These are in-depth and detailed notes covering the entirety of the specification of Relationships for the AQA A-Level course.
The evolutionary explanations for partner preferences, including the relationship between sexual selection and human reproductive behaviour.
Factors affecting attraction ...
Sexual Selection and Evolutionary Partner
Preferences
Darwin found many examples of animal characteristics that were not adaptive (beneficial to survival)
and instead threatened the animal's survival such as the peacock's tail.
Eventually, he realised that these features may threaten the animal's survival, but they improve its
reproductive success - important for evolution so they are advantageous in attracting potential
mates
Anisogamy
The differences between the male and female sex cells (gametes) cause differences in mating
strategies
Female --> Male
Larger gamete compared to sperm cells since an egg cell is around 0.15-0.2mm in size whilst
sperm is the smallest cell in the body
Sperm cells are more active than egg cells which become less mobile once released
Sperm cells have a lifespan from about 3-5 days once ejaculated meanwhile the egg dissolves
between 12-24 hours after release
Sperm is produced until death meanwhile eggs are only produced till menopause, till around 45-
55 years of age
Eggs are only produced once during the menstrual cycle, around every 28 days, meanwhile
millions of sperm are produced during ejaculation
All of this shows that female gametes are more rare than male sperm cells
Women can only be pregnant once in a period of 9/10 months meanwhile men can father multiple
children over a short period of time
Women have specific window of time with ovulation in which they can get pregnant so women have
to be more cautious about choosing who to mate with meanwhile men won't as they can choose
how many women they would like to mate with, spread their gene pool
Clark and Hatfield (1989)
In the field experiment, college students were confederated in a campus and approached
fellow college students of another gender
They asked these peers 1 of 3 questions: "Would you go out with me tonight?”, “Would you
come over to my apartment tonight?” or “Would you go to bed with me tonight?”
The men and women differed markedly in their receptivity to casual sexual offers
For the date - 50% of the men accepted and 56% of the women accepted
The apartment request - 69% of the men accepted while 6% of the women accepted
For sex - 75% of the males agreed to the request while 0% of the women
This therefore shows that partner preferences may be due to men wanting to spread their
gene pool as they produce sperm till death whereas women are more cautious as there is the
risk of becoming pregnant for 9 months
However, these results may have occurred due to other variables. For example, women are
taught more about the dangers of strangers and more cautious about the possibility of sexual
assaults, and therefore they may be more careful of who they have casual sex with.
Furthermore, it may have been influenced by cultural considerations to do with taboo
surrounding women having casual sex or extraneous variables such as attractiveness and
sexuality.
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