Friday, April 08, 2005
Sexual selection & Evolutionary psychology
I sat through a most entertaining lecture last evening in our Social Psychology class and thought I might share a few of the notes I took regarding its content.
Sexual selection
· Intersexual selection:
If members of one sex have some consensus about the qualities that are desired in members of the opposite sex, then individuals of the opposite sex who possess those qualities will be preferentially chosen as mates...naturally, those who lack the desired qualities fail to get mates
· Parental Investment:
Males & Females differ significantly on several facets of parental investment. While males can, conceivably, produce a very large number of offspring, females can produce relatively few. Additionally, when offspring are produced, male investment is less necessary than female investment. Promiscuity can be conceived of as an OK option for males, but a bad option for females. The desired characteristics in a partner are comparatively similar as males desire a mate who is youthful and healthy and females desire a mate who is resourceful and healthy. Finally, while males are far more threatened by the thought of their partner having a sexual affair, females tend to be more threatened by the thought of their partner having an emotional affair.
· From an evolutionary perspective, humans choose partners in order to maximize reproductive success (Sprecher, Sullivan, & Hatfield, 1994).
· Biological differences between men and women have led to specific mate preferences in an effort to solve adaptive problems of reproduction (Feingold, 1992; Buss & Schmitt, 1993).
Adaptive Problems for Women in Long-Term Mating:
1 Selecting a mate who is able to invest
2 Selecting a mate who is willing to invest
3 Selecting a mate who is able to physically protect self and children
4 Selecting a mate who will show good parenting skills
5 Selecting a mate who is compatible
6 Selecting a mate who is healthy
Hypothesized solution & Evolved Mate Preference:
1 Good financial prospects; social status; older; ambition; size; strength; athletic ability
2 Dependability and stability; love and commitment cues; positive interactions with kids
3 Size (height); strength; bravery; athletic ability
4 Dependability; emotional stability; kindness; positive interactions with kids
5 Similar values; similar ages; similar personalities
6 Physical attractiveness; symmetry; good health
When we begin to examine the mate preferences of women more closely and also compare them with the preferences of men, amusing results are found. In a study examining mate preferences across the intimacy spectrum (dating - sexual relations - steady dating - marriage), a positive correlation was found between good financial prospects and the intimacy spectrum for females. In other words, the financial standards to which a woman would hold her mate are less stringent when she considers whether the mate is date worthy or “marriage material.” For males, however, a slightly different trend is found. That same positive correlation is seen, although overall good financial prospects are less important to males than females, with one glaring exception: good financial prospects are of comparatively little importance when a man is deciding whether or not to engage in sexual relations with the mate.
The disparity of mate preferences regarding financial prospects appears to be a stable phenomenon and is found across cultures. Other disparities in mate preferences found across cultures pertain to social status and the desired age of a mate. Women tend to prefer a mate of high social status much more so than men and of course, while women prefer mates of a similar age (or perhaps a little older) men prefer younger women.
The effects of the menstrual cycle on mate preferences also have an interesting affect. The ovulation cycle is theoretically important because women’s chances of becoming pregnant differ dramatically across the cycle. Although women always prefer masculine-looking faces, this preference is stronger when the chance of conception is higher. Thornhill & Gangestad (1999) asked men who varied in symmetry (as it pertains to facial structure, this is a fine predictor of physical attractiveness) to wear the same T-shirts for two days without showering or wearing deodorant. The T-shirts were collected and women were asked to judge how good or bad it smelled. Women judged the T-shirts worn by more symmetrical men as smelling better…but only if they were ovulating. The skinny on this would be; if a woman were to cheat on her respective other, it’s likely to be during her ovulation cycle and with a masculine and symmetrical man with much athletic prowess.
