Sex and Mating

Buss 4, 5, and 6

Chapter 4: Female/Long Term

1. Be able to define male and female. How do gametes relate?
2. How do male and female parental investments differ?
3. What are some examples of exceptions to the rule that females invest more?
4. How does parental investment relate to sexual selection?
5. How does Buss argue that mate preferences are evolved psychological mechanisms?
6. What characteristics of males do females prefer? Be able to cite examples of female preferences for: economic resources, financial prospects, high status, older men, ambition, dependability, athletic prowess, health, paternal investment, similarity, sense of humor, etc.
7. What cross cultural evidence is there for female preferences?
8. If women are high in status or in wealth, how does this affect their mate choice?
9. How do mate preferences change across the menstrual cycle?
10. Why are personal ads used as a way to examine data?
11. How do women respond to various features of personal ads?
12. How does female attractiveness relate to marriage with high status men? Why?
13. Why do women choose older men?
14. How can women affect male-male competition?

Chapter 5: Male/Long Term

1. Why do men make long term commitments from an EP view?
2. What characteristics of females do males prefer?
3. What is reproductive value? Contrast this with fertility.
4. Why do men prefer younger women?
5. What standards of beauty were discussed? How do these vary across cultures?
6. Describe the Waist to Hip ration. How does this relate to male preferences?
7. Does male behavior change with females’ menstrual cycles?
8. What historical cultural features support the idea of males evolving ways to promote paternity certainty?
9. Context effects on men’s behavior: How do men in power mate? How does viewing hyper-attractive females affect behavior? What role does testosterone play?
10. What are the findings with personal ads?
11. What do the data on age at marriage indicate? Are the cross cultural data convincing?
12. What are female competition “tactics” and when are they employed?

Chapter 6: Short Term Strategies/ Male and Female

1. What are the advantages and disadvantages of short term matings for males?
2. What are the adaptive problems associated with short term matings according to Buss?
3. What physiological variables support short term strategies for males?
4. What psychological evidence for short term strategies for males is there? Be able to cite examples.
5. What behavioral evidence is there for short term strategies for males? Comment on the prevalence of prostitution and extramarital sex.
6. What evidence is presented for women’s short term mating? Comment on orgasm and extramarital sex.
7. Are there any advantages for females who engage in short term mating? What costs are there?
8. What kinds of studies are used to assess these hypothesized benefits for females?
9. Be able to describe the contexts effects associated with short term mating. What is mate value?