PSYC 1315 1st Edition Lecture 27 Outline of Last Lecture I Personological approach II Life story approach III Social cognitive perspectives IV Biological perspectives V Personality assessments VI Personality types Outline of Current Lecture I Attraction II Sex and relationship preferences Current Lecture I Attraction a What do we want in our romantic partners i What do men want 1 Physical attractiveness youth ii What do women want 1 Resources Security Phy Attraction Humor Soc Status Older Commitment Cooperation Communication b Do men and women desire the same things in mates i In many domains yes ii The importance of name iii Gender typed behaviors iv Other examples 1 Dependability 2 Emotional stability maturity 3 Exciting personality 4 Healthy These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute c d e f g 5 Pleasing disposition 6 Kindness understanding 7 Education Intelligence 8 Sociable 9 Refinement Neatness 10 Wants children 11 Easy going 12 Creative artistic Physical attractiveness i Men women both desire attractive mates 1 Heterosexuals homosexuals ii What do we find attractive 1 Symmetry Developmental stability health 2 Consistent across cultures development Cultural differences on importance of attractiveness i Cross cultural differences in importance of physical attractiveness based on societal 1 Countries that are not as healthy people place higher importance on attractiveness Bodily Attractiveness i What is attractive II 1 Women 7 waist hip ratio a Playboy centerfolds have gotten slimmer but WHR has stayed the same 2 Men height athleticism a U S women value physical strength in mates twice as much as men do b Tall men are more desirable as dates and mates c ideal height is 6 d preferred diff is man 6 taller Age its effects on physical attractiveness i Different effects for men and women 1 Age correlated with reproductive value Fertility in women 2 RV of children one can have in the future 3 Declines after age 20 4 Fertility likelihood of pregnancy 5 Women s looks signal their RV Fertility men s do not Sex differences in the importance of attractiveness i Physical attractiveness 1 Men rate attractiveness highly in LTM 2 Women rate it desirable but not crucial 3 Why II a To women it is not crucial because women value many more things in a partner like responsibility security so it is a trade off h Other factors influencing desirability Status Resources i Women men prefer cues related to resource acquisition 1 Financial prospects 2 Status 3 Ambition industrious ii Women place a greater emphasis on financial prospects iii Women predisposed to prefer men able to secure resources can invest in a woman her children i Do women who have their own money have a decreased desire for men with resources i no 1 Cross cultural test No relationship between economic equality magnitude of sex difference 2 Within culture test Women with high incomes value financial prospects more j Women also desire men who like children i LaCera Study 1 Man Alone 2 Man Vacuuming 3 Man Interacting Positively with Baby 4 Man ignoring baby Sex and Relationship Preferences a Students in one series of studies were asked i What is the minimum percentile of intelligence you would accept in considering someone for 1 A date 2 A sexual partner 3 A one night stand 4 A steady dating partner 5 A marriage partner b Sex differences in mate preferences based on relationship type i Differences in parental investment ii Women become choosier as pregnancy probability increases iii Women choosy about both short term and long term mate b c if they get pregnant they want someone who isn t dumb will leave iv Men become increasingly selective as resource investment increases v Men are choosier about long term than short term c Ovulation and Flirting i Women who were ovulating flirted more with short term sex oriented men 1 Men with high genetic markers of fitness ii Flirting What is the function of flirting 1 Why do we flirt 2 What do you do to flirt with potential mates a Verbal cues b Non verbal cues c nonverbal cues communicate more Verbal cues can be misleading d Communicating attraction flirting i We flirt to ambiguously communicate attraction display cues desired by the OS 1 Occurs across cultures species 2 Verbal non verbal cues a Behaviors differ between the sexes b E g women hair flip men touching 3 Is it easy to tell when someone is interested a Men overestimate how much a women is interested in them e Other factors influencing attraction i Matching Hypothesis 1 Tendency to develop romantic relationships with those similar to ourselves in attractiveness 2 I m hot so you re not study 3 Exceptions lack of attractiveness is compensated for by other factors a E g Donald Trump ii Revised Matching Hypothesis similar in overall mate value 1 We tend to pair with those similar in SES religion ethnicity values 2 Mate complementarity iii Signals of relatedness no attraction f Effective attraction tactics i Display good sense of humor ii Sympathetic iii Showed good manners iv Kept self well groomed v Kept physically fit vi Being kind and understanding vii Friendly g Sex Differences in Effectiveness of Tactics of Attraction M W i Display Resources Drove expensive car flashed a lot of money to impress her ii Display sophistication Superior vocabulary acted worldly iii Display strength Flexed his muscles unintentionally iv Display athleticism Lifted weights played sports h Sex Differences in Effectiveness of Tactics of Attraction W M i Wear sexy clothes Wore sexy or skimpy clothes ii Wear make up used facial makeup to enhance appearance iii Keep clean and groomed Washed hair daily brushed teeth iv Act coy Played hard to get tried to appear indifferent to the guy she really liked v Wear jewelry necklace earrings i Getting to know each other i Self disclosure ii Providing information about yourself communicates liking iii But not too much too fast