set 6 - final

Question 1

social capital and attraction

Answer 1

• we use judgments of attractiveness to evaluate that person’s trustworthiness
• we make judgments about their ability to be good roommates, teachers etc based on physical cues of health, and fertility when these things are uncorrelated
• some correlations exist in an extreme of spectrum in that people we find unattractive are associated with disorder, disease and other things like intelligence and competence
• this does not mean attractive people are better, smarter and lack disease or disorder, but speaks to the existence of pretty privilege

Question 2

what makes social capital associated with attraction

Answer 2

• impacts lifetime earnings
• impacts access to help from police
• impacts kinds of things should not be contingent on like health or fertility

Question 3

attractiveness and reproduction

Answer 3

• the people we find pretty or attractive do have a correlation with a likelihood what reproductive success
• however this could be because they get more chances
• features we find attractive are typically associated with health, fertility and survival
• our ability to evaluate others represents our ability to select good reproductive success for ourselves

Question 4

leanring and innate dispositions on attractiveness

Answer 4

• we discriminate almost immediately after birth
• infants from the time they are born only have the ability to focus within 8-12 inches of their face (nipple to face)
• you can test an infant’s visual preferences within hours of birth without the contamination by socialization
• infants prefer symmetrical, well proportioned, more feminine faces
• infants don’t have preferences for race, hairstyle, beards, or glasses because they earn those preferences through exposure and who we are around
• infants develop race preferences after a few months, particularly with skin colour and eye shape
• whatever they have been exposed to the most is what they will prefer (familiarity effect)

Question 5

benefits of attractiveness

Answer 5

• attractive people get a bonus in life
• unrelated to their skills
• we must have a profound bias for detecting and rewarding attractiveness

Question 6

red-queen model

Answer 6

• genetic arms race between us and the tiny creatures trying to exploit or kill us (bacteria, parasites, viruses)
• sexual reproduction and adaptiveness of immune system is what helps us combat the rapid reproduction of viruses or other things trying to harm us
• the difference between us and them in that they have a really rapid reproduction time, who means they can evolve faster than us
• e.g. with covid we had to make new vaccines to combat new strains of the Covid-19 virus

Question 7

immune system - red-queen model

Answer 7

• the difference between us and them in that they have a really rapid reproduction time, who means they can evolve faster than us
• we cant reproduce to create new evolved offences to combat this
• we only have our immune system and on average it is pretty good
• our immune system can evaluate info from the outside world and create a response that changes as we get new information and through experience

Question 8

issues with our immune system

Answer 8

• our immune system exists and an environment where it doesn’t have as much to do as in the past and it gets “bored”
• invents things like allergies and autoimmune disorders to keep busy
• environments with greater pressure on the immune system creates a stronger immune system that doesn’t get bored (i.e. lying on a farm less likely to have allergies or immune disorders)

Question 9

major histo-capability complex (MHC) and our immune system

Answer 9

• the genes that code for the majority of the immune system is usually referred to as the “major histo-capability complex” (MHC)
• broken down into many components responsible for different genetic variants
• MHC is a cluster of genes that codes for the immune system
• the more variable the MHC is the better → if you have different aleoles contained in the MHC there will be greater variable that the immune system can handle → the less variability in genes that code for your immune system the less flexible it will be
• you want a highly varied immune system in your offspring so you want to choose a partner that has a good MHC and has an MHC that is not the same as yours → this increases variability

Question 10

mate choice is a compromise

Answer 10

• mate choice is not like shopping → you do have a budget and that depends on your own qualities
• the thing you want has to choose you back
• you don’t get to have everything you find appealing
• e.g. Do you have offspring already? What is your health like? Are you employed?

