Sexual selection can be used to explain certain characteristics or behaviours which increase an individual’s reproductive success. These characteristics may get exaggerated over evolutionary time. In humans, these characteristics may include good physical and mental health, as well as physical features such as good looks etc. these characteristics are attractive because they show an ability to reproduce and pass on these genes to offspring. There are two types of sexual selection, intrasexual and intersexual. Intrasexual selection is the evolution of characteristics that enable an individual to compete with their rivals whereas intersexual selection is the evolution of characteristics that are attractive to a mate. An example of this would be a peacock’s tail. The peacock with the ‘best’ tail (longest and brightest etc.) is considered to be more attractive to the peahen and therefore he is more likely to reproduce and pass on his genes to the next generation. Buss, 1989, found evidence to support this. Over 10000 participants across 37 different cultures took part in his study on differences in intersexual selection. Questionnaires were given to the participants, asking about preferences for variables such as marriage, age differences, characteristics etc. He found that women valued qualities such as ambition and industriousness in men – qualities showing their financial potential. He also found that men valued youth and physical attractiveness more highly than women. This suggests that males look for qualities associated with fertility in line with evolutionary predictions. He concluded that women have evolved to select mates who can provide resources for themselves and their offspring. Buss’ study had over 10000 participants and therefore has credibility, however the participants may have not given a truthful answer and instead given one they thought would appear more…
Evolutionary theory states that body symmetry and symmetrical faces are desired characteristics, Cartwright (2000) found that women who have symmetrical breasts are more fertile than those with asymmetrical breasts. This supports the idea that body symmetry indicates reproductive fitness which leads to evolved characteristics, and allows women to have high self-esteem. Furthermore, other than symmetrical body and face structures males use physical attractiveness to judge how fit a female is to reproduce. Men look of more attractive females however females look for men who can provide good state of wealth. This is due to men only looking for the characteristics of reproduction and successive care of children from females. Although men and women both look into different characteristic, females are choosier since they have a larger investment and therefore more to lose. However, the study cannot be supported since a disadvantage of this study is that female may alter the appearance in order to seem young and fertile, while men may also lie and exaggerate on the amount of…
A consideration of how psychology approaches the study of sex and gender reveals, amongst others, four significant theoretical perspectives that are for the most part quite distinct in terms of their objects of knowledge and consequent methods of analysis. Biological psychology is concerned with explaining the differences between male and female in terms of hormones, genes and brain structure. It is mechanistic, with a strong empirical tradition. Evolutionary psychology attempts to explain differences between sexes in terms of behavioural selection for reproductive fitness. Whilst in large part necessarily theoretical, it embraces empirical methods as a means of testing theories. Social constructionist psychology approaches sex and gender through the study of discourse in various historical, cultural and social contexts and so is hermeneutic. Finally psychoanalytic psychology primarily uses clinical observation and the study of infants to gather evidence of how humans acquire and develop a sense of sex and gender (cited in Holloway et al, 2007, pp.127ff). (6)…
Angier explores the cardinal premises of evolutionary psychology. Examples of these cardinal premises are 1. Men are more promiscuous and less sexually reserved than women are. 2. Women are inherently more interested in a stable relationship than men are. 3. Women are naturally attracted to high-status men with resources. 4. Men are naturally attracted to youth and beauty. 5. Humankind's core preferences and desires were hammered out. She goes into great depth in exploring these principles and tells us that a lot of these socially constructed values don't go away…
In society, gender is a structure that divides work in the home and economic production which then creates those in authority and organizes sexuality (Lorber 1994). Even in societies where there are less defined gender boundaries there is still separation between genders. This spatial separation of men and women does reinforce the gendered difference, identity, and behavior (Lorber 1994). This spatial separation seems to have progressed throughout human evolution from chimpanzees to modern day humans where gender roles were clearly defined. This paper is to analyze the difference between men and women in terms of social behavior as not the result of biological variation but of cultural and environmental development from our ancestors.…
This article was very enjoyable to read; Dr. Abed’s arguments were clear and sensible. His arguments were supported due to his ability to do research on the problems. Moreover, the results correlated with his hypothesis. For example, the study of the correlation between eating disorders and intrasexual competition was proven by the questionnaire study. Not only was evidence provided through this study, but this evidence can be observed in everyday life. The image of what is attractive to the opposite sex is constantly shown in the…
