Relationships revision doc
Evolutionary explanations for partner preference
Natural selection - characteristics we inherit from generations before us which increase
survival.
Intersexual selection - women tend to be more picky with their mate, choosing a man who
shows strong signs of reproductive sucess typically presented through hair and height (high
testosterone). Women also tend to choose more financially stable partner so their offspring
can have a higher chance of survival. Sexy sons hypothesis - women pick men who have
desirable qualities because their son is more likely to reproduce with those inherited
characteristics. This is based on the idea that womens fertility is very limited, with only a
specific amount of eggs that can be fertalised in their lifetimes, loosing once a month since
the beginning of their menstrual cycle.
Intrasexual selection - men tend to be more competitive in their pick for a mate, with men
fighting one another for a chance to mate with a woman. Men will typically pick a women
with a younger face, big breats, and big hips as it is believed to be a sign of fertility. This is
known as baby face. Moreover, research has found that the most attractive hip to waist ratio
is 0.7 - as it is said to be child bearing. This is based on the idea that men produce millions
of sperm per ejaculation, and therefore are not biologically limited like women. As a result,
men prefer quantity over quality.
Male mating strategies:
Courtship rituals - allows the display of genetic potential
Size - bigger body sizes dislay physical strength and the ability to protect
Sperm competition - men have evolved to have bigger testicles and faster swimming sperm
Mate guarding - keeping a close eye on a partner to prevent unfaithfulness
Sneak copulation - being unfaithful
Female mating stratergies:
Handicap hypothesis - women pick handicap men because it displays the ability to thrive
despite disadvantages
Sexy sons hypothesis - women pick men who have desirable qualities because their son is
more likely to reproduce with those inherited characteristics.
Courtship - dating is an important strategy to establish a mans worth to produce offsprings.
Buss - studied 10,000 adults in 33 countries; men preferred younger women with good
reproductive capacity, while women preferred dependable, older men with vast resources.
Factors affecting attraction
Self-disclosure - the act of revealing personal information to the person we like to establish
trust and mutual understanding.
Social penetration theory - identified 2 key aspects of self-disclosure
Breadth and depth of self-disclosure - at the beginning of a relationship, superficial and
surface-level information is disclosed. As the relationship progresses, to establish trust, self-
disclosure needs to be more meaningful and deep.
, Reciprocity of self-disclosure - sharing intimate and personal information should be done by
both individuals in the relationship to establish trust and balance.
Physical attractiveness
Evolutionary explanations state that attractiveness is important in findings a mate as they
can reveal good genetic characteristics which would enhance natural selection and survival
of future offsprings. As a result, people manipulate their appearance in order to do so, e.g.
women dying grey hair to appear younger and men going to the gym to become more
physically strong.
This leads to The Halo Effect. When someone has certain traits we deem desirable, we may
put a ‘halo’ on that individual, making us assume other positive characteristics they may
possess. For example, commonly when there is an attractive person, we deem them to
possess other nice qualities such as humour and kindness.
The two types of faces commonly leading to the halo effect is a symmetrical face (sign of
strong genes), and a baby face (sign of fertility).
The Matching Hypothesis - the theory that people will seek out partners on a similar level of
attractiveness to them. This means we need to have a realistic judgement of how attractive
we are in the first instance. Aiming to be with someone we deem out of our league increases
the chance of rejection, in turn, damaging our self-esteem, hence we avoid doing so.
Additionally, if we deem a partner more attractive than us and able to enter a new
relationship, feelings of distrust and envy may arise, once again being undeal in a
relationship.
Walster et al - told students that had been paired with their ideal partner for a dance even
though it was actually random. Couples on a similar level of attractiveness actually rated
their dance partner higher, supporting the matching hypothesis.
Palmer and Peterson - found that physically attractive people were rated more
knowledgeable and competent than unattractive people.
Filter theory - based on the idea our choice in partners is limited to specific factors.
First level of the filter - social demography
• Age
• Gender
• Education
We choose someone to date based on these factors and you are more likely to choose
someone in a similar field of education and age.
Second level of the filter - similarity in attitudes
This is based on how similar we are to the potential partner, evaluating whether they have
things in common with us.
• Religious groups
• Morals
• Feild of education
Third level of the filter - complimentary
The focus here is how much the potential partner meets our needs.