In some ways, men look for the same qualities in a mate as women do: intelligent, kind, humorous, understanding, healthy, and similarity in terms of values, personality, and religious beliefs. However, males were confronted with a different set of adaptive mating problems than did ancestral women and as a result, they have developed a different set of mate preferences. Allow me to speak briefly about male preferences regarding physical beauty. In the US, women typically believe that men want women who are slimmer than average, but men actually prefer women who are average. Although men’s preferences for body size vary to some degree across cultures, one body shape preference is universal: a particular ratio between the size of a women’s waist and the size of her hips. The desired waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) is a very powerful predictor of female attractiveness (.70 is optimal). WHR is also an accurate indicator of both reproductive status and long-term health status.
Short-term mating strategies are very different between the sexes. Males have lower standards, less risk, can spread genes with little investment, and most males will agree to a quick sexual encounter. For females, however, while the benefits of short-term mating are less obvious, cuckolding rates (men married to unfaithful wives) are estimated to be around 15% and may be as high as 25%.
In another related study, students were asked about the minimum percentile of intelligence you would accept in considering someone for: a date, a recurring sexual partner, a one night stand, a steady dating partner, and a marriage partner. The results indicate that both sexes desire above average intelligence for a single date, but men’s criteria are considerably lower for recurring sexual partners. The differences are even more pronounced for one-night stands. Steady dating partners and marriage partners are required to have above average intelligence for both sexes. This positive relationship is similar to the one found for good financial prospects. The results of these studies suggest that females increase selectivity as the probability of pregnancy increases and males are selective for long term relationships where they commit resources. Males being less selective if given the opportunity for a low investment reproductive opportunity of course, offset this.
Lastly, in Clark & Hatfield’s study (1989), students were approached by another student of the opposite sex, who said: “I have been noticing you around campus and I find you very attractive.” This was followed by one of three invitations:
1 “Would you go out with me tonight?”
2 “Would you come over to my apartment?”
3 “Would you go to bed with me?”
Results show that about half of both sexes said “yes” to the date, roughly 10% of the women and 65% of the men agreed to go back to their apartment, and while men were even more likely to say “yes” to the sexual invitation (somewhere around 75%), not a single woman said “yes” to the sexual invitation. Also noteworthy was that, if men said “no,” they typically apologized and/or offered an excuse such as “I’m dating someone,” whereas the women were more inclined to slap the fella.
Sexual selection
· Intersexual selection:
If members of one sex have some consensus about the qualities that are desired in members of the opposite sex, then individuals of the opposite sex who possess those qualities will be preferentially chosen as mates...naturally, those who lack the desired qualities fail to get mates
· Parental Investment:
Males & Females differ significantly on several facets of parental investment. While males can, conceivably, produce a very large number of offspring, females can produce relatively few. Additionally, when offspring are produced, male investment is less necessary than female investment. Promiscuity can be conceived of as an OK option for males, but a bad option for females. The desired characteristics in a partner are comparatively similar as males desire a mate who is youthful and healthy and females desire a mate who is resourceful and healthy. Finally, while males are far more threatened by the thought of their partner having a sexual affair, females tend to be more threatened by the thought of their partner having an emotional affair.
· From an evolutionary perspective, humans choose partners in order to maximize reproductive success (Sprecher, Sullivan, & Hatfield, 1994).
· Biological differences between men and women have led to specific mate preferences in an effort to solve adaptive problems of reproduction (Feingold, 1992; Buss & Schmitt, 1993).
Adaptive Problems for Women in Long-Term Mating:
1 Selecting a mate who is able to invest
2 Selecting a mate who is willing to invest
3 Selecting a mate who is able to physically protect self and children
4 Selecting a mate who will show good parenting skills
5 Selecting a mate who is compatible
6 Selecting a mate who is healthy
Hypothesized solution & Evolved Mate Preference:
1 Good financial prospects; social status; older; ambition; size; strength; athletic ability
2 Dependability and stability; love and commitment cues; positive interactions with kids
3 Size (height); strength; bravery; athletic ability
4 Dependability; emotional stability; kindness; positive interactions with kids
5 Similar values; similar ages; similar personalities
6 Physical attractiveness; symmetry; good health
When we begin to examine the mate preferences of women more closely and also compare them with the preferences of men, amusing results are found. In a study examining mate preferences across the intimacy spectrum (dating - sexual relations - steady dating - marriage), a positive correlation was found between good financial prospects and the intimacy spectrum for females. In other words, the financial standards to which a woman would hold her mate are less stringent when she considers whether the mate is date worthy or “marriage material.” For males, however, a slightly different trend is found. That same positive correlation is seen, although overall good financial prospects are less important to males than females, with one glaring exception: good financial prospects are of comparatively little importance when a man is deciding whether or not to engage in sexual relations with the mate.
