Viris Colmenero
From Drmills
Topic: Female Mate Choice: In Search of the Ideal Mate
Contributer: Viris Colmenero
Class: Psychology 452 Fall 2008
Throughout the many studies that have been made, it has been clearly shown that females have a preference for males who appear to be superior in many different aspects to other males. Many studies have sought out to find what exactly it is that the females look for in search of their ideal mate. Studies looking at female mate choice have shown that females are looking for males that display behaviors which may give off hints to being a good parent or possessing good genes. There are many of these examples that are seen in nature and research is showing how it happens and some of the reasons why it occurs. One of these examples is female peacocks who select the males with the most beautiful plumage, as he is somehow seen as being superior to the others.
When females are looking for their ideal male, they look for many qualities, all which revolve around the fact that they want their offspring to have a good chance of being passed on the good genes so that they may be successful in life. In most cases it is the female that must invest the most time and effort in her offspring and this is why they take great care and time when it comes to choosing their mate. As research by Gavrilets, Arnqvist and Friberg (2001) has shown, “Traditional explanations of costly female mate choice are cast in terms of indirect genetic benefits” (p. 532). Females are on the hunt for certain characteristics or behaviors that may signal their superiority in the hopes that these characteristics will be passed on to their offspring.
There have been studies that show that it is the males which carry the genes that code for sexual attractiveness and so females must learn how to spot these traits that signal off whether or not a male carries these ‘good genes’. As was seen in the peacock example, many females look for high ornamentation in males as a sign of a potentially good mate. Qvarnstrom, Brommer, and Gustafsson (2006) have shown that, “Females with high preference mate with highly ornamented males, thereby creating a genetic correlation between mate choice and ornament” (p. 742). This study, which researched flycatchers, found that females have criteria when it comes to choosing their mates, such as a large forehead patch. Some of the criteria that they use has been shown to increase fitness for offspring, “Forehead patch size has also been directly implicated in a good-genes process…and therefore have higher survival chances than within-pair offspring” ( Qvastrom, Brommer, & Gustafsson 2006, p.745). Many of the characteristics that the females look for in males have been shown to create higher chances for survival and that is why females prefer these.
In the continuing process of the search for the ideal mate, the female must assess which male is the one that is best suited for her needs, and the needs of her future offspring. Kruger (2006) found that women look for men that have masculine faces because to them it is a sign that they are successful in their environment. They found that, “Male masculinity may be used as a cue in female mate choice, as it reflects the success of the male genotype in the developmental environment" (p.452). The reason for this is that moderate to high degrees of masculinity may indicate better intelligence and health then low masculinity, so women tend to be interested in partners with these features because they wish for these characteristics to be passed on to their offspring. This study also found that sometimes women chose the mates with moderate levels of masculinity because those that are high in it have been show to not have high parental investment.
It may be interesting to note that it is because of the female mate choice that males have learned to display these characteristics that would capture the attention of the females. The males are in constant competition to win the attention of the males and thus they act in ways that would signal that they are strong or they show off the things that show that they have ‘good genes’ to pass on to their offspring. The males must know what attracts the females because research has shown that not all females respond the same or are looking for the same thing, even within the same species. Research that was done with bowerbirds, showed that females look for different traits depending on their age/experience (Coleman, Patricelli, & Borgia 2004, p.743). For this species, female mate choice is a process that occurs in stages, and it has shown that the mate choice is age-specific.
Female mate choice has been shown to be one of the evolutionary driving forces for male behaviors as well as their trait characteristics. The process of mate selection takes effort on the part of the females because they are looking for a partner that will reproduce offspring with high fitness as well as a partner with parental investment, thus increasing the offspring’s chance for survival. The various female mating strategies are the cause for the varying behaviors of the males, which are each catered toward the specific need requirements from the females. (Coleman, Patricelli, & Borgia 2004, p.744). It is because of the complexity of female mate choice that there is such diversity in male sexual displays.
References:
Coleman, S., Patricelli, G., & Borgia. (2004). Variable female perfernces drive complex male displays. Nature, 428, 742-750.
Gavrilets, S., Arnqvist G., & Friberg, U. (2001). The evolution of female mate choice by sexual conflict. The Royal Society, 268, 531-539.
Kruger, D. (2006). Male masculinity influences attributions of personality and reproductive strategy. Personal Relationships, 13, 451-463.
Qvasrnstrom, A., Brommer, J., & Gustafsson, L. (2006). Testing the genetics underlying the co-evolution of mate choice and ornament in the wild. Nature, 441, 84-88.
Additional Links (for articles and graphs)
1. The evolution of female mate choice by sexual conflict
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/picrender.fcgi?artid=1088637&blobtype=pdf
2. Male facial masculinity influences attributions of personality and reproductive strategy
http://linus.lmu.edu/search~S1?/Xpsycinfo&SORT=D/Xpsycinfo&SORT=D&SUBKEY=psycinfo/1,9,9,B/l856~b1200166&FF=Xpsycinfo&SORT=D&1,1,,1,0
3. Testing the genetics underlying the co-evolution of mate choice and ornament in the wild
http://linus.lmu.edu/search~S1?/Xpsycinfo&SORT=D/Xpsycinfo&SORT=D&SUBKEY=psycinfo/1,9,9,B/l856~b1200166&FF=Xpsycinfo&SORT=D&1,1,,1,0
4. Variable female preferences drive complex male displays
http://linus.lmu.edu/search~S1?/Xpsycinfo&SORT=D/Xpsycinfo&SORT=D&SUBKEY=psycinfo/1,9,9,B/l856~b1200166&FF=Xpsycinfo&SORT=D&1,1,,1,0
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Ratings ( 1 - 5):
* found appropriate research references relevant to a topic, and submitted the research proposal on time. 4
* discovered, integrated and synthesized relevant information about the topic 4
* writing is of high quality: interesting, flows, analytic, organized 3
* used APA style referencing appropriately (including reference list) 4
* included a list of web links to the original articles cited (if available), and included a list of additional resources relevant to the topic on the web 4
Total Points: 19
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