Women and Competition

1. Women and Competition Amber Hager Sara Busse Haleigh Roach Campbell, A. (2002). A Mind of Her Own: The Evolutionary Psychology of Women. New York: Oxford.

2. Sexy Son Hypothesis • When a preference for a characteristic trait becomes the trend it is called runaway sexual selection • “The more people buy a given commodity, the more desirable it becomes to others.” • Ex: Preference for tall men or colorful feathers • Variability is maintained through genetic mutations Campbell, A. (2002). A Mind of Her Own: The Evolutionary Psychology of Women. New York: Oxford.

3. Good Genes Approach • Traits that females prefer are indications of the genetic quality of the male • Male ornaments advertise their fitness • Ex: A Male Peacock’s tail feathers actually hinder their survival, but good looking colors attract the women and indicate good, healthy genes. It also indicates that he can survive despite his disadvantages. Campbell, A. (2002). A Mind of Her Own: The Evolutionary Psychology of Women. New York: Oxford.

4. The Red Queen Effect • By reproducing sexually, animals produce offspring that vary in their resistance to different strains of parasite • Females select males for disease resistance and with the fewest parasites Campbell, A. (2002). A Mind of Her Own: The Evolutionary Psychology of Women. New York: Oxford.

5. How Do Females Read Healthiness? • 1) Quality of ornaments or helpful traits • 2) Secondary sexual characteristics • Sexually selected traits are more affected by poor health than other neutral traits. • Women don’t care about ankle size. Women won’t automatically get rid of a mate if that is altered by parasites, but they will if sexual traits are infected. • 3) Symmetry • 4) Physical evidence of quality: Maturity, Dominance, Gifts Campbell, A. (2002). A Mind of Her Own: The Evolutionary Psychology of Women. New York: Oxford.

6. What women want in short-term relationships • Attractive Men • Taller than average, inverted V shape, 0.9 waist to hip ratio • Symmetrical Men • In both facial and body features • These men are healthier (less anxiety, illness, & depression) • Dominant Men • How men interact socially is important for attracting women • They provide physical strength and signal future financial prospects Campbell, A. (2002). A Mind of Her Own: The Evolutionary Psychology of Women. New York: Oxford.

7. Biparental Care • Internal fertilization usually means greater female parental care • Men offer support if can guarantee it is their child • Women may have traded their desire for sexual variety for the advantages of monogamy and biparental care • The probability of a child surviving is greater with the aid of both parents Campbell, A. (2002). A Mind of Her Own: The Evolutionary Psychology of Women. New York: Oxford.

8. Preferences • Females want older, well-educated providers willing to make a long-term commitment to her and her children • Males prefer young, fertile women • Place more importance on attractiveness which is closely bound with age Campbell, A. (2002). A Mind of Her Own: The Evolutionary Psychology of Women. New York: Oxford.

9. Mating Strategies • For Reproductive Success = • Men: want to inseminate as many partners as they can • Women: must secure their resources first to ensure the survival of their children    Campbell, A. (2002). A Mind of Her Own: The Evolutionary Psychology of Women. New York: Oxford.

10. Long-term vs. Short-term Relationships • Long Term: 1) Women are more choosy 2) Prefer to wait longer before having sex with a man 3) Value resources and good parenting qualities in men • Short Term: 1) Women enter short-term relationships when there are too few men 2) Her upbringing has signaled that men are unreliable investors in her offspring 3) Women want attractive men with lots of symmetry …basically they just want the best genes! Campbell, A. (2002). A Mind of Her Own: The Evolutionary Psychology of Women. New York: Oxford.

11. Dawkins (1989): Frequency-Dependent Selection • As unrestricted females become more common, the male’s optimal strategy changes from monogamy to providing nothing more than genes • As the number of restricted females increases, non-committed males will find it increasingly hard to find partners and their pay-off will be ZERO! “Cads offer their genes as the prize while dads offer long-term resources” • Ex. Mimicry in moths Campbell, A. (2002). A Mind of Her Own: The Evolutionary Psychology of Women. New York: Oxford.

12. Women’s Access to Resources • Eagly & Wood (1999) • As women become more empowered they place less importance on the value of a prospective partners earnings • Draper & Harpending (1982) • The absence of a consistent male figure in the home signals to the girl that paternal investment is rare and that she is unlikely to secure a mate (i.e., girls with no dads go for the cads) Campbell, A. (2002). A Mind of Her Own: The Evolutionary Psychology of Women. New York: Oxford.

