Relationships

• Sexual selection


  An evolutionary explanation of preferences for certain attributes or behaviours that may increase reproductive success
• Sexual selection is not the only thing that leads to reproductive success, it is just one factor
• Sexual selection


  • Some physical characteristics may be a sign of genetic fitness
  • Includes preferences and behaviours that relate to and therefore increase the chances of successful reproduction
• Intra-sexual selection


  Competition within one sex to gain access to mates
• Inter-sexual selection


  The preference of one sex for members of the opposite sex who have certain qualities
• Inter-sexual selection is the preferred strategy for females, focusing on quality over quantity
• Females select mates based on

  Genetic fitness characteristics that are likely to produce robust offspring
• Aggression


  Adaptive because it provides an advantage over competition in reproductive sites
• Fisher's sexy son hypothesis


  Suggests that if a female mates with a male who has desirable characteristics, this trait is inherited by her son, increasing the likelihood that successive generations of females will mate with her offspring
• Intra-sexual selection


  • Members of one sex compete with others of the same sex to gain access to mates
  • Favours physically aggressive males
• Females do not need to physically compete for mates, so there is no evolutionary advantage for them to be larger or stronger
• Intra-sexual selection consequences


  • Favours traits like dominance, deceptiveness, intelligence, and aggression in males
• Buss (1989) found that females universally put more importance on resource-related characteristics in a partner, while males put more value on signs of a female's youth and attractiveness
• Both sexes want someone who is kind (for long-term relationships) and intelligent (skill at parenting)
• Clark and Hatfield (1989) found that about 75% of men agreed to have sex with a stranger who approached them, while only 0% of women agreed
• Bernstein (2015) suggests that gender differences in mate preferences may be due to differences in economic and political power, rather than just evolutionary factors
• Evolutionary theory does not adequately explain cultural variations in relationships, such as arranged marriages
• Research suggests that female mate choice varies according to the stage of the menstrual cycle, with more masculine faces preferred during high fertility periods
• Self-disclosure


  Revealing personal information about yourself
• Romantic partners reveal more about their true selves as the relationship develops
• Self-disclosure (talking about intimate information)


  • Effect 1: those who engage in self-disclosure are generally more liked than those who do not
  • Effect 2: people disclose more to those they like
  • Effect 3: the act of self-disclosure makes the listener like the speaker
• Social Penetration Theory


  Relationships are a gradual process of revealing your inner self to someone involving reciprocal self-disclosure, which leads to understanding each other’s lives
• Social Penetration Theory


  • Two elements: breadth (low-risk information revealed early) and depth (high-risk information comes later as the relationship progresses)
• Evidence supporting importance of self-disclosure

  • Sprecher and Hendrick found strong correlation between self-disclosure and relationship satisfaction.
  • In a later study, Sprecher et al found that relationships are closer and more satisfying when partners take turns to self-disclose
• Criticism of Social Penetration Theory

  • Based on research in Western, individualist cultures
  • Tang et al (2013) found that couples in the USA tend to disclose more sexual thoughts than couples in China, but relationship satisfaction was high in both cultures
• Boom or bust effect

  • Research suggests that this effect takes place during online self-disclosure
  • Internet relationships involve a higher level of self-disclosure and attraction than face-to-face ones due to anonymity
  • Cooper and Sportolan suggest that this leads to the “boom” where it gets intense very quickly but is followed by a “bust” due to lack of trust and difficulty to maintain the relationship
• Real-world application of self-disclosure and social penetration theory


  Couples counselling
• Criticism of data supporting the importance of self-disclosure


  Correlation, not causation
• Evolutionary explanations of attractiveness


  Traits associated with good health act as indications of genetic fitness
• There are other features that are universally rated as physically attractive
• Shackleford and Larson (1997): Symmetrical faces


  • More attractive as they indicate good genetic fitness
• Belief that good looking people have positive characteristics


  Makes them even more attractive to us
• Walster (1966)


  The more socially desirable a person, the more desirable they are as a dating or marriage partner
• Individuals choose to date a partner of approximately their own attractiveness


  Influenced by the notion of selective preferences
• Computer Dance Study (Walster, 1966)


  1. Students bought tickets for a computer dance where information they gave about themselves would provide an “ideal match”

  2. An unseen observer marked the attractiveness of each student that gave their data

  3. Students were randomly assigned a partner

  4. After spending two hours with their partner, students were asked to complete a questionnaire about them

  5. Findings: those who were physically attractive were liked them most. Men asked out their partner is they found her physically attractive, regardless of how attractive they themselves were
• Berscheid et al (1971) study


  1. Replicated the Computer Dance Study, except participants were able to select their partner from people of varying degrees of attractiveness

  2. Participants tended to choose partners who matched their own physical attractiveness
• Eastwick and Finkel (2008) claim that attractiveness preferences may value on stated partner preferences, but these differences may not predict real-life partner choice
• Research shows that attractive people get lighter criminal sentences and attractive teachers are rated as nicer, happier, and less punitive by students
• Halo effect


  The belief that good-looking people probably have good characteristics, making us behave more positively towards them
• Evaluation of physical attractiveness explanation

  • Preferences may not predict real-life date choices
  • Attractive people get advantages
  • Could be complex matching rather than just matching
  • Not all people place importance on physical attractiveness
  • Matching hypothesis may have beta-bias