ANT2301 Test 2 Study Guide decrease in sexual dimorphism with concealed ovulation male preferences expectations finding the right mate decreased direct male male competition increased reliance on male provisioning increase in pair bonding between males and females long term due to inequalities in investment females face several adaptive problems in infer that females and males evolved preferences information processing biases that enable them to assess traits that indicate fitness levels INCREASE REPRODUCTIVE SUCCESS What traits are correlated with high mate value evolutionary explanations social psychology explanations 1 personality based on perceived facial features and length of relationship 2 preferential changes in preferred odor MHC major histocompatibility complex male preferences male preferences vs female preferences Biological traits Facial preferences 3 the age factor Penton Voak et al 1999 found that females preferred masculine looking faces at ovulation but less masculine faces when non fertile however females using oral contraception reveled no cyclical change in facial females did have no overall preference for symmetry but this was irrespective preference of menstrual cycle phase overall females prefer a more feminized face during luteal phase may indicate increased parental care lower testosterone levels levels are correlated to parental care short term high risk more masculine faces preferred menstrual cycle phase and face preferences preferences masculine good genes men around ovulation feminine Caring sharing men at other times similar patterns of change during the menstrual cycle have been observed for voice preferences changes in women s preferences for masculinity reflects change in progesterone level rather than change in estrogen level major histocompatibility complex MHC genes make the molecules that enable the immune system to recognize invaders the more diverse the MHC genes of the parents the stronger the immune system of the offspring not too foreign Claus Wedekind experiment 1995 a group of female college students smelled t shirts that had been worn by male students for two nights without deodorant cologne or scented soaps an overwhelming number of women preferred the odors of men with dissimilar MHCs to their own however their preference disappeared if they were taking oral contraceptives olfactory genetics body odor serves as a cue for health Gangstead Thornhill 1998 female olfactory preferences favor the scent of more symmetrical men during ovulation ovulating non pill uses consistently preferred the scent of symmetrical men for contraceptive pill users and females not ovulating there was no relationship Herz Inzlicht 2002 asked males and females to rank various physical characteristics in a potential partner female body odor singh and bronstad 2001 males smelled female shirts from different times of their cycle no contraception 3 nights during Follicular phase ovulating and Luteal phase non ovulating males lead to believe one t shirt worn by attractive female other by unattractive rated most attractive or sexy smell during follicular phase lap dancer tips solid line represents females not on contraception dashed line represents females on contraception the age factor in chimpanzees males prefer older females due to higher survivorship of offspring younger females are less experienced parents Buss 1989 in a cross cultural survey female preference was for someone Kenrick Keefe 1992 females consistently married males who were around around 4 years older 5 years older than themselves evolutionary explanation this is a powerful cue to reproductive potential as women reach their reproductive peak around the age of twenty which declines thereafter male age preferences reproductive potential in studies of mate preferences male desire females who are at their peak of Buss 1999 found that in every society n 37 males preferred younger wives on average 2 1 2 years younger as males age they prefer mates who are increasingly younger Kenrick Keefe 1992 what about teenagers enough to bear children if teenage males prefer younger partners these females may not be old we would therefore predict that teenage males would prefer slightly older females Kenrick 1996 asked teenage males and females aged between 12 19 the ideal age of dating partner and the age limits that would be acceptable teenage males unlike older males preferred mates who were slightly older than themselves however they are unlikely to be successful in this because females on average at all ages prefer older males age preference changes at different relationship levels Buunk 2001 examined minimum and maximum age preferences for mates across 5 different levels of relationship involvement in people age 20 60 women preferred partners around their own age regardless of the relationship involvement males preferred mates at the peak of reproductive capability 18 30 for short term relationships or sexual fantasies for long term relationships males preferred mates around their own age or younger sociocultural factors provide resources evidence in general mate selection is limited to the norms of society the fact that females prefer older higher status males and males prefer younger more attractive females may be a reflection of traditional gender roles but then why do we see this trend in so many cultures human males can provide a range of resources for the female food shelter protection from other males females should have evolved preferences for males who have good resource prospects have higher social status display hard working and industrious characters what kind of males typically have these qualities women tend to value the economic resources of a potential partner substantially more than men do Trivers 1985 found that American men who marry in a given year generally earn 50 more money than men of the same age who do not marry Buss 1989 showed that women valued financial prospects around twice as highly as men males earning capacity Kenrick 1990 minimum percentiles of characteristics they would find acceptable in a potential partner females minimum acceptable earning capacity for marriage is around 70 that of other men women also had higher standards regarding financial prospects at all stages of a relationship education and job prospects Betzig 1989 many women choose males that are still young and relatively lacking in social status and resources those males have an education and willingness to