relationships revision
Evolutionary explanations for partner preferences
Natural/sexual selection: Human behaviour is driven by the need to survive and
reproduce. Both males and females need to make sure that they have children, and those
children survive to adulthood. Genes that give a reproductive advantage will increase in
the gene pool
Inter sexual selection: strategy of one sex, often females due to high investment cost and
parental certainty of children (this is an advantage for the mother), pick the highest
quality mate from a wide selection of available mates according to attractive features
indicating good genes to increase chances of baby making it to adulthood
Intra sexual selection: strategy of one sex, often males due to low investment costs and
lack of parental certainty, competing between each other (intra) for access to a large
quantity of members of the other sex. Favours dominant large males as competition if
physical across evolutionary history.
Male female dimorphism: enhanced secondary sexual characteristics are selected for by
both genders, leading to these becoming more common in the population
Evolutionary psychologists suggest that females look for qualities that will help raise a
child to adulthood: resources/money, physical characteristics linked to dominance
(tall/healthy), V shaped chest
Evolutionary psychologists suggest that males look for qualities of fertility that indicate
production of healthy offspring: large breasts, young facial features, body shape of 0.7
waist to hip ratio, indicates sexual maturity but not pregnancy.
Buss’s global survey from across 33 countries and 10,000 adults provides research
evidence on selection of potential partners. Buss researched adults on partner
preferences when selecting a mate. Across these cultures, buss found that males
prioritised factors that indicated reproductive capacity such as younger age, chastity and
good looks which is an indication of good genetic health. While females prioritised factors
that indicated resources such as money, ambition and industriousness and would be more
likely to reproduce with males with these qualities. This suggests that actual preferences of
men and women match with those predicted by the evolutionary approach. Furthermore,
as Buss conducted his research across multiple countries it can be argued that this
,research lacks culture bias and therefore findings on evolutionary selection reflect a true
emic construct, behaviour that is universal across cultures.
Dunbar and Waynforth’s lonely hearts study provides research evidence on selection of
potential partners. They used a content analysis method of 900 personal dating ads
across four USA newspapers. They found that 42% of males are looking for “youthful”
mates compared to 25% of females. Men were more likely to emphasise their economic
status in their own adverts whilst women were more likely to emphasise their looks. This
research supports the evolutionary theories explanation of females being more attracted
to status and resources, with men advertising these and males are looking for females
capable of reproduction.
Clarke and Heartfield provide research evidence for male and female mating strategies.
Male and female student researchers asked other students on campus one of three direct
questions. “Will you go out with me tonight?”, “will you go back to my house” or “will you
have sex with me”. They found that while 50% of both genders agreed to a date that night,
0~% of females agreed to sex, compared to 75% of males. This finding supports the
concept of intra and inter sexual selection that males will attempt to sleep with as many
women as possible to pass on their genes while women will be more selective.
Mate choice may be more complicated than suggested by evolutionary explanations. For
example, research by Penton-Voak et al suggests that females mate preferences change
across the menstrual cycle. They found that females preferred a partner with strongly
expressed masculine features during their fertile period but showed a higher preference
for a partner with slightly feminised features as a long term mate. This may be because
masculine appearance suggests a healthier immune system, which would be
advantageous to pass to offspring, while slightly feminine features suggest kindness and
parental cooperation which are very desirable traits in a long term partner. Thus, arriving
at a clear cut conclusion for mate selection using evolutionary principle may not be as
simple as initially thought.
Evolutionary explanations of mate preference also emphasise the differences in what
males and females look for in a potential partner. This exaggeration of the differences
between the genders is known as an alpha bias, where the differences between males and
females may be overstated. It is plausible to argue that males and females look for similar
characteristics, such as loyalty and kindness, and such characteristics are not reported in
the research, which tends to look for marked differences.
Factors affecting attraction: Self disclosure
, Attraction is the action or power of evoking interest in or likely for someone or something
Self disclosure is when an individual reveals information about themselves to another
person. We tend to disclose more information to those we like, and like people who reveal
information about themselves to us more. This is thought to be an indication of trust that
information will stay between the individuals
Information revealed:
- Altman and Taylor suggest that as the relationship between individuals develops as
the breadth and depth of interpersonal communication increases from shallow
levels to become more intimate. They call this social penetration theory (SPT)
- Breadth: the types of topics that can be discussed, certain areas may not be
appropriate until a certain level of friendship
- Depth: level of information about a topic that is revealed such as information that is
emotionally painful
Reciprocity: Relationships will only develop if both individuals are active in both disclosing
information and responding in an appropriate way
Attributions: individuals consider the motivations behind self disclosure, someone who is
seen to disclose to anyone, is seen as less attractive than someone who discloses to us
because they see us as special
Appropriateness: while revealing information is generally seen as improving relationships,
breaking social norms or revealing information too early (TMI) can have the opposite
reaction, lower attraction
Spreeher and Hendrick provide research evidence for correlations in self disclosure. They
used a longitudinal observational study watching couples self disclosure on dates. Men
and women were found to have similar levels of self disclosure, and a positive correlation
was found between the amount of self disclosure and measures of the quality of the
relationship (satisfaction, love and commitment). This suggests that self disclosure is
reciprocal with both partners needing to reveal information about themselves. Higher
levels of self disclosure are linked to the level of attractiveness felt towards a romantic
partner.
There is research support for the concept of self disclosure as a factor affecting attraction
in romantic relationships. Hass and Stafford conducted a study with gay men and women
to discover how they sustained and developed their romantic relationships with partners.
