Transcript Women and Competition

Women and Competition
Amber Hager
Sara Busse
Haleigh Roach
Campbell, A. (2002). A Mind of Her Own:
The Evolutionary Psychology of Women.
Sexy Son Hypothesis
When a preference for a characteristic trait
becomes the trend it is called runaway sexual
selection
– “The more people buy a given commodity, the more
desirable it becomes to others.”
– Ex: Preference for tall men or colorful feathers
Variability is maintained through genetic
mutations
Campbell, A. (2002). A Mind of Her Own:
The Evolutionary Psychology of Women.
Good Genes Approach
Traits that females prefer are indications of the
genetic quality of the male
– Male ornaments advertise their fitness
– Ex: A Male Peacock’s tail feathers actually hinder
their survival, but good looking colors attract the
women and indicate good, healthy genes. It also
indicates that he can survive despite his
disadvantages.
Campbell, A. (2002). A Mind of Her Own:
The Evolutionary Psychology of Women.
The Red Queen Effect
By reproducing sexually, animals produce
offspring that vary in their resistance to different
strains of parasite
– Females select males for disease resistance and
with the fewest parasites
Campbell, A. (2002). A Mind of Her Own:
The Evolutionary Psychology of Women.
How Do Females Read Healthiness?
1) Quality of ornaments or helpful traits
2) Secondary sexual characteristics
– Sexually selected traits are more affected by poor health than other
neutral traits.
– Women don’t care about ankle size. Women won’t automatically get
rid of a mate if that is altered by parasites, but they will if sexual
traits are infected.
3) Symmetry
4) Physical evidence of quality: Maturity, Dominance, Gifts
Campbell, A. (2002). A Mind of Her Own:
The Evolutionary Psychology of Women.
What women want in short-term
relationships
Attractive Men
– Taller than average, inverted V shape, 0.9 waist to hip ratio
Symmetrical Men
– In both facial and body features
– These men are healthier (less anxiety, illness, & depression)
Dominant Men
– How men interact socially is important for attracting women
– They provide physical strength and signal future financial
prospects
Campbell, A. (2002). A Mind of Her Own:
The Evolutionary Psychology of Women.
Biparental Care
Internal fertilization usually means greater
female parental care
– Men offer support if can guarantee it is their child
– Women may have traded their desire for sexual
variety for the advantages of monogamy and
biparental care
The probability of a child surviving is greater with
the aid of both parents
Campbell, A. (2002). A Mind of Her Own:
The Evolutionary Psychology of Women.
Preferences
Females want older, well-educated providers
willing to make a long-term commitment to her
and her children
Males prefer young, fertile women
– Place more importance on attractiveness which is
closely bound with age
Campbell, A. (2002). A Mind of Her Own:
The Evolutionary Psychology of Women.
Mating Strategies
For Reproductive Success =
– Men: want to inseminate as many partners as
they can
– Women: must secure their resources first to
ensure the survival of their children
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Campbell, A. (2002). A Mind of Her Own:
The Evolutionary Psychology of Women.
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Long-term vs. Short-term Relationships
Long Term:
1) Women are more choosy
2) Prefer to wait longer before having sex with a man
3) Value resources and good parenting qualities in men
Short Term:
1) Women enter short-term relationships when there are too few men
2) Her upbringing has signaled that men are unreliable investors in her
offspring
3) Women want attractive men with lots of symmetry
…basically they just want the best genes!
Campbell, A. (2002). A Mind of Her Own:
The Evolutionary Psychology of Women.
Dawkins (1989):
Frequency-Dependent Selection
As unrestricted females become more common, the
male’s optimal strategy changes from monogamy to
providing nothing more than genes
As the number of restricted females increases, noncommitted males will find it increasingly hard to find
partners and their pay-off will be ZERO!
“Cads offer their genes as the prize while
dads offer long-term resources”
Ex. Mimicry in moths
Campbell, A. (2002). A Mind of Her Own:
The Evolutionary Psychology of Women.
Women’s Access to Resources
Eagly & Wood (1999)
– As women become more empowered they place less
importance on the value of a prospective partners
earnings
Draper & Harpending (1982)
– The absence of a consistent male figure in the home
signals to the girl that paternal investment is rare and
that she is unlikely to secure a mate (i.e., girls with no
dads go for the cads)
Campbell, A. (2002). A Mind of Her Own:
The Evolutionary Psychology of Women.
