14i) What Do Men and Women Want

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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14i) What Do Men and Women Want