PSYC 359 1st Edition Lecture 9 Outline of Last Lecture I. Attraction II. Basics of AttractionIII. Physical attractionOutline of Current Lecture I. Video on attraction and beauty II. Sexual SelectionIII. Cross-cultural sex differencesCurrent LectureWhat is beauty and is it in the eye of the beholder? - From our earliest days we appreciate beauty, babies spend longer looking at attractive women - Beauty matters even more than we consciously realize…being attractive gets you opportunities - Nixon vs. Kennedy—people who listened to debate on radio thought Nixon won while ppl who watched on t.v. preferred Kennedy, who was wearing makeup and was clean shaven - Vogue person thinks that fashion and beauty is constantly changing - “Beauty is what the fashion industry says it is”- Ethnicity and age didn’t make a difference in attraction…this suggests that there are some things about beauty that we can agree ono Universal factors that are true for all beauty:  Youthful features advertise sex  Full lips=youth=attractiveness Components of adult beautiful face and the babies beautiful face o Babies beauty is different than adult beauty—plump cheeks, enormous eyes, all scrunched into center of face- Makeup enhances beautyo Tries to minimize discoloration and irregular contour and allow attention to be drawn to certain features o Bedroom eyes (dark upper lid) come from the fact that right before organism the upper lip droops. o When you are aroused your lips get fuller and redder- Link between beauty and health o Top athletes perceived to be good looking  People with symmetrical bodies find it easier to run and people with symmetrical features are more attractive o We’re programmed to grow symmetrically, so if things go well then we end up symmetrical o If you have a parasite as an infant, you don’t grow up symmetrically - More symmetric faces are more attractive - Man with facial cancer…children are just interested in talking to him, genuinely curious o Slow change so people react to him - Man whose mother had a bad accident, very traumatic - Flowers grow in a geometric ratio- Leonardo found the ratio of attractiveness (Vitruvian man)o 1:1:1.618o Beautiful width of the mouth is 1.618 the size of the noseo Many examples of this - What varies from place to place and era to era? o Pale used to be extremely fashionable, but now tan is more preferred  May have biological underpinning Anemia is easier to detect in blondes, so healthy blondes are very attractive because they seem healthy and can’t hide their anemia - When people are seeking a life partner, they look for different things o Physical attractiveness is 3rd or 4th in importance across cultures when people are looking for life mates - Beauty used to be rare but now it’s everywhere - As you age, your expressions get etched onto your faceo Your face begins to show who you are as a persono These faces are achievement Barriers: Liking those we cannot have- Theory of psychological reactance states that when people lose their freedom, they strive to regain ito All you think about is getting it back o Romeo and Juliet effect- Potential partners also get prettier at closing time- As the end of the night approaches, unattached bar patrons consider the remaining members of the other sex to be more attractive than they seemed to be earlier- From the Mickey Gilley song, Don’t the girls All Get Prettier at Closing Timeo Did the test in the bar…ON BLACKBOARD What do men and women want?- David Buss’ research looking for universal judgment on what men and women want- Around the world, people prefer partners who offer:o Warmth and loyaltyo Attractiveness and vitalityo Status and resources o …how much of these qualities are required depends on whether the person is looking for a long-term or short-term relationship o Less selective when picking a partner for a one-time fling- Attraction isn’t so mysterious after all- Men attend more to looks and women attend more to recourses, but everyone wants partners who are agreeable, loving, and kindSexual Selection- If you look cross species, you see there are differences in traits of males and females in all species…or are there? - In sexual selection, one sex (usually the female) chooses among the available males. Anyinherited trait that improves mating success of certain individuals will become more pronounced in proceeding generationso **Usually female does the choosingo That’s why there are beautiful males…in examples- Some examples:o Lizard with throat—only maleso Peacock with feathers and colors—only maleso Monkey with colors—only males- Assortive mating o Humans seldom at random preferring phenotypes like themselves (ethnicity, age,size, etc.)Sexual Dimorphism- Differences - Differences between males and females- We look different—males are larger, hairier, etc. - Humans are a little dimorphic but not as much as other species- Birds are not very dimorphic - The more dimorphic a species is, the more sexual relations they will have and more polygamy they have and vice versao This has to do with sexual selection- Ducks practice gang-rape- Very few species are actually monogamous - Pigeons are monogamous- Terrestrial species tend to be more dimorphic (like humans)Preferences in Human Mate Selection- Three characteristics consensually placed at the topo Kind/understandingo Exciting personalityo Intelligent - What about the sex difference?o Males preferred mates who were physically attractiveo Women preferred mates who demonstrated good earning potential and were college educatedCross-Cultural Sex Differences and Preferences- Mate preferences reflect different selection pressures - Five predictions were made based on evolutionary concepts:I. Parental investment- Monogamy is probably a consequence of high parental care requirement - Humans require lots of parental care…are monogamous - Humans mate on average for 4 years II. Sexual selectionIII. Human reproductive Capacity- Chimpanzees have very large testicles and are very polygamous- Humans are average and are somewhat monogamous o Sexual asymmetries regarding paternal and maternal