PSYCH 3AC3 - Post-Midterm

The Evolutionary Perspective on Sexuality

The genes we are attracted to are what are adaptive to the context & reproductively successful, and therefore, those genes continue into next generations

Parental Investment Theory (Trivers, 1972)

Men's & women's different investment in raising offspring influences their mating strategies

Parental Investment Theory (Trivers, 1972): Men's investment

Men have a lower parental investment (ejaculate many sperm, does not take lots of time or resources, and not as rare), therefore, they can find many mating opportunities to make lots of offspring

Parental Investment Theory (Trivers, 1972): Women's investment

Women have higher parental investment (ovulation and pregnancy take lots of time & resources and are rare); therefore, they need to be more choosy when selecting a mate to ensure better reproductive success and resources

The Social Psychology Perspective on Sexuality

We like rewarding things and will be around people we find rewarding.

Ultimate vs Proximate Causation of Sexuality

Ultimate: evolutionary - preferences reflect what is best for reproductive success; before and in the future

Proximate: social psychology - preferences reflect what we find rewarding here and now

Women's puzzles in long-term mating preferences

1. Can he invest

2. Will he invest

3. Can he protect me/our offspring?

4. Does he have good genes

Women's Long-Term Mate Preferences: Resources

A mate high in resources will lead to offspring being more successful

What is an evolved psychological mechanism?

Hard wired and genetically produced mechanisms that were evolved from ancestors which aid in survival and reproductive success

What do women across cultures prefer in men as potential marriage partners (Buss, 1989)?

Economic resources, social status, and an older man (which symbolizes stability)

Findings in Kenrick (1990): Minimum acceptable earning capacity

In long-term relationships, women want men who earn above the 50th percentile

Findings from both of Townsend & Levy's (1990 a&b) studies on attraction, resource capacity and status; & willingness to go on dates

- Women were more willing to date someone long-term when they had more resources and higher social status, but short-term did not matter as much.

- Women were more unwilling to hang out with the low SES guy on all levels (short-term & long-term)

Findings of DeWall & Maner (2008) Apparent SES & Attentional Bias study: eye-tracker goggles & social class

Women spent more time fixating on high-status men than low-status men; overestimated number of high-status men that appeared, simply because the women noticed them more.

What evidence supports that men know that women look for high resources?

Iredale et al (2008) found that when men won money in a game, they were less generous than women in donating that money, unless being observed by women (show-off effect). Men who rated themselves as less attractive donated more than those who rated themselves as highly attractive.

Sociocultural theory on women prioritizing resources

Evolution created division of labour so that women cannot effectively get resources and have to rely on men

Structural powerlessness hypothesis

Where women live in cultures that support men's resources & denies women to obtain the resources - however, if women had access to resources, the preferences for resources from men would decrease

In a longitudinal study asking if ambition vs housekeeper was more important in men & women for over 70 years, what was the result?

There was a change in preferences in industriousness & housekeepers reflecting the change in gender roles, with housekeeping in women becoming less important than ambitiousness

Evidence supporting evolutionary argument for women prioritizing resources in long term mates

- Buss (1989): the more women earned, the more men earned, & men always earned more

- Wiederman & Allegier (1992): women who earned more expected their partner to earn more

- Gil-Burmann et al. (2002): Women with more resources specified they wanted more

- Khallad (2005): women in Jordan had similar findings

True or false: Women in more gender-equal countries, and in recent times may place less importance on resources

True

Findings of Moore et al (2010): where participants of high and low financial independence answer on if physical attractiveness is more important than good financial prospects

Women who were high in financial independent preferred physical attractiveness over resources.

Findings of Zentner & Mitura (2012): Mate preferences & gender gap index study

The more gender-equal a country is, the less sex differences there are in mating preferences, where women prefer attractiveness > resources to the same extent as men.

Women's Long-Term Mating Preferences: Cues of Good Character

1. Love

2. Likes children

3. Similarity

Cues of good character: Love

- love motivates reproductive success

- love is a cue for commitment

Evidence of love being an evolved psychological mechanism

- Love has always existed

- Love exists in most cultures; 88.5% of countries researched

- Love is highly rated as important

Behaviours reported by women as acts of love (Buss, 2006)

Exclusivity, talk of marriage, sharing resources, expressing desire for children, and emotional support

Cues of good character: Willingness to invest in children

Women have high parental investment, therefore men liking babies or who are good with babies are more attractive to women

Findings of Brase's (2006): Rated attractiveness on men interacting with babies study

Women rated men who were positively interacting with babies in the photos as more attractive for long-term and short-term relationships

Findings of Brase's (2006): Rated personality of man in a photo with a storyline

Women rated better personalities to the man in the positive story helping with the baby.

