Men`s Long Term Mating Strategies
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Transcript Men`s Long Term Mating Strategies
Men’s Long Term Mating
Strategies
CHAPTER 5
Why do Men Commit?
Because women demand it…
Access to mates
Increase in paternity certainty
Increase in offspring survival
Increase in status and alliances
Assessing Reproductive Value
Concealed ovulation- shifts focus from estrus
detection to reproductive value detection
Reproductive Value: the average expected number of
children a person is likely to have in the future
Fertility: actual reproductive performance- how
many viable offspring are produced?
Preference for Youth
“moko dude” females are preferred worldwide
Men prefer women about 2.5 years younger
With increasing age, the age preference gap grows
Adolescent boys prefer slightly older females
Helps to examine alternative explanations for preferences
Older men prefer women in mid 30’s- beyond
maximum fertility
Compromise between desire and reality?
Compatibility?
Evolved Standards of Beauty
“Beauty is in the adaptations of the beholder”
Don Symons
Physical cues
Hair quality
Skin quality
Facial femininity
Facial symmetry
Facial averageness
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hibyAJOSW8U
What Makes a Face Feminine?
Averaging Faces
Beauty Continued
Standards emerge in infancy
Standards are consistent across cultures
Pleasure centers of the brain are activated by
beautiful faces- they are rewarding
Body Preferences: Waist to Hip Ratio
Waist-to-hip ratio of .70
Correlates strongly with fertility
Excellent indicator of health
Correlates with cognitive function
New studies find it predicts cognitive
development in children
Body Preferences: Slim or Plump?
Most culturally variable body preference
More a function of resource scarcity
In the US, women’s ideals are
thinner than men’s
Sex Differences and Cultural Evolution
Consistently over time and culture, physical
attractiveness is more important to men
The importance placed on attractiveness has
increased over the past century
Do Men Know When Women are Ovulating?
Men have much to gain from detecting ovulation
Channeling efforts and resources
Mate guarding
Evidence that men may detect ovulation
Facial changes- rosier and lighter
Decrease in waist-to-hip ratio
Ovulating women are touched more in bars
Men prefer scent of ovulating women
Facial attractiveness increases
Can men detect it or are they just responding to women’s
behaviors?
The Problem of Paternity Uncertainty
The challenge of concealed ovulation
Marriage as one solution
Desire for premarital chastity
Depends largely on status of women
in a society
Quest for postmarital fidelity
Role of sexual experience and
promiscuity
Context Effects on Men’s Mating Behaviors
Men with resources are most able to actualize their
preferences
As income goes up, men seek younger partners
Exposure to attractive women lowers men’s
perceptions of and commitment to their partners
Spiraling competition- eating disorders and plastic surgery
The Role of Testosterone
T plays a key role in mating effort and intrasexual
competition
T is hard on the immune system
Higher T is associated with lower parenting effort
T levels drop when a man is mated long term, but
less if he is still pursuing other mating opportunities
T levels drop when men have children- even after
they hold babies
Men’s Behaviors: Personal Ads
Men respond to women’s ads more than women
respond to men’s
Younger women receive more responses than older
women
Mentioning physical attractiveness produces more
responses, especially by men
Men’s Behavior: Marriage and Competition
Men are older at marriage: 3 years, 5 years, and 8
years (first, second, third marriages)
Women respond to men’s preferences
Makeup and hair enhancements
Dieting and exercise (and plastic surgery)
Women are more likely to lie about age
Female derogation tactics
Appearance
Fidelity
Eating disorders: a byproduct of sexual competition?