Human mating strategies

It predicts that people born into harsher environments (in which they have less control over the threats around them) are more likely to reach sexual maturity faster and to reproduce earlier, due to phenotypic plasticity (external cues prompting change in physiology and behavior).

[19] It has been proposed that life history theory in humans could be made more useful by considering the principle of time preferences shared between evolutionary biology and psychology, recognizing that individuals will see their assets as more valuable in the present than in the future.

[44] For this reason, when judging the value of a potential mate, people commonly consider the other person's grasp of grammar (a proxy of socioeconomic status of educational level), teeth quality (indicators of health and age), and self-confidence (psychological stability).

[51] Positive assortative mating raises the chances of a given trait being passed on to the couple's offspring,[39] strengthens the bond between the parents,[40][52] and increases genetic similarity between family members, whereupon in-group altruism and inclusive fitness are enhanced.

Historical evidence suggests that this practice arose independently in different complex or stratified societies, such as India, Mesopotamia, and Egypt during the Bronze Age, but did not necessarily spread to other places.

Due to this short-mating strategy, males have a greater desire for sexual variety, need less time to consent to intercourse, and seek short-term mates more than females.

Women in a stressed situation may benefit from protection from a male and short term mating is a way to achieve this as is seen in contemporary asylum seeker anthropological studies.

Indeed, research indicates that self-perceived physical attractiveness,[84] absence of fluctuating asymmetry,[85] and low vocal pitch[86] are positively related to short-term mating success in men but not in women.

[91] By the same token, some researchers hypothesized that postpartum depression is more likely to occur in mothers who are suffering a fitness cost, in order to inform them that they should reduce or withdraw investment in their infants.

[100][101] While this is found across cultures,[102] there are differences with regards to what the ideal waist-to-hip ratio is, ranging from 0.6 in China, South America, and some of Africa[103] to 0.8 in Cameroon and among the Hadza tribe of Tanzania.

[109] On the other hand, there is evidence that a mother's waist-hip ratio before pregnancy is correlated with her child's cognitive ability, as hip fat, which contains long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, critical for the development of the fetus's brain.

One classic study of college students at Florida State University found that among 96 subjects chosen for attractiveness, approached on campus by opposite-sex confederates and asked if they wanted to "go to bed" with him/her, 75% of the men said yes while 0% of the women said yes.

[166] Finally, several studies have found that experimentally manipulating disease salience has a causal influence on attractiveness preferences and SOI scores in predicted directions.

For example, in the major metropolitan areas of China, females are generally in short supply and as such are more likely to be fulfilled should they find a mate while many men are simply left out of the dating market.

On the other hand, on the Island of Manhattan and in some Western university campuses, females are in excess and as such they compete intensely for male attention, giving rise to hookup culture and short-term mating websites such as Tinder.

In addition, because the number of children a woman can have over her lifetime is much smaller than that of a man, under harsh economic realities women tend to sacrifice their careers in favor of domestic duties in order to safeguard their genetic interests.

"[174] In light of these findings, it has been suggested that both female physical attractiveness and male access to resources can be thought of as "necessities" in a mate while other qualities, as such as humor, can be categorized as "luxuries".

[187] At the same time, significant numbers deem marriage to be an outdated institution and an overwhelming majority think it is unnecessary for a fulfilling or happy life, though they may remain open to that option.

Innovations that became commercially available in the twentieth century, such as the refrigerator or the washing machine, reduced the amount of time people needed to spend on housework, which diminished the importance of domestic skills.

[196][197][198] By undertaking risky endeavors, males are thought to signal the qualities which may be directly related to one's ability to provision and protect one's family,[199] namely, physical skill, good judgment, or bravery.

[197] In addition, traits like bravery and physical prowess may also be valued by cooperative partners due to their benefits in group-hunting and warfare, thereby increasing the potential audience for risk takers.

[202] Psychological research indicates the existence of a "reminiscence bump" between the ages of 10 and 30, a period important in human development, when people receive a substantial amount of feedback on their social status and reproductive desirability.

[207] One way to signal one's socioeconomic status is conspicuous consumption, or when individuals purchase luxurious items which provide little to no utility over less costly versions,[208] thereby prioritizing self-promotion over economic sense.

It may also be used for the purposes of intrasexual competition, or the denigration of rivals in order to elevate oneself, with men gossiping about access to resources (wealth and achievement) and women about looks and reputations.

[224] Popular contemporary female romance novels conform to strategies common among women, for example by avoiding short-term relationships, and as such pertain to their genetic interests.

[231] Fan fiction writers base their work on various internationally popular cultural phenomena such as K-pop, Star Trek, Harry Potter, Doctor Who, and My Little Pony, known as 'canon', as well as other things they considered important to their lives, like natural disasters.

In their book A Billion Wicked Thoughts (2011) analyzing search-engine results, cognitive scientists Ogi Ogas and Sai Gaddam wrote, "Men's brains are designed to objectify females.

[226][232] Hobbs and Gallup classified the reproductive messaging of the songs into 18 categories, including genitalia (e.g. "Baby Got Back" (1992) by Sir Mix-A-Lot), courtship displays and long-term mating ("I Wanna Hold Your Hand" (1963) by The Beatles), short-term mating ("LoveGame" (2009) by Lady Gaga), foreplay and arousal ("Sugar, Sugar" (1969) by The Archies), sex act ("Honky Tonk Women" (1969) by the Rolling Stones), sexual prowess ("Sixty Minute Man" (1951) by Billy Ward and the Dominoes), promiscuity, reputation, and derogation ("Roxanne" (1978) by the Police), commitment and fidelity ("Love Story" (2008) by Taylor Swift), access to resources ("For the Love of Money" (1973) by the O'Jays), rejection ("Red Light" (2009) by David Nail), infidelity, cheater detection, and mate poaching ("I Heard It Through the Grapevine" (1966) by Marvin Gaye), and parenting ("It Won't Be Like This For Long" (2008) by Darius Rucker).

[226][234][235] A similar pattern is found in popular movies, where themes of survival (fighting epic battles), reproduction (courtship), kin selection (treatment of family members), and altruism (saving a stranger's life) are ubiquitous.

[237][238][239] Nevertheless, as of 2017, no new pattern has been identified; to the contrary, scientists have only found the strengthening of gender stereotypes,[240] namely the attention to a prospective mate's socioeconomic status among women,[237][241] the preference for youth and beauty among men,[241][242] and the deliberate self-misrepresentation among both sexes.