Evolutionary Explanations for Partner Preference

• Intrasexual selection


  Individuals of one sex must outcompete other members of their sex in order to gain access to members of the other sex
• Intrasexual selection


  Successful individuals are able to mate and so are able to pass on their genes
• Intrasexual selection


  Whatever characteristic leads to success in these same-sex contests become more widespread in the gene pool by virtue of the reproductive advantage this gives to the winners
• Intersexual selection


  Members of one sex evolve preferences for desirable qualities in potential mates
• Intersexual selection


  Members of the opposite sex who possess these characteristics will then gain a mating advantage over those who do not
• Intersexual selection


  Preference of one sex will determine the area in which the other sex must compete
• Sexual selection and long term mate preference

  Low quality mates will be more likely to produce unattractive and unhealthy offspring but by joining forces with an attractive, high-quality mate offspring are higher quality and an individual's genes are much more likely to be passed on
• Females prefer mates who

  Invest resources in her and her children, physically protect her and her children, show promise as a good parent and are sufficiently compatible to ensure minimal costs to her and her children
• Males prefer mates who

  Display signals of fertility
• Buss study


  • Procedure: Over 10000 people from 37 different cultures
  • Participants were asked to rate each of 18 characteristics on how important they would be in choosing a mate
  • 4 point scale was used- 3 to 0
• Buss study findings


  • Resources: Women more than men desired men with good financial prospects- resources or ambition
  • Physical attractiveness: Men place more importance on physical attractiveness- cue to women's health and reproductive value
  • Youth: Men universally wanted mates who were younger than them
  • Both sexes wanted intelligent and kind mates
• Cultural traditions may be just as important as evolutionary forces

  • Bernstein: gender differences in mate preference might stem from cultural traditions rather than evolved characteristics
  • Women have been denied economic and political power in many cultures might account for their tendency to rely on the security and economic resources provided by men
  • Kasser and Sharma: analysis of 37 cultures showed that women valued potential mates’ access to resources far more in cultures where women’s status and educational opportunities were sharply limited
• Female preference for high status men may not be universal

  • Buller: evolutionary psychologists are mistaken in their claims of a universal female preference for high status men
  • Majority of studies for female mate preference have only been carried out on female undergrads- these women expect to achieve high educational status so have expectations of high-income levels
  • The fact that these women prefer high status men might be explained by a general preference for high status men or preference for men with similar interests education and prospects to their own
• Mate choice in real life

  • Studies like buss might suffer from a lack of ecological validity
  • However many real life studies also support the mate choice hypotheses- study of actual marriage in 29 cultures confirmed that men do choose younger women
  • Some critics suggest that questionnaires like ones used in Buss’ study are more valid measures of partner preference than real-life marriage statistics especially in cultures where arranged marriages are the norm
• Mate choice and the menstrual cycle

  • Female mate choice varies across the menstrual cycle
  • Women choose a slightly feminised version of a male face as ‘most attractive’ for a long-term relationship as it shows kindness and cooperation in parental care
  • For short term sexual relationship during the high conception risk of the menstrual cycle the preferred face shape was more masculinised- possible genetic benefits in producing male offspring
  • Meta-analysis of 58 studies was largely non supportive specifically the claim of a preference for masculine males when women were at their most fertile
• Research supports that some human traits that serve no survival purpose have evolved due to sexual selection
• Preference for highly creative partners has been a characteristic of mate choice throughout evolutionary history
• Sample of contemporary British poets and artists and a control group of males in the non creative professions


  • Males in the creative professions tended to have significantly more sexual partners
  • The amount of their creative output was positively correlated with the number of sexual partners
• Females are motivated to choose creative males

  Because of the potential adaptive value of creativity and ingenuity that would be passed on to their offspring