strategies: Men’s Strategies
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Bridgeman (p.104-111)
Men’s Strategies:
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Beauty and Fertility
Virginity and Disease
Investment in children
Postmarriage Strategies
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Similarities and differences with book
Summary of main points so far
Standards of Beauty
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Beauty or physical attractiveness is another
cue men might use in order to assess a
woman’s reproductive value
Men tend to rate physical attractiveness as
more important than women do. This
seems to be “the product of a species-wide
psychological mechanism that transcends
cultural variation” (Buss, p.149).
Standards of Beauty
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Cleanliness and freedom from disease are universally attractive
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Hair
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Facial Symmetry
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Longer hair indicates good
health
Research indicates people
prefer symmetrical faces
over asymmetrical faces
Skin
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Clear, smooth skin is a sign of
good health
TLC’s What Not To Wear :
Meet Melissa
Melissa, an N.Y.P.D. officer,
chooses to dress just like
her twin when she's not
walking her beat; problem
is, her twin is her brother.
She hides herself in
oversized men's clothes and
wears pants that are at least
two sizes too big for her.
Melissa has a huge
collection of lumpy sweaters,
and her hairstyle mostly
consists of a ponytail.
TLC’s What Not To Wear :
Meet the new Melissa
Stacy and Clinton lay down the law with Melissa
and make her get rid of her oversized clothes.
They instruct Melissa to wear women's clothing
and to dress for success. Stacy and Clinton
encourage Melissa to use colors different from
her skin tone and to stay away from horizontal
stripes on sweaters and shirts.
Stylist Nick Arrojo keeps Melissa in the blonde
family but adds fine highlights to create
dimension. Then he uses a razor to cut layers,
giving Melissa a softer, more manageable style.
Since Melissa's job requires her to always be on
the run, Carmindy gives her tips on how to apply
makeup quickly, including using lip gloss with a
tint of color so that she is always shining and
looking her best.
Hair Process:
• Blonde highlights in the hair create more dimension in hair color and soften
out the natural virgin hair.
• Razor cut into a shorter, fringier layer cut to get away from helmet effect. This
technique gives the hair more body and wispiness, and will effect a softer,
carefree, and feminine look.
• Use KMS Molding Paste on the ends of the hair to give definition to the ends.
• For added finish, apply a slight spritz of non-aerosol spray to hold and control
the hair.
Makeup Process:
• Even out skin tone with Cinema Secrets foundation.
• Apply Mac blot powder.
• Brush Body & Soul eye shadow in Champagne across entire eyelid.
• Apply Mac Mulch eye shadow halfway across outside part of eyelid.
• Curl eyelashes with "Japonesque" curler.
• Apply Maybelline's Great Lash mascara in black on top and bottom.
• Use Giorgio Armani lipgloss #7.
• Apply Benefit Benetint on apples.
Context Effects on Men’s
Mating Behavior
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Men in positions of power
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Why do they get younger women?
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Resources / Income
Status / Occupation
Discussion: Why are these men so appealing to younger women, given the fact that they
may have not shown many signs of commitment to other women?
Context Effect on Men’s Mating
Behavior: Women In Advertisements
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Viewing attractive models
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Advertisements exploit men’s preferences in
order to be more successful in sales
Real women?
Can models make men unhappy with actual
partner?
Can models cause unhealthy competition
between women?
Women In Advertisements
“So what men see are
the most attractive women
in the most attractive pose
with the most attractive
background in the most
attractive airbrushed
photograph.” (Buss, p.157).
Women in Advertisements
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Buss asserts, “These images [of women in advertisements]
do not represent real women in our actual social
environment…As a consequence of viewing such images [of
women] men may become dissatisfied with, and less
committed to, their mates. The potential damage inflicted by
these images affects women as well because they create a
spiraling and unhealthy competition with other women”
(p.157).
Any contradiction there?
Why do you think “unhealthy competition” happens?
Women in Advertisements
Article Discussion: Applying
Evolutionary Psychology in
Understanding the Representation
of Women in Advertisements
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G. Saad. (2004)
 Agree or disagree?
 Are advertisers just trying to
exploit men’s preferences (Buss, p.157)
or is there something else going on?
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Context Effects on Men’s Mating
Behavior: Women’s Tactics
“Men are infinitely suggestible. Never plant anything
in their minds about the beauty of other women.
But be sure never to claim another woman is ugly
either, for he will not agree with you, and by
suggesting plainness you provoke him to her
defense. It is a strategic error to mention other
women at all.”
- Le Mariage, p. 307
Women’s Tactics For
Attracting Men
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Enhancing appearance (deception?)
Derogating a rival’s appearance
Derogating a rival’s sexual fidelity
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Class discussion: What are some examples of these
tactics? How aware are we as a culture that these
types of phenomena occur?
Men’s Solutions to Paternity
Uncertainty
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In choosing a marriage partner, men need to
recognize fidelity cues
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Women never value chastity more than men
Best predictor of extramarital sex is premarital sexual
permissiveness
Unfaithfulness is the worst thing a women can do to her
husband (in an evolutionary psychological sense)
Women’s sexual desires peak around ovulation
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Marriage a way to maximize reproductive value while also
keeping spouse monogamous
Fidelity vs. Fertility
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Discussion Topic: Do you think men prefer
fidelity or fertility more in women?
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Support of one or other from evolutionary
psychological theory
Support from in other areas
Real-life application – examples?
Interesting Issues Brought Up
In Chapter 5
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Neuropsychological basis of beauty
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Men in Positions of Power
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fMRI: Reward centers in men’s brain activated when
they looked at beautiful women
Are movie and rock stars the modern “kings” because
they attract and date younger women?
Swedish women
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Why does the independence of Swedish women cause
Swedish men to not value chastity as much as men in
other cultures?
Actual Mating Behavior
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Marital decisions
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1st marriage = man is 3 yrs. older
2nd marriage = man is 5 yrs. older
3rd marriage = man is 8 yrs. Older
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Is this good evidence to support the idea that as
men get older, they prefer younger women?
Women’s attraction tactics
Personal ads
Personal Advertisements
What did you find?
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Real-world application: Personal
advertisements
Scavenger Hunt: We are going to go to the
library to find some pictures of men and
women and/or more personal ads in order
to see if this type of evidence actually
supports evolutionary psychological theory.
Refereneces
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Barrett, L., Dunbar, R., & Lycett, J. (2002). Human evolutionary
psychology. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Bridgeman. Male strategies. 104-111.
Buss, D. (2004). Evolutionary psychology: The new science of the mind.
Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.
Hoffnung, M. (2005). Review.
Saad, G. (2004). Applying evolutionary psychology in understanding the
representation of women in advertisements. Psychology & Marketing, 21,
593-612.
Schmitt, D. P. (2005). Fundamentals of human mating strategies. In Buss,
D. (Ed.), The handbook of evolutionary psychology (pp. 258-291).
Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Singh, D. (2006). An evolutionary theory of female physical attractiveness.
Eye on Psi Chi, 10, 18-31.
Young, J. A., Critelli, J. W., & Keith, K. W. (2005). Male age preferences for
short-term and long-term mating. Sexualities, Evolution & Gender, 7, 83-93.