Literature Review Caitlin Dickson 44760191
Target Article
Puts, DA, Jones, BC and DeBruine, LM. 2012. Sexual selection on human faces and voices. Journal of Sex Research, 49(2–3), 227–243.
This article argues that the sexually dimorphic traits of vocal cords and facial structure in humans evolved due to sexual selection. The authors focus on two main arguments; that female mate choice and competition between males shaped both of these characteristics, particularly in men. Researchers used past evidence to show that masculinity was often preferred by females, including evidence of a correlation between genetic health and masculine traits, female preferences to facial masculinity (during peak fertility) and reproductive success for men with …show more content…
(2012), this study looked to quantify which traits are specifically influenced by male contests and female selection. Data on masculine traits was taken from 63 men from two US fraternity houses, and attractiveness was judged by women they knew from their sister house, as well as independent women. Men judged other men based on how well they thought they would perform in a fight and guessed how many sexual partners they had in one year. Importantly, the study used individuals who knew each other and socialised on a regular basis to make the results more reliable for real life outcomes. The study found that female choice exerted positive directional selection on height and stabilising selection on girth, but did not have a strong effect on facial masculinity. Significantly, this study found that male competition has shaped sexually dimorphic traits in men more than female selection, contrary to previous research which predominately looks at female choices [1] [3]. The authors argue that men’s muscle mass, deeper voices and robust facial structure (as hypothesised in the target article) evolved to compete with other males, and that previous data showing masculine males who have more reproductive success may actually be due to them pushing out their more feminine competitors from the gene pool, rather than being more attractive to …show more content…
Harris criticises this hypothesis, saying there is no solid empirical evidence. To test this, Harris used a much larger sample than in previous studies (258 target participants; fertile women who had regular periods and weren’t on the contraceptive pill) to try and replicate the findings of Penton-Voak and Perrett. Instead, it was found that women in peak fertility found feminine faces more attractive, the opposite of the Penton-Voak et al. hypothesis. Harris also targets the plausibility of trade-off theory described by Penton-Voak [2, target] arguing those with apparent poor genes and good social qualities may not be genetically inferior, but positive social traits themselves could signal good heritable genes. This study is significant as it points to inconsistencies within sexual selection hypotheses. It also gives direction for new research into other reasons for sexual selection and attraction, including socio-cultural judgements and
Target Article
Puts, DA, Jones, BC and DeBruine, LM. 2012. Sexual selection on human faces and voices. Journal of Sex Research, 49(2–3), 227–243.
This article argues that the sexually dimorphic traits of vocal cords and facial structure in humans evolved due to sexual selection. The authors focus on two main arguments; that female mate choice and competition between males shaped both of these characteristics, particularly in men. Researchers used past evidence to show that masculinity was often preferred by females, including evidence of a correlation between genetic health and masculine traits, female preferences to facial masculinity (during peak fertility) and reproductive success for men with …show more content…
(2012), this study looked to quantify which traits are specifically influenced by male contests and female selection. Data on masculine traits was taken from 63 men from two US fraternity houses, and attractiveness was judged by women they knew from their sister house, as well as independent women. Men judged other men based on how well they thought they would perform in a fight and guessed how many sexual partners they had in one year. Importantly, the study used individuals who knew each other and socialised on a regular basis to make the results more reliable for real life outcomes. The study found that female choice exerted positive directional selection on height and stabilising selection on girth, but did not have a strong effect on facial masculinity. Significantly, this study found that male competition has shaped sexually dimorphic traits in men more than female selection, contrary to previous research which predominately looks at female choices [1] [3]. The authors argue that men’s muscle mass, deeper voices and robust facial structure (as hypothesised in the target article) evolved to compete with other males, and that previous data showing masculine males who have more reproductive success may actually be due to them pushing out their more feminine competitors from the gene pool, rather than being more attractive to …show more content…
Harris criticises this hypothesis, saying there is no solid empirical evidence. To test this, Harris used a much larger sample than in previous studies (258 target participants; fertile women who had regular periods and weren’t on the contraceptive pill) to try and replicate the findings of Penton-Voak and Perrett. Instead, it was found that women in peak fertility found feminine faces more attractive, the opposite of the Penton-Voak et al. hypothesis. Harris also targets the plausibility of trade-off theory described by Penton-Voak [2, target] arguing those with apparent poor genes and good social qualities may not be genetically inferior, but positive social traits themselves could signal good heritable genes. This study is significant as it points to inconsistencies within sexual selection hypotheses. It also gives direction for new research into other reasons for sexual selection and attraction, including socio-cultural judgements and