The disparity of mate preferences regarding financial prospects appears to be a stable phenomenon and is found across cultures. Other disparities in mate preferences found across cultures pertain to social status and the desired age of a mate. Women tend to prefer a mate of high social status much more so than men and of course, while women prefer mates of a similar age (or perhaps a little older) men prefer younger women.
The effects of the menstrual cycle on mate preferences also have an interesting affect. The ovulation cycle is theoretically important because women’s chances of becoming pregnant differ dramatically across the cycle. Although women always prefer masculine-looking faces, this preference is stronger when the chance of conception is higher. Thornhill & Gangestad (1999) asked men who varied in symmetry (as it pertains to facial structure, this is a fine predictor of physical attractiveness) to wear the same T-shirts for two days without showering or wearing deodorant. The T-shirts were collected and women were asked to judge how good or bad it smelled. Women judged the T-shirts worn by more symmetrical men as smelling better…but only if they were ovulating. The skinny on this would be; if a woman were to cheat on her respective other, it’s likely to be during her ovulation cycle and with a masculine and symmetrical man with much athletic prowess.
In some ways, men look for the same qualities in a mate as women do: intelligent, kind, humorous, understanding, healthy, and similarity in terms of values, personality, and religious beliefs. However, males were confronted with a different set of adaptive mating problems than did ancestral women and as a result, they have developed a different set of mate preferences. Allow me to speak briefly about male preferences regarding physical beauty. In the US, women typically believe that men want women who are slimmer than average, but men actually prefer women who are average. Although men’s preferences for body size vary to some degree across cultures, one body shape preference is universal: a particular ratio between the size of a women’s waist and the size of her hips. The desired waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) is a very powerful predictor of female attractiveness (.70 is optimal). WHR is also an accurate indicator of both reproductive status and long-term health status.
Short-term mating strategies are very different between the sexes. Males have lower standards, less risk, can spread genes with little investment, and most males will agree to a quick sexual encounter. For females, however, while the benefits of short-term mating are less obvious, cuckolding rates (men married to unfaithful wives) are estimated to be around 15% and may be as high as 25%.
In another related study, students were asked about the minimum percentile of intelligence you would accept in considering someone for: a date, a recurring sexual partner, a one night stand, a steady dating partner, and a marriage partner. The results indicate that both sexes desire above average intelligence for a single date, but men’s criteria are considerably lower for recurring sexual partners. The differences are even more pronounced for one-night stands. Steady dating partners and marriage partners are required to have above average intelligence for both sexes. This positive relationship is similar to the one found for good financial prospects. The results of these studies suggest that females increase selectivity as the probability of pregnancy increases and males are selective for long term relationships where they commit resources. Males being less selective if given the opportunity for a low investment reproductive opportunity of course, offset this.
Lastly, in Clark & Hatfield’s study (1989), students were approached by another student of the opposite sex, who said: “I have been noticing you around campus and I find you very attractive.” This was followed by one of three invitations:
1 “Would you go out with me tonight?”
2 “Would you come over to my apartment?”
3 “Would you go to bed with me?”
Results show that about half of both sexes said “yes” to the date, roughly 10% of the women and 65% of the men agreed to go back to their apartment, and while men were even more likely to say “yes” to the sexual invitation (somewhere around 75%), not a single woman said “yes” to the sexual invitation. Also noteworthy was that, if men said “no,” they typically apologized and/or offered an excuse such as “I’m dating someone,” whereas the women were more inclined to slap the fella.