Question 11

humans and polygamy

Answer 11

• humans are functionally polygamous
• we are likely to have multiple mates across our lifetime
• how this is accomplished is different
• e.g. serial monogamy, multiple relationships at once, polygamy
• we don’t make one mate choice and then are done with it → we make mate choices throughout our lives
• the effect of attractiveness doesn’t go away it persist so long as we have the capacity to sense/observe it in other people

Question 12

reproduction as a facultative adaptation

Answer 12

• mate choice and our decision about attractiveness are facultative
• what we perceive as attractive can change overtime based on the environmental inputs we get
• e.g. sex ratio → are there more females or male in the environment → as populations shift, the rarer sex dictates the mating strategy and makes their behaviours what the greater sex with prefer

Question 13

what is attractive

Answer 13

• honest signals
• waist-hip ratio
• BMI
• intentional displays
• dishonest signals

Question 14

honest signals of attractiveness

Answer 14

1. cues to good genes
   - symmetry
   - body odour (MHC)
2. current health
3. endocrine status
4. WHR
5. arousal/interest

Question 15

role of honest signals

Answer 15

• signals of genetic quality, health and fertility
• these factors are not entirely independent
• honest signals → detectable in an ancestral environment
• can’t hide these signals
• indicates the person has had a strong genetic compliment and no serious history of illness, trauma, parasites, etc

Question 16

cues to good genes - symmetry - honest signals

Answer 16

• bilateral symmetry: left and right side are comparable to each other
• we don’t necessarily perceive something that is “perfectly symmetrical” as real
• both sides of the body don’t develop at the exact same time
• we often find small asymmetries the things that make someone visibly charming or having character → we don’t find it attractive unless asymmetry is significant
• as you develop something that indicates asymmetry comes back to genetic quality (stronger the immune system = more symmetrical because it takes care of variance) or outside the immune system (genes coding for laying down muscle and bones)
• exposure to illness also impacts asymmetry → reflects overall health while you were developing

Question 17

cues to good genes - body odour - honest signals

Answer 17

• get an indication of energetic profile from smell
• we can detect whether someone is closely related to us through body odour or whether someone has been raised with us
• we tend to prefer the smells of people who are somewhat similar to us genetically → not sexually attracted to these odors
• the people we are typically sexually attracted to those who smell unrelated to us → particularly women smelling men when they are ovulating/most likely to conceive
• people who are ill will experience changes in smell → why you can train dogs and rats to detect signs of illness in people
• sweet smelling breath or pee can indicate type 1 diabetes
• our odour detection is about how healthy you are currently → do i want to catch that? Do I want my offspring to have that?
• can be a direct indicator of fertility → female body change in body odor when they ovulate and males prefer this smell

Question 18

current health - honest signals

Answer 18

• skin & hair, odor
• duller, patchy hair, bloodshot or crusty eyes, lesions, etc = illness or malnutrition = avoid these people
• likelihood of transmitting a disease in a small ancestral group so detecting someone with obvious signs of illness was good for survival
• humans can be trained to detect “sick” odours but dogs, and rats can detect them much better
• we don’t do a lot of this consciously its a matter of it having an overall affect on your interest of someone in that moment

Question 19

endocrine status - honest signals

Answer 19

• non-visual cue sensitivity is good because females can have concealed ovulation and can be impregnated at any time in their cycle
• females who are most fertile may give off fertility cues and we may not pick up on or do consciously but can change the behaviours of the females and their potential partners
• on average, females who are most fertile will wear skimpier or tighter clothes, become more sexually assertive, more likely to cheat on their partners, wear more makeup and are more flirtatious
• studies have also shown that strippers who are ovulating make twice as much money in tips compared to those who weren’t ovulating → argued it was due to changes in their own behaviour making them more appealing to male customers

Question 20

WHR - honest signals

Answer 20

• eemale waist to hip ratio also changes during ovulation
• around the time of ovulation you don’t retain as much water weight so you aren’t as bloated
• your WHR will look tinier compared to hips during ovulation which gives off a more appealing or feminine looking WHR while ovulating

Question 21

arousal and interest - honest signals

Answer 21

• flirtation and cues of interest and arousal
• in addition to physical characteristics we are attracted to people who are interested or attracted to us and respond to that
  - mate choice is not one directional → it has to choose you back
• physical changes such as swelling of lips, dilation of pupils, engorgement of breast and genital tissue, and increasing body temp. (release pheromones in B.O.) will increase our appeal to others
  - indications that you are attracted to someone can make you more attractive/appealing to them

Question 22

waist-hip ratio

Answer 22

• The shape we associate with attractive, fertile male bodies is an android shape and for females it is a gynoid shape
• the distinction between male and female bodies occurs during puberty as sex hormones kick in
• during adulthood relative hormones levels are somewhat correlated with WHR
• anything that disrupts fertility, disrupts WHR
• has powerful effects on attraction but is not the only indicator of attractiveness

