Miss Russell
1
How will I know if I am learning?
By the end of the lesson…
E
Will be able to define the terms Natural &
Sexual Selection.
C Will be able to explain the terms in connection
with relationships.
A
Will be able to apply these terms to explain
human mating strategies.
Rank these women in order of
Attractiveness
 Rank
these women in order of
attractiveness.
Attractiveness
 What
are considered to be attractive and
unattractive traits in women?
Rank these men in order of
Attractiveness
 Rank
these men in order of attractiveness.
Attractiveness
 What
are considered to be attractive and
unattractive traits in men?
5:00
Recall 3 people either you find attractive at the moment, or
have in the past, and list down all the things that attracted
you to those people...
Now on the Post-It notes I have given you, write down 1
physical characteristic you find attractive. You should have a
total of 5 characteristics, one on each Post-It. When you
have written them down (big & clear) I want you to come
and put them up on the board. When you go up, if someone
else has the same characteristic, then place yours in the
same place, like the ones below.
Eyes
Define Key Terms,
Explain terms,
Apply to mating strategies
Strong
arms &
legs
Nice
Hair
Define Key Terms,
Beautiful
eyes
Good
teeth
Explain terms,
Broad
Chest
(quite
hairy)
Apply to mating strategies
It would be nice to think that the formation of a
relationship relied on more than just physical
attractiveness. However, the importance of beauty
should not be underestimated.
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
Walster (1966) arranged for a huge blind date
event where students were paired up with a
stranger.
Midway through the date, they were separated and
asked what they thought of their date.
Attractiveness was the only significant predictor of
how highly someone was rated.
1:00
What is Evolution?
How can we
apply this to
relationships?
Define Key Terms,
Explain terms,
Apply to mating strategies
 Each
living thing (organism) has a set of
characteristics encoded by its genes
 The organism inherits its genes from its
parent(s)
 Variations between organisms are caused
by variations in the genotype
Define Key Terms,
Explain terms,
Apply to mating strategies
Organism
Environment
Organism has particular
characteristics
determined by its genes
Define Key Terms,
Environment contains a
range of opportunities
and threats (e.g. food
sources, predators)
Explain terms,
Apply to mating strategies
 Characteristics
evolve because they have
been passed from one generation to the
next via the genes
 This requires the organism:
 To live to reproductive age
 To mate successfully
 To ensure the offspring’s survival
Which bit is an ‘attraction’ essay
focused on?
Define Key Terms,
Explain terms,
Apply to mating strategies
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Socio-biology therefore is a field of psychology which aims to
explain social behaviour in evolutionary terms
A behaviour is said to be adaptive if it leads to increased survival
and reproduction of an organism.
This means that the gene which causes this behaviour will be passed
on to the next generation.
It is argued that most behaviour is adaptive, otherwise the organism
would not have lived long enough to pass the genes on.
Sociobiological (evolutionary) explanations of attractiveness
therefore see attraction as an adaptive behaviour which leads to
increased reproduction and survival.
Men and women should seek out partners who are likely to produce
healthy children.
2:00
What’s the
difference
between Natural
& Sexual
Selection?
Extension: How might these terms explain relationships? (SC:E)
Define Key Terms,
Explain terms,
Apply to mating strategies
Natural
selection
 Ability
to survive in a particular
environment (fitness)
Sexual
selection
 Ability
to attract/find a mate and
reproduce successfully
These
are separate processes – the
characteristics that facilitate
reproduction do not necessarily
increase survival chances
Define Key Terms,
Explain terms,
Apply to mating strategies
 In
many species, males have characteristics
(e.g. brighter colouration, exaggerated
tails) that serve to attract females
 Suggests that males are competing for the
attention of females
 Suggests that, in many species, females do
the choosing
Define Key Terms,
Explain terms,
Apply to mating strategies
3:00
o
Usually males compete with each other for ‘access’
to members of the opposite sex – victors mate and
pass on their genes – winning traits are passed on to
the next generation.
Summarise in 5 little words!
Define Key Terms,
Explain terms,
Apply to mating strategies
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_H3n2iT3co
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTKKFm5rC2Q&
playnext=1&list=PL8CDA757F299970C2
Define Key Terms,
Explain terms,
Apply to mating strategies
3:00
 The
preferences of one sex (usually females) for
members of the opposite sex who possess certain
qualities. Humans are ‘pre-programmed’ to attend
to displays of these important indicators and mate
with the individuals who possess them. E.g. if
females prefer tall males – over time, the number of
tall males would increase!
Summarise in 5 little words!
Define Key Terms,
Explain terms,
Apply to mating strategies
So what should these be signalling?
What about culture?
 If
sexual selection is important in effecting human
reproductive behaviour, we should expect that the
same physical characteristics are attractive to most
people and that they signal fertility. Also, that sex
differences in reproductive behaviour are
reasonably consistent across different cultures.
Define Key Terms,
Explain terms,
Apply to mating strategies
2:00
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlJw2_NnVLo&f
eature=channel
What are the differences in
what men and women want in
a mate?
How does this relate to
evolution?
Define Key Terms,
Explain terms,
Apply to mating strategies
Franzoi & Herzog (1987)
Men
were
predominantly
concerned
with weight
Define Key Terms,
Women
like
men with a
firm bum and
large chest
Explain terms,
Apply to mating strategies
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6_Ea5G8_KI
 2.27
Define Key Terms,
Explain terms,
Apply to mating strategies
Singh(1993)

Men like women with a low waist to hip ratio.
Slimmest part of your waist
Widest part of your hips
Define Key Terms,
Explain terms,
Apply to mating strategies
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Cunningham (1986) found that certain features acquired high
attractiveness ratings among the ppts, including neonate
features such as
higher and wider eyes
greater distance between eyes
a smaller chin and a smaller nose size.
Highly attractive mature features were prominent cheek
bones and a narrower face.
high eyebrows
large smiles and dilated pupils –these are expressive features,
also linked to attractiveness
“ baby face you’ve got the cutest little
baby face ”
According to Cunningham (1986)
Men like women
with
Childlike faces
Large and widely
separated eyes
Small nose and
chin
Define Key Terms,
Women like men
with
Mature faces
Square jaw
Thin lips
Small eyes
Explain terms,
Apply to mating strategies
Define Key Terms,
Explain terms,
Apply to mating strategies
10:00
Using the textbook to help you:
1) Summarise Short Term Mating preferences in Men
& Women.
2)
Summarise Long Term Mating preferences in Men
& Women.
Each of your summaries must include either the term
‘natural selection’ or ‘sexual selection.’
Be prepared to feedback to the class!
Define Key Terms,
Explain terms,
Apply to mating strategies
5:00
1) Heading: Today’s Date, Unit & Topic
2) Write a summary of your learning
today in less than 100 words. What have
you learned ?
3) Considering what you have written in
stage 2, which of the success criteria
have you met? Write down them down
along with the grade!
Define Key Terms,
Explain terms,
Apply to mating strategies