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What did 75 percent of the men in the study mentioned in the text do?
What did 75 percent of the men in the study mentioned in the text do?
According to Charles Darwin, what ability do women possess in relation to marriage?
According to Charles Darwin, what ability do women possess in relation to marriage?
In the context of short-term mating, what did 100 percent of the women in the study do when approached for sex?
In the context of short-term mating, what did 100 percent of the women in the study do when approached for sex?
In a cross-cultural study of 16,288 people, what was the consistent finding regarding sex partner desires?
In a cross-cultural study of 16,288 people, what was the consistent finding regarding sex partner desires?
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What was the average frequency of experiencing sexual desire estimated by men and women in a study?
What was the average frequency of experiencing sexual desire estimated by men and women in a study?
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What do some psychologists argue should result from increased gender equality?
What do some psychologists argue should result from increased gender equality?
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What is one of the key requirements for the proper evolved function of short-term mating?
What is one of the key requirements for the proper evolved function of short-term mating?
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What are men seeking short-term mates predicted to prefer in women?
What are men seeking short-term mates predicted to prefer in women?
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What is typically a consequence of intense sperm competition?
What is typically a consequence of intense sperm competition?
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According to Trivers's theory of parental investment and sexual selection, why do men have a greater desire for casual sex compared to women?
According to Trivers's theory of parental investment and sexual selection, why do men have a greater desire for casual sex compared to women?
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What factor influences the likelihood of agreeing to engage in sexual activity, as revealed by a study in Denmark?
What factor influences the likelihood of agreeing to engage in sexual activity, as revealed by a study in Denmark?
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What are some potential costs for men pursuing short-term mating strategies, as discussed in the text?
What are some potential costs for men pursuing short-term mating strategies, as discussed in the text?
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What is the significance of human males having relatively large testes, accounting for 0.079% of body weight?
What is the significance of human males having relatively large testes, accounting for 0.079% of body weight?
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What does the increase in sperm insemination by husbands after prolonged separation suggest?
What does the increase in sperm insemination by husbands after prolonged separation suggest?
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What does the psychological evidence show about men's desire for sexual variety?
What does the psychological evidence show about men's desire for sexual variety?
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In the study by Buss & Schmitt, what did both men and women report about their likelihood of having sex after knowing a desirable potential mate for 5 years?
In the study by Buss & Schmitt, what did both men and women report about their likelihood of having sex after knowing a desirable potential mate for 5 years?
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According to the study by Surbey & Conohan, what did men report in comparison to women regarding their anticipated willingness to engage in sexual intercourse across various conditions?
According to the study by Surbey & Conohan, what did men report in comparison to women regarding their anticipated willingness to engage in sexual intercourse across various conditions?
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What did evolutionary psychologists Michele Surbey and Colette Conohan conclude about men's willingness to engage in casual sex?
What did evolutionary psychologists Michele Surbey and Colette Conohan conclude about men's willingness to engage in casual sex?
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In the context of short-term mating, what do men aim to maintain?
In the context of short-term mating, what do men aim to maintain?
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What do men's sexual fantasies more often include?
What do men's sexual fantasies more often include?
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What is the closing time phenomenon at a bar a psychological solution to?
What is the closing time phenomenon at a bar a psychological solution to?
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What do men prioritize when considering casual sex partners?
What do men prioritize when considering casual sex partners?
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What was the age range for acceptable partners for short-term mating among college men?
What was the age range for acceptable partners for short-term mating among college men?
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What effect do men with a short-term mating strategy experience immediately following intercourse?
What effect do men with a short-term mating strategy experience immediately following intercourse?
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What percentage of American women tend to focus on familiar partners in their sexual fantasies?
What percentage of American women tend to focus on familiar partners in their sexual fantasies?
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What percentage of women focus on the personal and emotional characteristics of their fantasized partner?
What percentage of women focus on the personal and emotional characteristics of their fantasized partner?
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What was the consistent finding regarding sex drive in a study involving more than 200,000 individuals from 53 nations?
What was the consistent finding regarding sex drive in a study involving more than 200,000 individuals from 53 nations?
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What do men oriented toward short-term mating tend to be sensitive to detecting in women?
What do men oriented toward short-term mating tend to be sensitive to detecting in women?
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What do men, more than women, tend to regret in terms of sexual opportunities?
What do men, more than women, tend to regret in terms of sexual opportunities?
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What does understanding men's sexual psychology potentially lead to?