Results of Roney et al (2006) study where women were shown pictures of men (who did an interest in Infants test) & rated them on if they liked kids and their attractiveness

Women knew which men liked babies, and the men who liked babies were rated higher in attractiveness in long-term mates.

Findings in Zilioli et al. (2016): Testosterone Level & Interest in Infants

Men with higher reacting testosterone (more change in testosterone after erotica) have lower nurturance

Men with lower reacting testosterone (less change in testosterone after erotica) have higher nurturance

Findings in Zinck et al. (2022) research: Men looking for long-term relationships & their online dating profiles

Men looking for long-term relationship have a higher proportion have displaying dependents (i.e., children & dogs) on their online dating profiles

Findings in Oswald et al (2022) research: In search of the appeal of the 'DILF'

Women who wanted kids often preferred the DILF over the man with no child, but if the woman did not want kids, there was no difference.

Finding in Bos & Spencer (2024): Women's preference for men that care for children and the role of nurturance motivation and menstrual cycle phase

Women rated men higher in attractiveness when interacting with a kid than not, but women with higher nurturance rated men with kid much higher than women who were not nurturing.

Cues of good character: compatibility

Successful long-term mating requires partners engage in a sustained cooperative alliance.

Men's Long-Term Mating Preferences: Reproductive Fitness cues

Age & Attractiveness

Reproductive Fitness Cue: Youth - two cues related

1. Reproductive value

2. Fertility

Reproductive Fitness Cue: Youth - Reproductive Value

How many kids can one have in the future? - quantity

Peaks at mid to late teens

Reproductive Fitness Cue: Youth - Fertility

Capacity to produce viable offspring - quantity & quality

Peaks at mid-20s

Do men prefer younger women than themselves, and can it vary by culture?

Yes, cultures who require more wealth & have harsher environments often have a larger age gap. The age gap is smaller in developed countries

Results of Kenrick & Keefe (1992): Men's Preference for Relatively Younger Women

Most men prefer women younger than them, however, the preferences shift based on their age

The Control Hypothesis & Younger women preference

Feminist perspective believes men want younger women because it is easier to control them

What are the findings in Kenrick et al (1996): Teenagers' age preferences study?

Teenage boys ideally prefer girls 4-5 years older than them, aka when girls are more fertile

Reproductive Fitness Cue: Attractiveness

Attractiveness cues better reproductive success in healthy babies

Findings in Maner et al (2007) Attention-shifting Dot-Probe Test with men looking at average vs attractive women & men

Men had a difficult time shifting their eyes from attractive woman

The Nucleus Accumbens

The pleasure centre, reward & motivation

The Neuroscience of Beauty & The Nucleus Accumbens: Finding in Rats (Olds & Milner, 1954)

Rats pressed bar that elicited a response from an electrode to activate nucleus accumbens. They did it until they died because they liked the feeling so much.

The Neuroscience of Beauty & The Nucleus Accumbens: fMRI findings (Knutson et al, 2001; Aharon et al, 2001)

Knutson et al (2001): When in positive emotional states, activation in nucleus accumbens

Aharon et al (2001): When men looked at attractive women, activation in nucleus accumbens

Cryptic ovulation in human women

Humans do not know when women ovulate, and therefore if she is pregnant with another's baby, men do not want to spend resources on it

How to overcome uncertain paternity

Marriage, character, prevention, and correction

Simmons et al (2004): EPP & EPC Findings

- On average, 25% in individualistic cultures report having EPCs with 2% having EPPs

- In traditional cultures, 10% report having EPPs

Solution to Uncertain Paternity: Marriage

Marriage increases certainty of paternity because of:

- social traditions associated with public joinings, making it more difficult to cheat

- consistent sexual access making it easier to have sex while ovulating

- ease of mate guarding

- ease of cheating detection

Solution to Uncertain Paternity: Character

Buss (1989) found that highest rated traits in marriage across many cultures are faithfulness & sexual loyalty.

Character as a Cue of Likely Fidelity: Premarital chastity

Premarital chastity has been preferred across time, however the level of importance varies across cultures. Sociocultural expectations on women's sexualities influences these expectations.

Character as a Cue of Likely Fidelity: Premarital Non-Promiscuity

Defined as women who have high sex drive and sociosexual orientations, and who have multiple sex partners. There are still cultural differences in how this is defined.

Solution to Uncertain Paternity: Prevention

Mate retention behaviours that stem from jealousy and prevents partner from cheating

What are men's most frequently use mate retention tactics? (Buss, 1988)

1. Compliments

2. Mate guarding

3. Being nice and caring

4. Being helpful

5. Looking nice for her

What are women's most frequently use mate retention tactics? (Buss, 1988)

1. Being helpful

2. Made face look nice

3. Compliments

4. Looked nice for him

5. Mate guarding

What are the main gender differences in mate retention strategies?