13. Appearance Throughout History • Make-Up -88% percent of American women over the age of 18 wear make-up -Meant to mimic youth • Surgery -From cosmetic surgery, 89% is performed on women -Women conform to male preferences (I.e., breast implants) • Cashdan (1998): -Found that while men competed with other men in the arena of sports, women competed with one another in the currency of looking attractive Campbell, A. (2002). A Mind of Her Own: The Evolutionary Psychology of Women. New York: Oxford.

14. “Move, Bitch Get Out the Way” • Ingredients in aggressive sexual selection 1) Age • Women are most attractive to men between 15 and 25 years old…after that it’s all down hill • Menopause is an issue; Time is a factor 2) Number of available partners • Competition becomes intense when there are too many women and not enough men Campbell, A. (2002). A Mind of Her Own: The Evolutionary Psychology of Women. New York: Oxford.

15. Early-Maturing Girls are a Plus • Early Maturing girls have an advantage in mate selection. • Larger selection of men • More time to reproduce than their peers • These girls are not liked by other girls because they get more attention from men and have better opportunities to find a good mate. Campbell, A. (2002). A Mind of Her Own: The Evolutionary Psychology of Women. New York: Oxford.

16. Aggression • Aggression tends to be heritable, but the expression of it depends on the environment. • Many aggressive girls come from dysfunctional homes where they learned to solve problems by fighting. • Female-Female attacks are characterized by: • Women ages 15-24 years old • Between friends and acquaintances • Using hand-to-hand contact (pushing, shoving, grabbing, slapping, punching) Campbell, A. (2002). A Mind of Her Own: The Evolutionary Psychology of Women. New York: Oxford.

17. What Are They Fighting About? • Mating Issues and Sexual Reputation • Research indicates that the most common reasons for fighting were: • Attacking a girl’s personal integrity • Protecting a friend or relative’s integrity • Jealousy about a romantic partner Campbell, A. (2002). A Mind of Her Own: The Evolutionary Psychology of Women. New York: Oxford.

18. 1) Sexual Reputation For a man to commit long-term he needs to be reassured of the woman’s fidelity, so he is not aimlessly wasting his resources. Girls judge sexual reputation harsher than males and will avoid being friends with someone considered “loose” for fear of reputation by association. “A girl being called a slag is the same as a boy that’s been called a chicken…” A man can prove he is not a chicken, but a woman cannot prove she is not “loose” This forces her to use violence to minimize the threat of a negative reputation. “The most desirable women can pick & choose--they don’t need to resort to the ‘cheap trick’ of sex. A woman who is discriminating in her choice of partners signals that she believes she is worth waiting for.” Three Motives Likely to Spark Violence Campbell, A. (2002). A Mind of Her Own: The Evolutionary Psychology of Women. New York: Oxford.

19. Three Motives Likely to Spark Violence • 2) Competition • Female dependence on men for resources drives competition among women. The more the women need the men, the more injury that is inflicted. • This competition comes from the lack of good, resourceful men and a woman’s need to access these resources. Campbell, A. (2002). A Mind of Her Own: The Evolutionary Psychology of Women. New York: Oxford.

20. Three Motives Likely to Spark Violence • 3) Jealousy • Once a woman attracts a male, she must keep him away from other women. • Mutual dependence of economic support by one man causes a fight for resources. • “Spillover Effect”: Girls believe they have a right to a man if they are simply attracted to him and they will continue to fight for him once the relationship has ended. Campbell, A. (2002). A Mind of Her Own: The Evolutionary Psychology of Women. New York: Oxford.

21. Aren’t the Men Just As Guilty? • These aggressive attacks are only aimed at the women, but men are equally responsible. • Men are seen as weak to the temptation of sex and they are not expected to say no if offered the opportunity. (The Double Standard) • A woman knows where a man is weak. She knows how to protect her interests if someone tries to mess with her man • Girls go after each other because they know women should know better than to mess with someone else’s mate Campbell, A. (2002). A Mind of Her Own: The Evolutionary Psychology of Women. New York: Oxford.

22. Strengths/ Agreements No matter how many resources women have they still seek males with good resources. Women base their sexual preferences on cues from the environment. A man’s desirability in the past increases his future reproductive success, while a woman’s makes her seem desperate. Weaknesses/ Disagreements An absent father does not mean that you are never going to find a long-term mate. Women may not use as much physical aggression as the chapter implies. What are the implications for women waiting to have families till they are older? Critical Review Campbell, A. (2002). A Mind of Her Own: The Evolutionary Psychology of Women. New York: Oxford.

23. Any Questions  Campbell, A. (2002). A Mind of Her Own: The Evolutionary Psychology of Women. New York: Oxford.