What does understanding men's sexual psychology potentially lead to?
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What did the Kinsey study find regarding extramarital affairs?
What did the Kinsey study find regarding extramarital affairs?
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What did Thomas Gregor note about sexual feelings of Amazonian Mehinaku men?
What did Thomas Gregor note about sexual feelings of Amazonian Mehinaku men?
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What did Symons' study suggest about prostitution?
What did Symons' study suggest about prostitution?
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What do women prioritize in short-term mating contexts?
What do women prioritize in short-term mating contexts?
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What is a greater risk for women than for men in short-term mating?
What is a greater risk for women than for men in short-term mating?
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What do psychological mechanisms in women and men aim to achieve in short-term mating?
What do psychological mechanisms in women and men aim to achieve in short-term mating?
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What did Kinsey find about American men and prostitution?
What did Kinsey find about American men and prostitution?
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What does 'hooking up' refer to?
What does 'hooking up' refer to?
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What does the physiological evidence suggest about the evolutionary history of short-term mating in humans?
What does the physiological evidence suggest about the evolutionary history of short-term mating in humans?
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What is the potential benefit of women engaging in short-term mating?
What is the potential benefit of women engaging in short-term mating?
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What risk do women adopting an exclusively short-term sexual strategy face?
What risk do women adopting an exclusively short-term sexual strategy face?
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What consequence do women risk as a result of developing reputations for promiscuity?
What consequence do women risk as a result of developing reputations for promiscuity?
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What is the hypothesis regarding a woman's orgasm and sperm retention?
What is the hypothesis regarding a woman's orgasm and sperm retention?
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What is the finding about women's likelihood of experiencing sexual orgasm with masculine and physically attractive men?
What is the finding about women's likelihood of experiencing sexual orgasm with masculine and physically attractive men?
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What are the proposed benefits to women of short-term mating?
What are the proposed benefits to women of short-term mating?
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What did Glass and Wright find regarding justifications for extramarital affairs?
What did Glass and Wright find regarding justifications for extramarital affairs?
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What did Greiling and Buss examine regarding women's perceptions of benefits from affairs?
What did Greiling and Buss examine regarding women's perceptions of benefits from affairs?
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What did the study by Kinsey et al. find about women who have affairs?
What did the study by Kinsey et al. find about women who have affairs?
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What did Greiling and Buss find about women pursuing short-term mating?
What did Greiling and Buss find about women pursuing short-term mating?
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What did a study find about women pursuing short-term mating and their willingness for commitment?
What did a study find about women pursuing short-term mating and their willingness for commitment?
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What did a study show about judges' ability to predict women's sexual strategy based on specific cues?
What did a study show about judges' ability to predict women's sexual strategy based on specific cues?
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What did a study reveal about sexually unrestricted women and their dress provocativeness at ovulation?
What did a study reveal about sexually unrestricted women and their dress provocativeness at ovulation?
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What do people perceive about men who smoke and drink alcohol a lot?
What do people perceive about men who smoke and drink alcohol a lot?
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What did a study find about the perception of men with tattoos?
What did a study find about the perception of men with tattoos?
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What is the primary reason women cited for engaging in extra-pair mating?
What is the primary reason women cited for engaging in extra-pair mating?
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What did the study by Li & Kenrick find about women's motivation for casual sex?
What did the study by Li & Kenrick find about women's motivation for casual sex?
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What was the hypothesis put to the test by Gangestad & Thornhill in their research?
What was the hypothesis put to the test by Gangestad & Thornhill in their research?
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What do women prioritize in short-term mating contexts?
What do women prioritize in short-term mating contexts?
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What do studies show about women's preferences around ovulation?
What do studies show about women's preferences around ovulation?
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What is the aim of future research in understanding female short-term sexual psychology?
What is the aim of future research in understanding female short-term sexual psychology?
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What did a study find about women and men pursuing short-term mating?
What did a study find about women and men pursuing short-term mating?
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What did a study reveal about facial masculinity and short-term mating strategy?
What did a study reveal about facial masculinity and short-term mating strategy?
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What did a study find about sexually unrestricted women and their facial appearance?
What did a study find about sexually unrestricted women and their facial appearance?
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What is a factor linked to lower inclinations for short-term mating?
What is a factor linked to lower inclinations for short-term mating?
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What do high-mate-value men tend to have more of, in terms of sexual behavior?
What do high-mate-value men tend to have more of, in terms of sexual behavior?