Men are more likely to display resources, intrasexual threats of violence, and conceal their partner.

Women are more likely to enhance their appearance and use verbal signals of possession.

When are men and women most likely to use mate retention tactics?

Men are more likely to use mate retention tactics when their partners are fertile, ovulating, at risk of infidelity, or high on extraversion and openness (they are more likely to be hit on)

Women are more likely to use mate retention tactics when their partners have high resources

Gender differences in jealousy and cheating

Jealousy hints at cheating, and is overdeveloped in men, leading to man potentially being more dangerous. Men are often jealous at the fear of different paternity, women are often jealous at the loss of resources.

Findings of Buss et al (1992a) Jealousy: Which would you find more upsetting? & Cross-cultural implications

In a forced choice setting, men dislike sexual infidelity more, and women dislike romantic cheating more. Across cultures, man have more distress in sexual cheating vs romantic cheating

Findings of Bendixon et al (2015) Jealousy: How upset would you be if.. (likert scale)

Men and women are upset by both sexual and love cheating, however man are more upset over sexual cheating and women are slightly more upset with love cheating

How should we interpret forced choice?

Forced choice should be interpreted as preference or priorities

Findings of Buss et al (1992): Physiological Reactions to Jealousy-Inducing Situations

Men have statistically significant, large increase in sweaty palms, heart rate and corrugators (frown muscles) in sexual cheating than love cheating.

Findings of Frederick & Fales (2014) Sexual Orientation & Jealousy research, & how do we interpret these?

Significantly more straight men than straight women are more upset about sexual infidelity over romantic cheating, not seen in other sexualities

Interpretation: Gay, lesbian and bisexual people are not reproducing, so they do not feel this difference in sexual cheating > love cheating

The sex-implies-love/love-implies-sex contoversy

Are men more upset because women who had a sexual affair definitely fell in love? And women more upset because men who romantically cheated definitely already had sex?

Solution to Uncertain Paternity: Correction

Sperm competition - when men put in more sperm into the female after she cheats, therefore fighting the other sperm inside to fertilize the egg.

Sperm Competition: Hypothesized Adaptations

1. Testis size

2. Ejaculate adjustment

3. Semen Displacement

4. Sexual Arousal

Sperm Competition Adaptation: Testis size

Harcourt et al. (1995) found that more gorillas (who are more monogamous) have the smallest testes whereas chimpanzees (not monogamous) have the largest testes. Humans fall in the middle of monogamous and non-monogamous

Therefore, it is theorized that larger testes relate to more sperm and more reproductive success.

Sperm Competition Adaptation: Ejaculate adjustment - Time spent together x sperm production

Baker & Bellis (1995) found that men who spend more time with their partners produce much less sperm than men who do not spend as much time with their partners

Sperm Competition Adaptation: Semen Displacement - Penis Morphology

Gallup et al., 2003, found that the coronal ridge on the male penis is different from other primates, and is to scoop out another man's sperm during sex

Sperm Competition Adaptation: Semen Displacement - Implementation

Gallup et al (2003) found that the penis with the ridges scooped 60% more sperm than the penises without ridges. However, deeper and quicker thrusts are required to scoop out sperm.

Gallup et al (2006): Do men also displace their own sperm?

No, because post-ejaculation, the penis becomes soft and therefore the ridge is not scooping anything out

Gallup et al (2006): Women's sperm displacement countermeasures

Women orgasm more with their EPC and since women's orgasms retain more sperm, they often retain more sperm from their EPC

Women also often delay having sex with their partner after their EPC, therefore giving the EPC's sperm more time

Sperm Competition Adaptation: Ejaculate adjustment - Time spent apart x attraction to partner & sexual desire

Shackleford et al., 2002 found that the longer a couple had spent apart, the more sexually attracted the man was to his mate and more interested in sex with that mate.

Sperm Competition Adaptation: Sexual Arousal

Pound (2002) found that men preferred pornographic images of sperm competition (one woman many men).

Kilgallon & Simmons (2005) found that men produced more sperm and more motile sperm when viewing sperm competition imagery

Differential Investment in Offspring (Platek et al., 2003)

Neglect & abandonment in offspring who are suspected to have a different father.