They found that 57% of gay men and women considered open and honest self disclosure
Evolutionary explanations for partner preferences
Natural/sexual selection: Human behaviour is driven by the need to survive and
reproduce. Both males and females need to make sure that they have children, and those
children survive to adulthood. Genes that give a reproductive advantage will increase in
the gene pool
Inter sexual selection: strategy of one sex, often females due to high investment cost and
parental certainty of children (this is an advantage for the mother), pick the highest
quality mate from a wide selection of available mates according to attractive features
indicating good genes to increase chances of baby making it to adulthood
Intra sexual selection: strategy of one sex, often males due to low investment costs and
lack of parental certainty, competing between each other (intra) for access to a large
quantity of members of the other sex. Favours dominant large males as competition if
physical across evolutionary history.
Male female dimorphism: enhanced secondary sexual characteristics are selected for by
both genders, leading to these becoming more common in the population
Evolutionary psychologists suggest that females look for qualities that will help raise a
child to adulthood: resources/money, physical characteristics linked to dominance
(tall/healthy), V shaped chest
Evolutionary psychologists suggest that males look for qualities of fertility that indicate
production of healthy offspring: large breasts, young facial features, body shape of 0.7
waist to hip ratio, indicates sexual maturity but not pregnancy.
Buss’s global survey from across 33 countries and 10,000 adults provides research
evidence on selection of potential partners. Buss researched adults on partner
preferences when selecting a mate. Across these cultures, buss found that males
prioritised factors that indicated reproductive capacity such as younger age, chastity and
good looks which is an indication of good genetic health. While females prioritised factors
that indicated resources such as money, ambition and industriousness and would be more
likely to reproduce with males with these qualities. This suggests that actual preferences of
men and women match with those predicted by the evolutionary approach. Furthermore,
as Buss conducted his research across multiple countries it can be argued that this
,research lacks culture bias and therefore findings on evolutionary selection reflect a true
emic construct, behaviour that is universal across cultures.
Dunbar and Waynforth’s lonely hearts study provides research evidence on selection of
potential partners. They used a content analysis method of 900 personal dating ads
across four USA newspapers. They found that 42% of males are looking for “youthful”
mates compared to 25% of females. Men were more likely to emphasise their economic
status in their own adverts whilst women were more likely to emphasise their looks. This
research supports the evolutionary theories explanation of females being more attracted
to status and resources, with men advertising these and males are looking for females
capable of reproduction.
Clarke and Heartfield provide research evidence for male and female mating strategies.
Male and female student researchers asked other students on campus one of three direct
questions. “Will you go out with me tonight?”, “will you go back to my house” or “will you
have sex with me”. They found that while 50% of both genders agreed to a date that night,
0~% of females agreed to sex, compared to 75% of males. This finding supports the
concept of intra and inter sexual selection that males will attempt to sleep with as many
women as possible to pass on their genes while women will be more selective.
Mate choice may be more complicated than suggested by evolutionary explanations. For
example, research by Penton-Voak et al suggests that females mate preferences change
across the menstrual cycle. They found that females preferred a partner with strongly
expressed masculine features during their fertile period but showed a higher preference
for a partner with slightly feminised features as a long term mate. This may be because
masculine appearance suggests a healthier immune system, which would be
advantageous to pass to offspring, while slightly feminine features suggest kindness and
parental cooperation which are very desirable traits in a long term partner. Thus, arriving
at a clear cut conclusion for mate selection using evolutionary principle may not be as
simple as initially thought.
Evolutionary explanations of mate preference also emphasise the differences in what
males and females look for in a potential partner. This exaggeration of the differences
between the genders is known as an alpha bias, where the differences between males and
females may be overstated. It is plausible to argue that males and females look for similar
characteristics, such as loyalty and kindness, and such characteristics are not reported in
the research, which tends to look for marked differences.
Factors affecting attraction: Self disclosure
, Attraction is the action or power of evoking interest in or likely for someone or something
Self disclosure is when an individual reveals information about themselves to another
person. We tend to disclose more information to those we like, and like people who reveal
information about themselves to us more. This is thought to be an indication of trust that
information will stay between the individuals
Information revealed:
- Altman and Taylor suggest that as the relationship between individuals develops as
the breadth and depth of interpersonal communication increases from shallow
levels to become more intimate. They call this social penetration theory (SPT)
- Breadth: the types of topics that can be discussed, certain areas may not be
appropriate until a certain level of friendship
- Depth: level of information about a topic that is revealed such as information that is
emotionally painful
Reciprocity: Relationships will only develop if both individuals are active in both disclosing
information and responding in an appropriate way
Attributions: individuals consider the motivations behind self disclosure, someone who is
seen to disclose to anyone, is seen as less attractive than someone who discloses to us
because they see us as special
Appropriateness: while revealing information is generally seen as improving relationships,
breaking social norms or revealing information too early (TMI) can have the opposite
reaction, lower attraction
Spreeher and Hendrick provide research evidence for correlations in self disclosure. They
used a longitudinal observational study watching couples self disclosure on dates. Men
and women were found to have similar levels of self disclosure, and a positive correlation
was found between the amount of self disclosure and measures of the quality of the
relationship (satisfaction, love and commitment). This suggests that self disclosure is
reciprocal with both partners needing to reveal information about themselves. Higher
levels of self disclosure are linked to the level of attractiveness felt towards a romantic
partner.
There is research support for the concept of self disclosure as a factor affecting attraction
in romantic relationships. Hass and Stafford conducted a study with gay men and women
to discover how they sustained and developed their romantic relationships with partners.
They found that 57% of gay men and women considered open and honest self disclosure