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What is a personality trait that predicts an interest in short-term mating?
What is a personality trait that predicts an interest in short-term mating?
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What is correlated with men expressing unwillingness to commit to long-term relationships?
What is correlated with men expressing unwillingness to commit to long-term relationships?
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What is linked to early puberty and early sexual activity among girls?
What is linked to early puberty and early sexual activity among girls?
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What influences the likelihood of pursuing a short-term sexual strategy?
What influences the likelihood of pursuing a short-term sexual strategy?
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What did Trivers's theory of parental investment and sexual selection suggest about ancestral men?
What did Trivers's theory of parental investment and sexual selection suggest about ancestral men?
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What did empirical evidence strongly support regarding men's desire for short-term mating compared to women?
What did empirical evidence strongly support regarding men's desire for short-term mating compared to women?
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What did the text emphasize regarding the link between women's mate value and sexual strategy?
What did the text emphasize regarding the link between women's mate value and sexual strategy?
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What do personality characteristics such as extraversion and low agreeableness predict in relation to short-term mating?
What do personality characteristics such as extraversion and low agreeableness predict in relation to short-term mating?
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What was emphasized as a critical thinking question in the text regarding men's psychological proclivities?
What was emphasized as a critical thinking question in the text regarding men's psychological proclivities?
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What was highlighted as the future expectation of research in the text?
What was highlighted as the future expectation of research in the text?
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Study Notes
Evidence for Sperm Competition and Short-Term Mating in Humans
- Sperm competition pressures males to produce large ejaculates with numerous sperm for a reproductive advantage.
- Human males have relatively large testes, accounting for 0.079% of body weight, indicating sperm competition and short-term mating.
- Human testicular volume is smaller than the highly promiscuous chimpanzee, suggesting lower levels of indiscriminate mating.
- Human females have an estimated 1.1 male sex partners per birth, indicating moderate levels of sperm competition.
- Variations in sperm production and insemination indicate increased sperm count when couples are apart, suggesting adaptation for sperm competition.
- Psychological evidence shows the desire for sexual variety and the motivating force of lust in men.
- Research shows that a substantially larger percentage of men desire more than one sex partner over the next month in various cultures.
- Norwegian culture, with high gender equality, still shows men desiring seven sex partners over the next year, while women desire roughly 2.
- The desire for sexual variety is evident in psychological factors such as the nature and frequency of sexual fantasies and the "closing time phenomenon."
- Men's sperm count increases when separated from their partners, indicating adaptation for potential extramarital sex and sperm competition.
- Men inseminate more sperm upon being reunited with their partners after prolonged separation, to increase their chances in the race to the egg.
- The increase in sperm insemination by husbands after prolonged separation ensures their sperm's competitive advantage in the reproductive tract.
Sexual Psychology and Behavior Differences Between Men and Women
- Women's sexual fantasies tend to involve familiar partners, with 59% of American women focusing on someone they are already involved with romantically and sexually, compared to 28% of men.
- Emotions and personality are crucial for women in their sexual fantasies, with 41% of women focusing on the personal and emotional characteristics of their fantasized partner, compared to 16% of men.
- Women are more likely to emphasize tenderness, romance, and personal involvement in their sexual fantasies, but there are large individual differences within each gender.
- Men, on average, report having a higher sex drive than women in every nation, as shown in a study involving more than 200,000 individuals from 53 nations.
- The sex difference in sex drive remains consistent across nations with varying levels of gender equality, contradicting the notion that these differences are caused by economic gender inequality.
- Men oriented toward short-term mating are sensitive to detecting sexually attractive women who display cues of vulnerability to being sexually seduced or deceived.
- Men found women displaying cues to sexual exploitability to be sexually attractive for short-term mateship but unattractive for a long-term mate.
- Men, more than women, regret missed sexual opportunities, while women are more likely to regret acts of sexual commission, wishing they had not had sex with someone they did have sex with.
- These gender differences in sexual regret have been replicated in Norway, a sexually egalitarian country, suggesting an evolved feature in men to facilitate acting on future sexual opportunities and avoid entangling commitments.
- Studies have shown that men across cultures pursue short-term mating more than women do, providing behavioral evidence to support the long evolutionary history of men seeking short-term mating with a variety of women.
- Men's sexual psychology may have evolved to facilitate acting on future sexual opportunities and avoid entangling commitments through feelings of regret and sensitivity to sexually attractive women displaying cues of vulnerability.
