Buss D (1989) Sex differences in human mate
preferences. Behavioural & Brain Sciences 12, 1-49.
What could I be asked?
1. Summarise the aims and context of Buss’s (1989) study. (12)
2. Outline the procedures of Buss’s (1989) study. (12)
3. Describe the findings and conclusions of Buss’s (1989) study. (12)
4. Evaluate the methodology of Buss’s (1989) study. (12)
5. With reference to alternative evidence, critically assess Buss’s (1989)
study. (12)
What do I need to know about the study?
aims and context
procedure
findings and
conclusion
• Why was this study carried out? What had happened
in society recently? Had there been related research
already carried out? What were they trying to find
out?
• What type of study was this? What did they actually
do? Where was it carried out? Who took part? How did
they measure outcomes?
• What did they find out? What conclusions did they
draw from this?
evaluation of the
methodology used
• What were strengths and weaknesses of the way this
study was carried out? Think about sampling issues,
reliability, ethics, ecological validity etc.
assessment using
alternative evidence
• What do other studies suggest about this study? Do
they support, contradict it, or perhaps suggest there is
something important the researchers didn't think of?
Context & aims
Definition
Mate selection is ..…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Context
This study is concerned with mate selection ie. Choosing a sexual partner. It has a
background in evolutionary psychology. Evolutionary psychologists are interested in how
our behaviour is affected by instincts designed to increase the chances of surviving and
passing on our genes to the next generation. Buss (1989) was particularly interested in three
evolutionary ideas; parental investment, reproductive value and paternal probability.
Parental investment
Human females invest more time and energy in reproduction than men. Men can invest as
little as a few minutes of casual sex impregnating a woman. However a woman will invest
far more time and energy, carrying the child through pregnancy and usually taking the bulk
of responsibility for raising them to adulthood. The fact that women invest so much more in
reproduction means that they tend to be fussier in their mate choice. It also means that
selection of men should be influenced by their likelihood and ability to contribute to child
rearing by earning lots.
Exercise: what male characteristics might women find attractive according to this view?
…..................................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................................
Would women prefer:
An older man [ ] Younger man [ ]
Reproductive value
For men access to fertile females is the major factor affecting their chances of reproducing.
Fertility is the probability of reproduction now. Reproductive value is the probability of
reproduction in the future. Fertility in women peaks in late teens or early twenties and
obviously the younger the woman the longer she is likely to remain fertile. This whole
approach therefore predicts that men will favour younger women. Because facial
appearance gives clues to age and therefore to fertility and reproductive value, this
approach also predicts that facial attractiveness in women will be very important to men.
Paternal probability
A third line of research is based on the idea that we want to be sure that any investment we
make in reproduction ensures that we pass on our genes to future generations. For women
this is easy – unless there is an unfortunate mix-up in the maternity ward there is little
doubt that your child is biologically your own. For men on the other hand it is much harder
to know that a child is theirs.
Exercise: does this predict men will prefer chaste or sexually active women?
Chaste [ ] sexually active [ ]
Aim
In general the more something holds true across a range of cultures the more likely it is to
be a result of evolution. Buss predicted that, regardless of culture, women would tend to
prefer men who were ambitious, industrious (hard working) and financially well off. It was
also predicted that men would prefer young, attractive and chaste women. The aim was to
test this idea by asking men and women in a range of cultures about what they liked in a
potential mate.
Method
Sample
Size:
Sampling methods:
This was a
study because
it uses a type of self-report measure.
The IV (Independent Variable) was …
The DV (Dependant Variable) was…
How were they recruited?
Settings:
Procedure
The questionnaires
Sample characteristics:
Two questionnaires were administered to
all participants in their native language.
Why is it important to use their native
language? …………………………………
……………………………………………….
……………………………………………….
……………………………………………….
The first measured the importance of
factors affecting mate choice. 18 characteristics were assessed for importance.
Some were irrelevant to the study, for example sociability.
Why use filler questions?...........................................................................................
………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Others were the target variables of age, good looks, good financial prospects,
chastity, ambition, industriousness and lack of previous sexual experience.
Participants rated the importance of each factor on a 0-3 scale, where 0 was
irrelevant and 3 was indispensable. The second questionnaire asked participants to
rank 13 factors affecting mate choice in order of importance. Within the 13 factors
were ‘good earning capacity’ and ‘physical attractiveness.’
Findings
In 36 out of 37 cultures women placed significantly more importance on good financial
prospects in a mate than men. The exception was Spain, where women placed only
fractionally more importance than men on finance. In 34 of the 37 cultures women
placed more emphasis on ambition and industriousness than men.
Exercise: Do these figures support parental investment theory?
…......................................................................................................................................
.........................................................................................................................................
In all 37 cultures the average age of men’s ideal woman was significantly younger
than themselves and that of women’s ideal man. Similarly in all 37 samples women’s
ideal man was older than themselves. The average age difference between the ideal
man and the ideal woman was four years. In all 37 cultures men rated good looks in
women as more important than did women about men.
Exercise: Do these figures support the idea of reproductive value?
…......................................................................................................................................
.........................................................................................................................................
Chastity and lack of previous sexual experience was the factor that varied most across
cultures. Out of the Western European countries, only Ireland placed much emphasis
on chastity. In only 23 of the 37 cultures was there a gender difference in the
importance placed on chastity in a potential mate.
Plot the data on to a graph.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Overall was there support for evolutionary theory?
In general men prefer attractive…
In general women prefer…
Yes [ ] No [ ]
younger women [ ] older women [ ]
poor lazy men [ ] rich hard-working men [ ]
Recap
For each of the following evolutionary principles there is what level of support?
Recap
Recap
Now check your understanding by summarising the study in the boxes below:
Aim
•
•
Procedure
•
•
Findings
•
•
Conlcusions
•
•
Alternative Evidence
Roberts et al. (2004)
We show here that both men and women judge photographs of women's faces that were
taken in the fertile window of the menstrual cycle as more attractive than photographs
taken during the non-fertile phase, which means that men rate women as more attractive
when they are ovulating.
Exercise: do these findings support Buss' ideas? Explain why.
....................................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................................
Schmitt et al (2003)
In a major cross-cultural study by Schmitt, gender differences in mate selection were tested
in 16,288 people from 53 countries. In every culture there was a significant difference on
each of several measures between women and men’s preferences for variety in mates. In
every case men desired a larger number of mates.
Exercise: do these findings support Buss' ideas? Explain why.
....................................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................................
Buss (
What can we conclude from alternative evidence?
Later research strongly
that control and personal responsibility increases
functioning and well-being. Evidence from review studies show Langer & Rodin’s results are
reliable, and the inclusion on lab studies suggests their results were also
Later studies show that the short-term effects Langer & Rodin found could lead to long-term
health benefits. This gives strong support for the use of Langer & Rodin’s intervention; it is
both low cost, and could benefit the longevity, health, functioning and motivation of elderly
people.
.