# posted by Jude : 2:09 PM
Comments:
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I would add to this a comment made by a classmate of mine when we were discussing James Joyce's "Ulysses." There always exists, she said, a doubt in men/fathers whether a child is actually theirs or not. Men really have no way to be certain that any offspring is truly their own. Women/mothers do not share this doubt because obviously if you aqueeze a child out it is yours.
-Bonnie
-Bonnie
# posted by 
: 4:07 PM
: 4:07 PM
I think your point hearkens back to the earlier assertion that males are far more threatened by the thought of their partner having a sexual affair...at least, as compared to females, who tend to be more threatened by the thought of their partner having an emotional affair. I should add, however, that Michelle, upon reading this, has advised me that she would be equally upset and I shouldn't get any ideas!
I think 90% of mate selection is geography and ease. After that, it depends on an individuals understanding of and ability to honor commitment.
Interesting studies, Jude!
Interesting studies, Jude!
# posted by : 2:23 PM
: 2:23 PM
jude,
there are interesting statistics comparing mates' body proportions and charateristics. i will try to find them.
-mn.us
there are interesting statistics comparing mates' body proportions and charateristics. i will try to find them.
-mn.us
# posted by : 4:02 PM
: 4:02 PM
True enough, geography can be highly influential in mate selection. Relevant to this assertion would be a study I recently read exploring the variables associated with friendship in an adult population. In addition to other factors, such as being perceived as friendly, pleasant, polite, and easy to talk to, as well as having similar values, interests, and background; residential proximity and working together showed modest relationships to friendship (Johnson, 1989).
Jude,
Finally, I am posting a follow-up to your request for more information about my Fulbright proposal. Below you will find an abridged version of the proposal I submitted, which does, I think, a fair enough job of explaining some of the issues I hope to tackle in my year of studying abroad. And as for those of your friends who doubted that Australians even read books... well, they're probably right. What else can I say!?! But I would like to think that, within my proposal (and the study of regional literature more generally), there is the hint of a deeper investigation into the roots of this apathy towards literature. I think that, in many ways, the decline of regional literature in recent history is somehow linked to the decline of the "average person's" interest in literature. Does that make any sense? Well, it does in my head, anyway, and I'd be happy to defend the idea further, but not right now. I'm tired and going to bed. Enjoy the proposal.
Per
The chill in the Sydney morning air on May 22, 2004 was matched only by the chill a sixth-page newspaper headline struck in the hearts of aspiring Australian writers. “Publishers shun rookie authors,” read the headline in The Sydney Morning Herald. The article elaborated: “The chances of a first-time Australian author getting published hit an all-time low this week when a prestigious publishing house said it would no longer take on new writers.”
The publishing house in question is Simon & Schuster, but the article further states that a Random House executive admitted to having to be “more careful” about signing new authors. Harper Collins has taken a similar approach to first-timers, thereby virtually precluding the possibility of a new Australian writer publishing with one of the multinational publishers in Australia.
Multinational publishers’ efforts around the world reflect this trend, but it is particularly significant in Australia, where new writers are unlikely to get a chance in today’s profit-driven book market. Australia’s population of just over 20 million is simply not great enough to sustain many Australian writers. Multinational publishers represent the best opportunity to reach beyond this limited market to an international audience, and the new publishing strategies at these companies are a huge strike against Australian writers. Furthermore, when you take into account the increasing popularity of nonfiction and international bestsellers, then it becomes even clearer the enormous odds faced specifically by fiction writers in Australia. Some sources have reported the reduction in fictional works published in Australia at as much as 40 percent in the last year, which accounts for the vast majority of the overall reduction in publishing money available to new writers.
It should come as no surprise, then, that an article appearing in Melbourne’s The Age just over two months later should declare, “Independent Australian publishers are the big winners in the short list for this year’s Age Book of the Year Awards. Only four of the 15 short-listed books are published by local arms of large international publishers.” Everyone seemed to know of a good, middle-ranking novelist whose latest work had been rejected by the large publishing houses.
