#mateselection

Mate Selection

Men have evolved to respond to young, attractive females because these characteristics are linked to reproductive value whereas women respond to males who advertise security and resources as it displays the ability to protect the offspring until reaches maturity. 

Intra-sexual selection (mate competition) is where members of the same sex compete against each other. this is seen in physical and psychological manners. the winners mate and the losers don't. preferred characteristics and behaviours are passed down generations e.g. strong, attractive males intimidate others when obtaining a mate. 

Inter-sexual selection (mate choice) is preference for opposite sex for qualities they possess e.g. if tall males are preferred, through time, an increase in tall males to population. Preference one sex highlights is an area the other sex must compete e.g. if women prefer males' financial security and men prefer young, attractive females, this is where they must compete with others; males to have more resources and women to advertise youth and physical attractiveness. 

It is argued humans are pre-programmed to spot/respond to these traits and therefore increasing willingness to mate with individual possessing them.

Evaluation

Research evidence to support human reproductive behaviour and sexual selection in personal ads. Wanforth and Dunbar: 40% males seek young, physically attractive partners compared to 20% females  for same traits. Men and women possessing characteristics aiding reproduction are more likely to advertise them i.e. physical attractiveness & resources. people who dont possess these traits, focus on social characteristics to compensate (Dawson and Macintosh) 

Research evidence to support importance of fertility in sexual selection. in animal kingdom, females advertise when they are most fertile but in humans, oestrus is hidden, however research argues women at most fertile point are most attractive to males. Miller- lap dancers earned twice as much during oestrus phase of menstrual cycle.  

Research evidence to support male preferences to most fertile women. Buss- 37 cultures, clear preference by males to youthfulness and fertility. some critics say it is social power; younger women easier to control. Kendrick - teenage boys prefer women five years older than them, despite no interest from women. suggests only most healthy and fertile women. 

Methodology. research is questionable. self-report. effected by reconstructive nature of memory and social desirability bias. emotive topic of social connotations. findings not as objective as from lab experiment. with ethical issues of offence. 

The jungles of Central America feature a constant, cacophonous chorus exceeding the loudest battles-of-the-bands or the most exuberant southern Baptist ceremony. Many creatures lend their voices; monkeys howling, jaguars roaring, toucans screeching, and mice singing.

This is a thing. (image property of Disney)

Male singing mice, Scotinomys spp., are the Lloyd Dobblers of the rodent world. When attempting to seduce females in estrous, they belt out songs that range into the ultrasonic. In at least one species (Scotinomys teguina) quality of the song seems to be directly related to testosterone production, and castrati are (sensibly) rejected by females, their songs considered unappealing1.

When you’re a little rodent in the jungle, looking for a baby-daddy who can pass on some survival skills to your pups, you want DMX, not James Blunt.  

A high-quality male Dobblering it up. 

The larger of the singing-mouse, S. xerampelinus, is musical as well, and produces a louder, simpler song, compared to S. teguina2, but when a teguina male hears xerampelinus, he shuts up and gets out of the way3.

Humans can’t hear parts of the song, but what we can hear sounds a bit like small birds: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cwjjxj6ambY 4

1. Pasch B, George AS, Campbell P, Phelps SM (2011) Androgen-dependent male vocal performance influences female preference in Neotropical singing mice. Animal Behaviour, 82:177-183

2. Geographic variation in the songs of neotropical singing mice: testing the relative importance of drift and local adaptation.

3. Pasch B, Bolker BM, Phelps SM (2013) Interspecific dominance via vocal interactions mediates altitudinal zonation in neotropical singing mice. The American Naturalist, 182: DOI:10.1086/673263

Surprisingly, people from different cultures still look at the same stuff (factors) when evaluating their partners, and here are some quick facts from a study of 37 cultures, involving 10,000 respondents.

In 36 out of 37 cultures, women rated financial prospects as more important than did males.

In 29 of those aforementioned 36 cultures, females also rated ambition and industriousness as more important than did males.

In all 37 cultures, males preferred younger mates.

Conversely, women preferred older mates.

In 34 of the cultures, males rated good looks as more important than did females.

In 23 of the cultures, males rated chastity as more important than did females.

Buss, the dude in-charge of the study, concluded that women valued cues related to resource acquisition in their potential mates; understandably, this is why rich old men can still get ladies - money is important but it isn't everything.

On the other hand, men valued reproductive capacity more highly than females; but these findings were predicted by an evolutionary-based framework, meaning that men valued reproductive capacity cause they wanted to ensure their genetic continuation.

Personally, what I'm hearing is that they just wanna fuck younger and prettier things, except in a more polite manner of phrasing it. But if it's any consolation, younger women are indeed more virile.

Also, what about the gay and bisexual men? Reproductive capacity, uhm, what?

OTHER THOUGHTS: Seems to work out pretty well that women want older men and men want younger women. So if you're getting rejected now guys, it maybe cause you're a little too youthful.

Of course, this doesn't account for cougars which prey on younger men or MILF hunters, but the keyword in this study is prefer, so as long as the findings prove to have a majority, it'll work.