Appearance Throughout History
Make-Up
-88% percent of American women over the age of 18 wear make-up
-Meant to mimic youth
Surgery
-From cosmetic surgery, 89% is performed on women
-Women conform to male preferences (I.e., breast implants)
Cashdan (1998):
-Found that while men competed with other men in the arena of sports,
women competed with one another in the currency of looking attractive
Campbell, A. (2002). A Mind of Her Own:
The Evolutionary Psychology of Women.
“Move, Bitch Get Out the Way”
Ingredients in aggressive sexual selection
1) Age
– Women are most attractive to men between 15 and 25
years old…after that it’s all down hill
– Menopause is an issue; Time is a factor
2) Number of available partners
– Competition becomes intense when there are too many
women and not enough men
Campbell, A. (2002). A Mind of Her Own:
The Evolutionary Psychology of Women.
Early-Maturing Girls are a Plus
Early Maturing girls have an advantage in mate
selection.
– Larger selection of men
– More time to reproduce than their peers
These girls are not liked by other girls because
they get more attention from men and have
better opportunities to find a good mate.
Campbell, A. (2002). A Mind of Her Own:
The Evolutionary Psychology of Women.
Aggression
Aggression tends to be heritable, but the
expression of it depends on the environment.
– Many aggressive girls come from dysfunctional homes
where they learned to solve problems by fighting.
Female-Female attacks are characterized by:
– Women ages 15-24 years old
– Between friends and acquaintances
– Using hand-to-hand contact (pushing, shoving,
grabbing, slapping, punching)
Campbell, A. (2002). A Mind of Her Own:
The Evolutionary Psychology of Women.
What Are They Fighting About?
Mating Issues and Sexual Reputation
Research indicates that the most common
reasons for fighting were:
– Attacking a girl’s personal integrity
– Protecting a friend or relative’s integrity
– Jealousy about a romantic partner
Campbell, A. (2002). A Mind of Her Own:
The Evolutionary Psychology of Women.
Three Motives Likely to Spark
Violence
1) Sexual Reputation
“A girl being called a slag is the same as a
– For a man to commit long-term
he needs to be reassured of the
woman’s fidelity, so he is not
aimlessly wasting his resources.
boy that’s been called a chicken…”
– Girls judge sexual reputation
harsher than males and will avoid
being friends with someone
considered “loose” for fear of
reputation by association.
“The most desirable women can pick &
choose--they don’t need to resort to the
‘cheap trick’ of sex. A woman who is
discriminating in her choice of partners
signals that she believes she is worth
waiting for.”
– A man can prove he is not a chicken, but a
woman cannot prove she is not “loose”
– This forces her to use violence to minimize
the threat of a negative reputation.
Campbell, A. (2002). A Mind of Her Own:
The Evolutionary Psychology of Women.
Three Motives Likely to Spark Violence
2) Competition
– Female dependence on men for resources drives
competition among women. The more the women
need the men, the more injury that is inflicted.
– This competition comes from the lack of good,
resourceful men and a woman’s need to access
these resources.
Campbell, A. (2002). A Mind of Her Own:
The Evolutionary Psychology of Women.
Three Motives Likely to Spark Violence
3) Jealousy
– Once a woman attracts a male, she must keep him
away from other women.
– Mutual dependence of economic support by one
man causes a fight for resources.
– “Spillover Effect”: Girls believe they have a right to a
man if they are simply attracted to him and they will
continue to fight for him once the relationship has
ended.
Campbell, A. (2002). A Mind of Her Own:
The Evolutionary Psychology of Women.
Aren’t the Men Just As Guilty?
These aggressive attacks are only aimed at the
women, but men are equally responsible.
– Men are seen as weak to the temptation of sex and they are
not expected to say no if offered the opportunity. (The
Double Standard)
– A woman knows where a man is weak. She knows how to
protect her interests if someone tries to mess with her man
– Girls go after each other because they know women should
know better than to mess with someone else’s mate
Campbell, A. (2002). A Mind of Her Own:
The Evolutionary Psychology of Women.
Critical Review
Strengths/ Agreements
No matter how many resources
women have they still seek males
with good resources.
Women base their sexual
preferences on cues from the
environment.
A man’s desirability in the past
increases his future reproductive
success, while a woman’s makes
her seem desperate.
Weaknesses/ Disagreements
An absent father does not mean
that you are never going to find
a long-term mate.
Women may not use as much
physical aggression as the
chapter implies.
What are the implications for
women waiting to have families
till they are older?
Campbell, A. (2002). A Mind of Her Own:
The Evolutionary Psychology of Women.
Any
Questions
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Campbell, A. (2002). A Mind of Her Own:
The Evolutionary Psychology of Women.