Question 23

WHR and BMI

Answer 23

• there is a non-linear relationship between WHR and bodyweight
• there does tend to be a modest correlation with weight, fertility and WHR
  - higher weight, higher WHR and usually due to thickening around the waist
  - low body weight, lose gynoid fat deposits around butt and hips = low WHR
• WHR can depend where weight is stored
• WHR was a better predictor of overall health, particularly cardiac health
  - strongly correlated with fitness levels

Question 24

‘intentional displays’

Answer 24

we have more control over our facial muscles compared to any other species and can use this when we are trying to indicate sexual availability or interest

Question 25

postural cues - intentional displays

Answer 25

- changes in body position - movement indicators of underlying emotional experience

Question 26

flirtation - intentional displays

Answer 26

- we see a similar pattern across different species that have mate choice, in that there is a back and forth of cues between two individuals - associated with dominance, assertiveness and submission - on average, males and females don't always understand what the other individuals is experiencing or wanting

Question 27

assertive cues - intentional displays

Answer 27

- maintaining gaze - moving closer - touching or holding a part of the other person - shielding/mate guarding, deepening of voice - when intermixed with submissive cues, this is flirtatious - to much assertiveness can be to much on their one

Question 28

submissive cues - intentional displays

Answer 28

- laughter - smiling - averted gaze - showing off neck/ventral surface - grooming or preening

Question 29

psychological cues - intentional displays

Answer 29

- these are not often intentional - dilated pupils - flushing/blushing on skin - variety of tissue on body experience erection (breast and genital tissue) - lip plumping - darkening of breast nipples and genital tissue due to an increase in blood flow - increase on body temp. (pheromones)

Question 30

walking gait - intentional cues

Answer 30

- exaggerated gait to make it more feminine or masculine - masculine: shoulder sway - feminine: hip sway

Question 31

walking gait study

Answer 31

- brought people into a lab and had them walk in a treadmill with cameras that could calculate the efficiency of the gait - randomly assigned them to either a kinesiology study group studying efficiency of walking through calorie burning or psychology study about physical attractiveness of walking gait - they found that when attractiveness was being evaluated males and females both changed their gait - females who were aware they were being evaluated for attractiveness had more hip sway and males had more shoulder sway - when they were told they were being evaluated for efficiency of gait male and female gaits became more similar to one another, with less sway - when we know we are being watched or evaluated for our attractiveness, or if we want to appear attractive we might shift our gait to look more stereotypically masculine or feminine depending on who is watching

Question 32

clothing and ornament choices - intentional displays

Answer 32

- most heavily influenced by culture - we learn our cultured values so that our chives reflect our status - also aware of limitations or rules within cultures about what is appropriate - cosmetics and makeup, tattoos, piercing, clothing to highlight features - we tend to alter the way our body looks to emphasize certain traits - we tend to do this in a gendered/sexed way depending on who we are trying to attract or who we are trying to portray ourselves as - enhance, mack, guide or facilitate a certain perception of us

Question 33

'dishonest signals'

Answer 33

- routinely used clothing and ornamentation to enhance attractive traits and mask attractive ones - e.g. tattoos, scarification, natural pigments, bathing, perfume, jewelry - in a modern environment we have nearly an unlimited amount of options when it comes to enhancing or altering appearance - a lot of the dishonest signals have to do with changing the perception of symmetry - e.g. makeup, braces/veneers - supernormal stimuli

Question 34

supernormal stimuli

Answer 34

- goes beyond what is available in the natural world - e.g. steroids, implants, surgeries - you can also apply this to the use of makeup - there is a point where this becomes - if gone beyond natural and still finding it appealing - e.g. corset waist we can see that this looks great because it goes in the direction we see as appealing → we have no selective pressures to pick out supernormal stimuli and can be readily fooled by these things - we do tend to exaggerate them in the direction to a cue associated with fertility, health or youth - e.g. body odors, we mask it with things that smell nice - tend to enhance eyes that make them look larger relative to the face → is associated with youthful, feminine faces so it is unsurprising that we see this among those trying to look more young or feminine