Professor David M. Buss Department of Psychology University of Texas

STRATEGIES OF HUMAN MATING

Mating Strategies Have By Natural Selection Diverse Contexts

. Different species . Various Cultures . Ecologies . Unique experiences (father absence) . Surplus of one gender . Different genders (male, female) . Different mate values Source: www.puffin.com

1 Intersexual Selection: Preferential

. Same‐Sex Competition . Intersexual Selection

Locations of 37 Cultures in International Humans Have a Complex Menu of Mate Selection Project: Mating Strategies Total # of People = 10,047

. Long‐term committed mating . Short‐term opportunistic mating . “Cheating”: Extra‐pair copulation (EPC) . Serial mating over time . Mixed mating strategies

2 Culturally Variable Desires Universal Desires

 Love

 Exciting personality Indispensable  Good health  Kindness  Intelligence Rating  Sociable  Easy going

Irrelevant

Meta‐Theory of Sex Differences Recurrently Different Adaptive Problems of the Sexes

Similar: When recurrent evolutionary  Internal female fertilization  history of similar adaptive problems. Paternity uncertainty  (men vs. women)  Misdirected parental investment Different: When recurrent evolutionary  Breast feeding history of different adaptive  Concealed ovulation problems.  Cyclic ovulation

3 Have Humans Evolved Psychological Adaptations to Sex‐Linked Adaptive Problems? So What Do Men Want?

. What is the empirical evidence?

Ideal Number of Sex Likelihood of Agreeing to Have Sex With Partners Desired Someone You Find Attractive as a Function of Time Known “100% Sure!”

Men

Women

“Absolutely Not!”

4 Florida Study More Psychological Evidence for Short‐Term Mating The “closing time phenomenon” Guy propositions a Girl: Girl propositions a Guy:

Male Sexual The Assessment Problem Over‐Perception Bias (Perilloux, Confer, & Buss, 2012; Psych. Science) 1.5

1

0.5

0 Misperception -0.5

-1

-1.5 Men Women

5 Logic of the Evolution of Standards Standards of Beauty are of Attractiveness Consistent Across Cultures

Cues or Full lips Fertility Clear skin Standards of RV Clear eyes Attractiveness Lustrous hair Muscle tone Sprightly gait Symmetry Health Youth Etc.

Men’s Age Preferences As Ecological Diversity They Get Older

in local environment

1993)

6 Mate Value Body Shape: Waist‐to‐Hip Ratio Cue to: youth, health, fertility, and non‐pregnancy [~.70 = ideal] [Singh, 2011]

.70 .80 .90

Mate Preferences . Thousands of dimensions of differences . Constants do not count So What Do Women Want?

7 Problems Women Face in Mating Commitment‐Related Deceptive Experiences

1. Identifying relevant attributes 2. Assessing men on relevant attributes 3. Accurate self‐evaluation of mate value 4. Targeting men in mate‐value range 5. Avoiding male deception: “players”

Emotional Upset About Deception: Preference For Pre‐ and Post‐Copulation Economic Resources

7 = extremely upsetting

Source: Haselton & Buss (2005)

8 Preference For Social Status Confidence

Who Gets What They Want? Deception about Status and Resources

9 Preference for Slightly Older Men Ambition and Industriousness

Preference For Willingness to Invest in Children Love and Commitment

10 The Hidden Side of Female Sexuality: Hypotheses About Potential Female Short‐Term Mating Benefits of Infidelity for Female

. Low fertility of current mate . Access to additional resources . Access to superior genes . Mate switching: trading up

Sexual Infidelity Tactics Men Don’t Always Know What Women Want

11 What Women Want: There’s Much More Research to Do Thank you!

For More Info:

www.davidbuss.com

12