Sexual Selection & Human Reproductive Behaviour - created from Mind Map

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Intrasexual Selection:

Intersexual Selection:

Men have a greater desire for casual sex & tend to seek sex earlier in the relationship

For long-term mating, both sexes must invest heavily on offspring

A02: The claim that men are more likely to have short-term relationships was demonstrated in a study by (Clarke et al)

Research by (Penton-Voak et al) suggests that female preference for mate choice varies according to their menstrual cycle.

(Buss) explored what males & females look for in a marriage.

Gender Bias

Homosexuality

is the process by which males *compete* with other males for access to a female.

The victors are able to mate and so pass on their genes, whereas the losers do not.

The traits that made the male successful are then passed on to the next generation, helping to ensure survival.

states that each sex has innate preferences for mates with *certain characteristics*, such as good genes, attractiveness & resources.

For example, if females prefer tall males, over time there would be an increase in the number of tall males in the population

However, there are no such evolutionary desire for females.

This is because men can produce several children within a year, whereas women cannot.

Men have an evolutionary desire to impregnate a women as soon as they can, as it would enable to pass on more copies of his genes.

Therefore, choosiness is high in both sexes, as they wouldn't want to waste valuable resources.

Women are particularly choosy, as they have a crucial investment in their children.

As a result, females look for good resources & physical attractiveness.

Men & women experiments approach strangers on a college campus.

They then asked them one of the 3 following questions: 1. "would you go on a date with me?" 2. "would you go back to my apartment with me? 3. "would you have sex with me?"

Results showed that none of the women agreed to have sex with the stranger, whereas 75% of the men did agree.

Thus suggests that males have evolved mechanisms to increase their reproductive sucess.

They found that females preferred a masculine face during the most fertile phase and a more feminised face during the less fertile phase.

Thus suggests that females might choose a mate whose feminised appearance shows kindness & co-operation in parental care, but mate with a more masculine appearence male when conception is most likely.

They found that men showed preference for men with resources to provide for their children & men showed a preference for physical attractiveness.

They also found that men wanted younger women, therefore suggesting an indication of fertility & thus supports the evolutionary explanations of sexual selection.

However, (Kenrick et al) rejected this hypothesis and found that teenage males are more attracted to women who are 5 years older than them, despite the fact that such women usually show no interest in them.

The evolutionary theory of sexual selection could be considered to be gender bias.

It claims that men should be more prone to short-term relationships, whilst women should be less willing towards causal sex.

The theory fails to account for the differences between the sexes.

For example, many men do commit to one relationship. Likewise, many women choose to have 'flings'

As a result, the theory ignores the ways in which women differ from each other and how men differ to other men.

Sexual selection theory cannot explain homosexuality & why it exists.

No children are produced & such behaviour goes against the evolutionary theory.

It raises ethical issues, as people may use sexual selection to highlight the 'abnormality' of homosexuality & reate 'prejudice' through 'homophobia'.