• Love language
• Availability
• Finance
Evolutionary explanations for partner preference
Natural selection - characteristics we inherit from generations before us which increase
survival.
Intersexual selection - women tend to be more picky with their mate, choosing a man who
shows strong signs of reproductive sucess typically presented through hair and height (high
testosterone). Women also tend to choose more financially stable partner so their offspring
can have a higher chance of survival. Sexy sons hypothesis - women pick men who have
desirable qualities because their son is more likely to reproduce with those inherited
characteristics. This is based on the idea that womens fertility is very limited, with only a
specific amount of eggs that can be fertalised in their lifetimes, loosing once a month since
the beginning of their menstrual cycle.
Intrasexual selection - men tend to be more competitive in their pick for a mate, with men
fighting one another for a chance to mate with a woman. Men will typically pick a women
with a younger face, big breats, and big hips as it is believed to be a sign of fertility. This is
known as baby face. Moreover, research has found that the most attractive hip to waist ratio
is 0.7 - as it is said to be child bearing. This is based on the idea that men produce millions
of sperm per ejaculation, and therefore are not biologically limited like women. As a result,
men prefer quantity over quality.
Male mating strategies:
Courtship rituals - allows the display of genetic potential
Size - bigger body sizes dislay physical strength and the ability to protect
Sperm competition - men have evolved to have bigger testicles and faster swimming sperm
Mate guarding - keeping a close eye on a partner to prevent unfaithfulness
Sneak copulation - being unfaithful
Female mating stratergies:
Handicap hypothesis - women pick handicap men because it displays the ability to thrive
despite disadvantages
Sexy sons hypothesis - women pick men who have desirable qualities because their son is
more likely to reproduce with those inherited characteristics.
Courtship - dating is an important strategy to establish a mans worth to produce offsprings.
Buss - studied 10,000 adults in 33 countries; men preferred younger women with good
reproductive capacity, while women preferred dependable, older men with vast resources.
Factors affecting attraction
Self-disclosure - the act of revealing personal information to the person we like to establish
trust and mutual understanding.
Social penetration theory - identified 2 key aspects of self-disclosure
Breadth and depth of self-disclosure - at the beginning of a relationship, superficial and
surface-level information is disclosed. As the relationship progresses, to establish trust, self-
disclosure needs to be more meaningful and deep.
, Reciprocity of self-disclosure - sharing intimate and personal information should be done by
both individuals in the relationship to establish trust and balance.
Physical attractiveness
Evolutionary explanations state that attractiveness is important in findings a mate as they
can reveal good genetic characteristics which would enhance natural selection and survival
of future offsprings. As a result, people manipulate their appearance in order to do so, e.g.
women dying grey hair to appear younger and men going to the gym to become more
physically strong.
This leads to The Halo Effect. When someone has certain traits we deem desirable, we may
put a ‘halo’ on that individual, making us assume other positive characteristics they may
possess. For example, commonly when there is an attractive person, we deem them to
possess other nice qualities such as humour and kindness.
The two types of faces commonly leading to the halo effect is a symmetrical face (sign of
strong genes), and a baby face (sign of fertility).
The Matching Hypothesis - the theory that people will seek out partners on a similar level of
attractiveness to them. This means we need to have a realistic judgement of how attractive
we are in the first instance. Aiming to be with someone we deem out of our league increases
the chance of rejection, in turn, damaging our self-esteem, hence we avoid doing so.
Additionally, if we deem a partner more attractive than us and able to enter a new
relationship, feelings of distrust and envy may arise, once again being undeal in a
relationship.
Walster et al - told students that had been paired with their ideal partner for a dance even
though it was actually random. Couples on a similar level of attractiveness actually rated
their dance partner higher, supporting the matching hypothesis.
Palmer and Peterson - found that physically attractive people were rated more
knowledgeable and competent than unattractive people.
Filter theory - based on the idea our choice in partners is limited to specific factors.
First level of the filter - social demography
• Age
• Gender
• Education
We choose someone to date based on these factors and you are more likely to choose
someone in a similar field of education and age.
Second level of the filter - similarity in attitudes
This is based on how similar we are to the potential partner, evaluating whether they have
things in common with us.
• Religious groups
• Morals
• Feild of education
Third level of the filter - complimentary
The focus here is how much the potential partner meets our needs.
• Love language
• Availability
• Finance