This brings smaller publishing outfits, among them the well-regarded Fremantle Arts Centre Press (FACP), to the fore. FACP is an independent, regional publishing house in remote Western Australia. In its Submission Guidelines, FACP clearly stipulates, “The author must be a Western Australian, that is, they must live in Western Australia or be of Western Australian origin. . . . Submissions not meeting this criteria cannot be considered.”
FACP is a one-of-a-kind institution, in that it defines itself as a regional publishing house, rather than this being a default identity for lack of an ability to attract world-class authors. To the best of my knowledge and that of many other experts in the fields of publishing and literature, FACP is the only publishing institution to make this important distinction. FACP has formally allied itself with local writers, to the exception of all other writers. The possible effects of this distinction are profound: an increased sense of regional identity and pride among artists and non-artists, alike; the possibility of greater national and international exposure to the many virtues of the region, including its writers, landscape, and history; and a boon to the regional economy.
Small, independent publishing houses exist the world-over, and the majority publish only works by local authors, as the house’s reputation or knowledge of its existence is oftentimes geographically limited. These same outfits benefit from the cutbacks in fictional publishing by multinational publishers. In this respect, they are like FACP, because they are attracting writers – especially younger writers and writers of edgy and unusual works – who a few years ago they would have probably lost to larger houses. They are also retaining writers, even commercially successfully ones, for longer periods of time.
But FACP has had international success and could surely attract writers from a larger geographical zone. The scale of FACP’s success distinguishes it from other independent publishing houses in Australia, but its commitment to regional writing is truly exceptional. FACP has abided by this commitment for nearly 30 years, but it is sure to be tried to a new extent as the international publishing market becomes more readily available to small, independent publishers.
The question is, then, what is the place of a regional publishing house in a publishing market that is becoming increasingly localized, as multinational outfits close their doors to young and upstart writers and bookstores stock more and more international titles? And what is the place of regional writing in this new environment?
In addition to FACP, I hope to read and study works published by two other Western Australian presses: the University of Western Australia Press, which emphasizes Western Australian themes in its books, even though it does not limit itself as FACP does to authors from Western Australia; and Magabala Books, which is an Indigenous Australian publishing house, publishing the works of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander authors and editors. A concentrated look at the history as well as the current output of these two presses should nicely complement my study of FACP, illuminating both the differences and the commonalities of a regional publishing house and other small, independent presses.
I believe that the regional publishing model as exemplified by FACP is a viable one, in spite of the negative connotations so often attached to the terms “regional writing” and “regional writer.” In fact, I believe that this model has certain advantages over the more generic model of the small, independent press. Through my research, I hope to achieve a better understanding of the history of “regional writing” – in Western Australia, and also around the globe – in order to posit its emergence in this new publishing environment.
Post a Comment
Finally, I am posting a follow-up to your request for more information about my Fulbright proposal. Below you will find an abridged version of the proposal I submitted, which does, I think, a fair enough job of explaining some of the issues I hope to tackle in my year of studying abroad. And as for those of your friends who doubted that Australians even read books... well, they're probably right. What else can I say!?! But I would like to think that, within my proposal (and the study of regional literature more generally), there is the hint of a deeper investigation into the roots of this apathy towards literature. I think that, in many ways, the decline of regional literature in recent history is somehow linked to the decline of the "average person's" interest in literature. Does that make any sense? Well, it does in my head, anyway, and I'd be happy to defend the idea further, but not right now. I'm tired and going to bed. Enjoy the proposal.
Per
The chill in the Sydney morning air on May 22, 2004 was matched only by the chill a sixth-page newspaper headline struck in the hearts of aspiring Australian writers. “Publishers shun rookie authors,” read the headline in The Sydney Morning Herald. The article elaborated: “The chances of a first-time Australian author getting published hit an all-time low this week when a prestigious publishing house said it would no longer take on new writers.”
The publishing house in question is Simon & Schuster, but the article further states that a Random House executive admitted to having to be “more careful” about signing new authors. Harper Collins has taken a similar approach to first-timers, thereby virtually precluding the possibility of a new Australian writer publishing with one of the multinational publishers in Australia.
