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8/3/2019 14i) What Do Men and Women Want
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Diana, Jonathan and Keith
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Answer to the question:
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Outline Introduction, Buss (1989)
Facial Sexual Dimorphism
Facial Attractiveness
Symmetry Body Shape
Non-Visual Cues
Odour, MHC
Vocalization
A General Critique
Future Directions
Conclusion
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Introduction Traditional studies:
DIRECT BENEFITS
number of offspring
resources
Recent studies: INDIRECT BENEFITS
putative good genes
body shape/size
symmetrical features
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Buss (1989) First study to examine human mate preferences across
cultures on a broad scale (p. 13)
37 cultures tested, drawn from 33 countries located on6 continents and 5 islands (total N = 10,047)
5 predictions about sex differences in human matepreferences based on evol. conceptions (good financialprospect, ambition and industriousness, age differences preferred,physical attractiveness, chastity)
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EXPECTED
Males should prefer attributes inpotential mates associated withreproductive value or fertility
Physical appearance should beless central to femalepreferences than male mate
preferences Females should value attributes
that signal possesion/likelyacquisition of resources
FOUND
females were found to value cues toRESOURCE ACQUISITION (in 36/37),females valued good financial prospect ina potential mate more highly than malesdid
ambition and industriousness :never rated
low, 34/37 (92%) were in the predicteddirection with females expressing a highervaluation than males, moderate supportfound, not universal (zulu-example)
Physical attractiveness: sex. Diff. in all 37samples, males value physical attractivenessin potential mates more than females do
Age differences preferred: in each of the 37samples, males prefer mates who areyounger validity check
Chastity: great cross-cultural variety, onlymoderate support
- Critised in many ways
- European bias
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Facial Sexual DimorphismPerret et al., 1998Average Caucasian and Japanese male/female faces
Faces were manipulated to different degrees ofmasculinity and femininity
Subjects from both populations rated all faces forattractiveness
Right hand: masculinisedLeft hand: feminized
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Facial Sexual Dimorphism Subjects preferred feminized to
average or masculinised shapes of amale face
No exaggerated male traitspreferred because of neg.attributions (coldness & dishonesty)and perceived dominance increased
Females may adopt different
strategies, giving preference tocharacteristics that are associatedwith dominance and an effectiveimmune system, or tocharacteristics that are related topaternal investment
Subjects preferred feminized toaverage shapes of female face
Oestrogen-dependentcharacteristics in females health,reproductive fitness, are foundattractive
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Facial Sexual Dimorphism This study shows cross-population consistency in
judgements of attractiveness (between-pop.)
A greater degree of feminization was preferred forfaces from the subjects own pop. than for faces from adifferent population LEARNING?
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Facial Sexual Dimorphism Womens preference for masculinity are increased when
women either have a partner (extra-pair copulation) or areconsidering a short-term relationship
Adaptive, because1.) maximise parental investment & cooperation in long-term
relationships by biasing choices towards feminine faced males
2.) maximize possible good-gene benefits of short-term or extra-
pair partners by biasing choices towards masculine facedmales
Not the same effects in oral contraceptive takers
Changing preferences for masculinity in male faceshighlights the importance of flexibility in womens matechoice (Little et al., 2002)
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Facial AttractivenessPerret et al., 1994
Composite average pictures (d), composite attractive
(e) and exaggerated attractive features (f) Caucasian and Japanese samples and subjects
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Facial Attractiveness: Attractiveness
is not Averageness Subjects preferred the face with
exaggerated attractive traits
The attractive face was preferredover the average face
Consistent cross-culturally
(f) > (e) > (d)
similar findings for male faces
No difference between attractive
face and exaggerated face Only with Caucasians
(f) and (e) > (d)
Attractive facial features may signal sex. maturity and fertility,
emotional expressiveness or a cuteness generalized from parental
protectiveness towards young.
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Body Shape preferences Male preference: Female preference
Singh (1995 etc.) suggests
Waist Hip ratio (WHR) as ameasure which correlateswell with male choiceTove et al (2002) suggestthat BMI is a better indicator
BMI as a factor is likely to bemore culturally variable: inhunter gatherer socitieshigher BMI may be a goodpredictor of fertitilty, whereasin an western society theconverse may be true
Swami and Tove find that in
Urban populations Chest towaist ratio is a very goodindicator of female preference.In rural Malaysia BMI is a stronginfluence with females preferringhigher BMI, associated with
calorie intake/wealth.
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Odour and attractivenessfrom Rikowski and Grammer, 1999
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Problems Body shape research (for example) illustrates a
problem: We all have a folk psychology: we knowwhat we like. This knowledge may be culturallybiased. Researchers may incorporate these beliefs
or attempt to isolate them.
Singh: WHR used line drawings.
Human societies are complex, approaches are oftenreductionist
Some implicit assumptions still seem to remain, atleast partially accepted, even after they have been
challenged
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Resources Older models assume that females benefit from man the hunter.
This assumption seems to be at least partially maintained in muchresearch. It should at least be balanced my a potential resource
benefit to the male. Marlowe(2007) suggests that males may seek unreliable but
valuable food resources which may be difficult and dangerous toacquire. Females seek reliable sources.
This pattern would benefit both sides in resources. The support of a
pair-bonded female as a safety net in case of failure in the hunt orinjury seems a major positive.
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Future Directions Incorporate laboratory real world,
actual mate choice?
Try to test the assumption that more
feminine faces greater parental care.
Try to test further whether masculinity
does = good genes.
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Conclusion Males consistently want
more attractive,reproductive valuable
and fertilewomen
Mate choice can varywith context (i.e.masculine faces for
short-term, femininefaces of long-termrelationships), cycle,environment
Parental investmentversus good genes
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So, bare in mind:
Individuals lacking favoured characteristicstend to become no ones ancestor
(Thornhill & Thorhill, 1983; taken from Buss, 1989)
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Additional references Martin J Tove, Peter J B Hancock, Sasan Mahmoodi, Ben R R Singleton, and Piers L Cornelissen (2002) Human
female attractiveness: waveform analysis of body shape .Proc Biol Sci. 2002 November 7; 269(1506): 22052213.
Viren Swami , and Martin J. Tove (2005) Male physical attractiveness in Britain and Malaysia: A cross-culturalstudy Body Image Volume 2, Issue 4,December 2005, Pages 383-393
Devendra Singh and Robert K. YoungB(1995) Body weight, waist-to-hip ratio, breasts, and hips: Role in judgmentsof female attractiveness and desirability for relationships Ethology and Sociobiology Volume 16, Issue 6,November 1995, Pages 483-507
Marlowe, Frank W. 2007 Hunting and Gathering: The Human Sexual Division of Foraging Labor. Cross-CulturalResearch 41(2): 170-195
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