- Understanding men's sexual psychology can potentially lead to a reduction in sexual exploitation and a deeper understanding of men's behavior in short-term mating.
Evolutionary Perspectives on Women's Sexual Behavior
- Women retain 70% of sperm if they have an orgasm, ejecting only 30%, which could add up to a large selection pressure over evolutionary time.
- Lack of an orgasm leads to the ejection of more sperm, consistent with the hypothesis that a woman's orgasm functions to draw sperm into the cervical canal and uterus.
- Women having affairs time their copulations to coincide with ovulation, increasing the likelihood of conception with their lovers.
- Women are more likely to be orgasmic with their affair partner than with their regular partner.
- Women are especially likely to experience sexual orgasm with men who are masculine and physically attractive, desired in short-term mating.
- Studies in the United States and tribal societies document extramarital sexual unions among women.
- College women engage in sexual activities with opposite-sex friends and attempt to initiate hook-ups.
- Short-term sexual psychology in women evolved due to adaptive benefits associated with casual sex in some circumstances.
- Five classes of benefits have been proposed for short-term mating: resources, genes, mate switching, short-term for long-term mating goals, and mate manipulation.
- Resource hypotheses include resource accrual, paternity confusion, protection, and status elevation.
- Genetic benefit hypotheses include enhanced fertility and obtaining better or "sexy son" genes.
- Other proposed benefits to women of short-term mating include mate switching, short-term for long-term mating goals, and mate manipulation.
Women's Short-Term Mating Strategies
- Women unconsciously choose symmetrical men as short-term partners, indicating a preference for good genes.
- For casual sex, women prioritize physical attractiveness, desirability to other women, and prefer confident, daring, and successful men.
- Women in short-term mating prefer men with masculine facial features, muscular build, and thicker, darker limbal rings, indicating a preference for good genes and health cues.
- Studies show that women's preferences shift around ovulation, with increased attraction to symmetrical features, facial and body masculinity, tallness, and social dominance.
- Recent large-scale studies have failed to replicate the preference shift for masculine bodies around ovulation.
- Women with low-rated partners experience greater sexual desire for extra-pair partners, supporting the hypothesis of seeking good genes for offspring.
- Women's short-term mating may serve various evolved functions including mate switching, long-term mating goals, resource acquisition, and obtaining good genes.
- Female short-term mating psychology is complex and may involve assessing long-term prospects, acquiring resources, and securing better genes.
- Future research aims to explore the complexity of female short-term sexual psychology in different contexts and adaptive benefits.
- Context effects and individual differences play a role in women's subjective perceptions of costs and benefits in pursuing short-term mating.
- Female sexuality is a valuable reproductive resource, and women may pursue short-term mating to exchange or convert it into other resources.
- Future research will clarify which women pursue short-term mating in specific contexts to secure adaptive benefits.
The Evolution of Short-Term Sexual Strategies
- The scientific study of mating has historically focused on marriage, but human anatomy and psychology suggest a history of affairs and short-term mating.
- Trivers's theory of parental investment and sexual selection suggests ancestral men benefited reproductively from short-term mating through increased offspring.
- Empirical evidence strongly supports men's greater desire for short-term mating compared to women, evidenced by various behaviors and psychological differences.
- Short-term mating requires the participation of willing women, and there is evidence that women historically engaged in short-term mating.
- Women engaging in short-term mating may have reaped adaptive benefits, including economic resources, genetic benefits, mate switching, and short-term goals.
- There are detectable individual differences in inclination towards short-term or long-term mating strategies, with specific physical and behavioral cues.
- Contextual factors, such as sex ratio and mate value, influence the inclination towards short-term mating in both men and women.
- Men with high mate value, indicated by various factors, are more likely to pursue short-term mating, while the link between women's mate value and sexual strategy is more mixed.
- Personality characteristics, such as extraversion and low agreeableness, predict an inclination towards short-term mating.
- The chapter raises critical thinking questions about how men's psychological proclivities facilitate the success of a short-term mating strategy.
- The text emphasizes the importance of understanding the evolutionary and psychological factors that drive short-term mating strategies in men and women.
- Future research is expected to provide more insights into the circumstances and personal qualities that cause individuals to shift to short-term or long-term mating strategies.
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Test your knowledge on the evidence for sperm competition and short-term mating in humans with this quiz. Explore topics such as testicular size, sperm production, psychological factors, and cultural influences on mating desires.