Costs of Short-Term Mating for Men

- Sexually transmitted infections/diseases

- Loss of reputation

- Lack of parental investment in offspring

- Long-term mate might cheat back

- Violence

- Uncertainty of paternity

Benefits in Short-Term Mating for Men

Lots of reproductive success, more offspring and genetic variability of those offspring (and an increased likelihood that some of the offspring will survive under difficult circumstances)

Men's short term mating puzzles

1. gaining sexual access to a variety of partners

2. identifying and impregnating fertile women

3. avoiding commitment

The Problem of Gaining Sexual Access: Standards

Highly attractive women usually prefer long-term relationships, and therefore men have to lower their standards in age, personality, promiscuity, and attractiveness

Findings in Gladue & Delaney's (unknown year): Closing-Time Effect

At the bar, men will perceive women as more attractive as the night when on, unrelated to alcohol. May be because of more motivation of a one-night stand closer to the end of the night.

The Problem of Gaining Sexual Access: Lust

The more lust a man has, the more success they have in sexual access. They often have higher sex drives, desire for many different sex partners, and desire for quick sexual access.

However, women's preferences oppose men's preferences.

# Partners Desired in the Next 30 Years & Across Cultures (Buss & Schmitt, 1993; Schmitt et al., 2003)

Men want many more sex partners when compared to women, which is seen in many cultures

Gender differences in timing of sexual intercourse

Men are more willing to have sex after one day, whereas women take longer and are willing to have sex after 3 months

Findings in Schmitt er al (2003): Likelihood of Consenting to Sex Within 1st Month

Across cultures, men are more likely to consent within the first month than women

Findings in Clark & Hatfield (1989): Asking men vs women on dates, apartments & sex

Men were much more likely to say yes to going back to one's apartment and having sex, and those who said no were down but not in that moment.

Attraction Reduction Effect (Haselton & Buss, 2001)

Men with higher sociosexual orientation & more sex partners report women as being less attractive after sex

Sexual Regrets in Men (Lambert et al, 2003)

Men regret acts of omission (foregoing casual sex) more than commission (having casual sex), whereas women are the opposite

Costs of Short-Term Mating for Women

- Higher risk of STIs or STDs than men

- Worse reputation loss than men

- Risk of pregnancy

- Loss of investing mate

- Higher risk of experiencing violence than men

Benefits of Short-Term Mating for Women

Many hypotheses related to direct or indirect increases to reproductive success, such as:

- access to resources

- solving problems with current mate

- long-term goals

- reproductive benefits

Short Term Benefits Associated With Access to Resources

1. Resource accural hypothesis - exchanging sex for resources

2. Paternity confusion hypothesis - might get more resources if you have sex with multiple men and tell them they are all the fathers

3. Protection enhancement hypothesis - extra protection if you're in a bad situation

4. Status enhancement hypothesis - relationship w/ higher status man build your own status & gives you opportunity to meet other high-status man and potentially future long-term mate

Research Supporting Short Term Benefits Associated With Access to Resources (Greiling & Buss, 2000)

Women reported getting resources as a benefit to having an affair, and that the circumstances in which they would most likely have one would be because their partner did not have enough resources & they wanted more

Research Supporting Short Term Benefits Associated With Solving Problems With Current Mate (Greiling & Buss, 2000)

Women reported getting a new partner and easier to break up with partner as benefits to having an affair, and that the circumstances in which they would most likely have one would be because their partner was bad or inadequate and they needed someone better

Short Term Benefits Associated With Solving Problems with Current Mate

1. Mate switching hypothesis - replacing your mate with a better mate

2. Mate expulsion hypothesis - cheating so that your mate breaks up with you

3. Mate manipulation hypothesis - getting back at your partner for cheating on you so he doesn't do it again

Short Term Mating for Long-Term Goals

1. Figure out what you want in a LT mate (in general) - figure out what you want in a person

2. Figure out what you want in a LT (specifically) with that ST mate - figure out if you want a long-term relationship with that specific short-term partner

3. Hone seduction skills for future potential LT mates

Research Supporting Short-Term Mating for Long-Term Goals

Buss & Schmitt (1993) found that women don't like promiscuity in short-term mating, possibly because of potential for long-term mate

Li & Kenrick (2006) found that the highest reason for having casual sex is because of attraction, and the seconf highest is because women wanted LT partnership, and thought ST would turn into LT mate

Reproductive Benefits of Short-Term Mating in Women

1. Good genes hypothesis - may have sex with attractive man for their really good genes

2. Fertility enhancement hypothesis - difficulty getting pregnant with partner, therefore cheat to get pregnant

3. Genetic diversity - the more genetically diverse the children, the more likely they will survive

Research Supporting Reproductive Benefits of Short-Term Mating in Women

- women want prefer masculine men for ST, and moreso when ovulating

- women have better orgams with EPCs, increasing sperm retention

- quality of LT mate shifts the likelihood of having an EPC

What is love?

Defined as passionate, romantic and sexual