In today’s society, we witness that the majority of romantic relationships suffer and falter. Numbers show marriages that end in divorce have sky rocketed. The question persists why? What causes so much dysfunction in a romantic relationship? A topic I found to be intriguing was jealousy. Present in all humans and in platonic and romantic relationships, jealousy has become an unexplainable phenomenon in which researchers are diving into in hopes of identifying the source of this detrimental emotion. Of course with such a loaded and complex topic, it’s hard to uproot all information because there are so many directions and scenarios. However, this being said, I was able to read about some studies and observations researchers have inducted. In my research I concluded that jealousy has no real definition, but rather is a collection of negative emotions that emerge when one person feels they are loosing power over something they think they posses. (Goodboy, Horan, Booth-Butterfield, 2012:374). Because there are different types of lovers (eros, ludus, storge, pragma, mania and agape), there are different reactions to jealousy and a correlation between ludus and mania lovers to evoke jealousy in their relationship. Through reading about a specific scenario involving jealousy in cross-sex friendship whilst being in a committed monogamous relationship I determined that jealousy opens the door to other interpersonal communication factors. For example ones non-verbal behavior is greatly affected. (Williams, 2005). I wanted to really invest time in understanding how different situations call for jealousy and the non-verbal reactions that begin to emerge through this negative emotion.…
In psychology there are many different and apposing perspectives such as biological, evolutionary, socio-cultural and social constructionist, to name a few. This essay will examine these different views and approaches in psychology in relation to sex and gender as well as development. It will look at the advantages and the disadvantages of having many perspectives to draw on when looking at these two diverse areas in psychology which have been cause for much debate. Is it that these perspectives cause confusion in understanding or do they help to broaden one’s mind and give a well-rounded and more objective view? Having a broad range of perspectives is a central and necessary part in trying to understand these topics as the range provides varied views and explanations. These views and explanations can explain why we are the way we are. However having such a broad range of perspectives can cause confusion as it becomes difficult to provide clear and concise explanations.…
The evolutionary model of jealousy implies that jealousy responses between men and women evolved to aid them with the different reproductive challenges faced by the two sexes. It states that, when it comes to infidelity, men are concerned with their female partner becoming pregnant by another man and are therefore more likely to feel jealous in response to sexual infidelity cues. Women are more concerned with their male partner diverting emotional and material resources required for raising her children to another woman, making them more likely to feel jealous in response to emotional infidelity cues. Men’s concern with sexual infidelity stems from the fact that a woman’s sexual infidelity can result in their raising and devoting resources to another man’s child instead of investing their efforts in the future of their own offspring for future generations to carry on their genes. Women can be certain of their maternity, which accounts for the decreased concern with sexual infidelity. They are however, threatened by the thought of having their partner direct resources and attention towards another woman and her offspring, this accounts for the increased concern with respect to emotional infidelity.…
Hubbard then focuses on sex differences between men and women. First, she discusses Darwin’s theory of sexual selection and states that since competition is more among the men than the women, “the men are in…
1. One way evolutionary psychology can answer Dylan’s promiscuity is that it has become a learned behavior that he has never had to correct/change. The study states that he has been promiscuous since high school and he sees no reason to change his ways.…
A new idea is never accepted easily; when an idea first comes into existence many questions are raised before the notion convinces anyone. Along with a new theory comes many new controversies and critiques which go against the bright new idea. An example of a brilliant idea which still has many controversies surrounding it is the notion of evolutionary psychology. As this field progresses into the world, many brilliant scientists from around the world reason why they think it’s false. Both supporters and adversaries not only helped shed light for each other, but also helped shed light in helping me decide whether I wanted to stand behind this new field, or be among the many that decline it.…
The evolutionary perspective on relationships, while one of the most thought provoking and interesting, is also one of the more criticized perspectives in the field of relationship psychology. The father of evolutionary psychology, Charles Darwin, foresaw the importance of the evolutionary perspective but could have not predicted all of the faultfinding that would also be attached to this theory. In relation to relationships, the evolutionary theory revolves around the ability of men and women to seek out partners in which to sexually reproduce with. For example, the recurrent problem of men identifying sexually accessible women was more acute for men oriented towards short term mating strategies than those for long term mating (Perilloux et…
Social comparison theory (Festinger, 1954) would suggest that when there is a discrepancy between the self and a comparison target, competitive behavior is generated. Research utilizing a mate-guarding prime found increased attention to attractive members of one’s own sex among men who were concerned with the threats posed by intrasexual competitors (Maner, Gailliot, Rouby, & Miller, 2007). Furthermore, research has shown that intrasexual competition through the use of a mating prime increased competitiveness among males (Buunk & Massar, 2012). Finally, in a correlational study, measures of intrasexual competition were significantly related to social comparison among males (Buunk & Fisher,…
The traditional picture of evolution is of a man being the hunter and a woman being the gather and child bearer. The role division may have evolved because women would have spent most of their adult life either pregnant or producing milk or both. If a woman spent time hunting this would reduce the groups reproductive success, hence why they are left to grow crops and make shelter and clothing to contribute. Not only does this complementary division of labour enhance reproductive success, but it is also important in avoiding starvation – a further adaptive advantage. This way their reproductive success is still high and they have an alternative way to survive.…