Multinational publishers’ efforts around the world reflect this trend, but it is particularly significant in Australia, where new writers are unlikely to get a chance in today’s profit-driven book market. Australia’s population of just over 20 million is simply not great enough to sustain many Australian writers. Multinational publishers represent the best opportunity to reach beyond this limited market to an international audience, and the new publishing strategies at these companies are a huge strike against Australian writers. Furthermore, when you take into account the increasing popularity of nonfiction and international bestsellers, then it becomes even clearer the enormous odds faced specifically by fiction writers in Australia. Some sources have reported the reduction in fictional works published in Australia at as much as 40 percent in the last year, which accounts for the vast majority of the overall reduction in publishing money available to new writers.
It should come as no surprise, then, that an article appearing in Melbourne’s The Age just over two months later should declare, “Independent Australian publishers are the big winners in the short list for this year’s Age Book of the Year Awards. Only four of the 15 short-listed books are published by local arms of large international publishers.” Everyone seemed to know of a good, middle-ranking novelist whose latest work had been rejected by the large publishing houses.
This brings smaller publishing outfits, among them the well-regarded Fremantle Arts Centre Press (FACP), to the fore. FACP is an independent, regional publishing house in remote Western Australia. In its Submission Guidelines, FACP clearly stipulates, “The author must be a Western Australian, that is, they must live in Western Australia or be of Western Australian origin. . . . Submissions not meeting this criteria cannot be considered.”
FACP is a one-of-a-kind institution, in that it defines itself as a regional publishing house, rather than this being a default identity for lack of an ability to attract world-class authors. To the best of my knowledge and that of many other experts in the fields of publishing and literature, FACP is the only publishing institution to make this important distinction. FACP has formally allied itself with local writers, to the exception of all other writers. The possible effects of this distinction are profound: an increased sense of regional identity and pride among artists and non-artists, alike; the possibility of greater national and international exposure to the many virtues of the region, including its writers, landscape, and history; and a boon to the regional economy.
Small, independent publishing houses exist the world-over, and the majority publish only works by local authors, as the house’s reputation or knowledge of its existence is oftentimes geographically limited. These same outfits benefit from the cutbacks in fictional publishing by multinational publishers. In this respect, they are like FACP, because they are attracting writers – especially younger writers and writers of edgy and unusual works – who a few years ago they would have probably lost to larger houses. They are also retaining writers, even commercially successfully ones, for longer periods of time.
But FACP has had international success and could surely attract writers from a larger geographical zone. The scale of FACP’s success distinguishes it from other independent publishing houses in Australia, but its commitment to regional writing is truly exceptional. FACP has abided by this commitment for nearly 30 years, but it is sure to be tried to a new extent as the international publishing market becomes more readily available to small, independent publishers.
The question is, then, what is the place of a regional publishing house in a publishing market that is becoming increasingly localized, as multinational outfits close their doors to young and upstart writers and bookstores stock more and more international titles? And what is the place of regional writing in this new environment?
In addition to FACP, I hope to read and study works published by two other Western Australian presses: the University of Western Australia Press, which emphasizes Western Australian themes in its books, even though it does not limit itself as FACP does to authors from Western Australia; and Magabala Books, which is an Indigenous Australian publishing house, publishing the works of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander authors and editors. A concentrated look at the history as well as the current output of these two presses should nicely complement my study of FACP, illuminating both the differences and the commonalities of a regional publishing house and other small, independent presses.
I believe that the regional publishing model as exemplified by FACP is a viable one, in spite of the negative connotations so often attached to the terms “regional writing” and “regional writer.” In fact, I believe that this model has certain advantages over the more generic model of the small, independent press. Through my research, I hope to achieve a better understanding of the history of “regional writing” – in Western Australia, and also around the globe – in order to posit its emergence in this new publishing environment.
# posted by : 10:24 PM
: 10:24 PM<< Home
