AO3

• Buss (1989)

  research supporting mate preference related to anisogamy

  carried out a survey of over 10,000 adults across 33 countries

  questions asked related to age and other evolutionary attributes that should influence partner preference

  results showed that females respondents placed greater value on resource related characteristics e.g financial prospects, ambition, industriousness

  males valued reproductive capacity e.g good looks, chastity, preference for younger mates than females

  findings showed that sex differences in mate strategies due to anisogamy and predictions about partner preference derived from sexual selection theory

  findings are applicable across cultures
• Clark & Hatfield (1989)

  inter-sexual selection support

  showed that female choosiness is a reality of heterosexual relationships

  male and female psychology students were sent out across a university campus

  they approached other students

  they asked, 'I've noticed you around campus. I find you very attractive, would you go to bed with me tonight?'

  they found that 0% of female students agreed whilst 75% if males did immediately

  This supports evolutionary theory - suggests females are choosier than males when it comes to selecting sexual partners and males have a different strategy
• Bereczei et al (1997) and Chang et al (2011)

  Evolutionary theory

  evolutionary theory ignores the fact that partner preference is shaped by changing social norms of sexual behaviour

  e.g. women's role in the workplace means they're no longer dependent on men to provide for them

  
  

  Bereczei - social change has consequences for women's mate preferences which may no longer be resource orientated

  
  

  Chang - compared partner preference in China over 25 years and found that some had changed but others remained the same while corresponding with the social change at the time

  
  

  mate preference appears to be a combination of evolutionary and cultural influences
• Singh (1993, 2002)

  strength

  waist-hip ratio

  tested empirically

  males show a preference for a body shape that signals fertility

  males generally find any hip and waist sizes are attractive so long as the ratio of one to the other is around 0.7

  combination of wider hips and narrower waist is attractive as it signals that a woman is fertile but not currently pregnant