Bassaleg Psychology - Chloe

Front 1

AO1 - short - term mating preferences - parental investment theory

Back 1

This theory claims that men have evolved a greater desire for casual sex compared to women and female behavior would not be subjected to the same evolutionary pressures as males. Men appear to lower their standards for short - term mating opportunities and show little attraction to them after the sexual act is done.

Front 2

AO2 - research to support the short - term mating preferences in parental investment theory

Back 2

Clarke and Hatfield have found that men have evolved psychological mechanisms to ensure success in short - term mating, including a desire for sexual variety, willingness for sex with strangers and aim to seek sex early in in relationships.

Front 3

IDA - cultural differences in short - term mating preferences in parental investment

Back 3

Greilling and Buss have suggested that women may also profit from short - term mating as a way of leaving poor - quality relationships. Contradicting the ideas that it is just men who have evolved these behaviors.

Front 4

AO1 - long - term mating preferences in parental investment

Back 4

Suggests that poor mate choice is disadvantageous for both sexes as they would have wasted valuable resources, but it is however seen to be more disastrous for women. Women have a biological investment in their children so are predicted to be a lot more choosy when it comes to them deciding on a mate. This means that women are therefore attracted to men who are able to invest in her and any offspring they may have, protect both her and offspring and be able to show good promise as a parent. Men on the other hand are attracted to women who display signals of fertility and an indication of reproductive value, so they must be young and beautiful.

Front 5

AO2 - support for universal sex differences

Back 5

Buss explored mate preferences in 37 cultures and found that women had a desire for resources and ambition whereas men desired physical attractiveness and a younger woman, indicating a value placed on reproductive and fertility potentials. He also found that both men and women valued intelligence, kindness and dependability which are seen to be good parental skills.

Front 6

AO1 - sex differences in parental investment (maternal)

Back 6

Unlike females, males have the option to opt out of any paternal investment in a way that females cant. Females invest an awful lot more, mainly because of parental certainty. Woman can be certain that the child they are carrying is obviously their own, unlike men who may be at the risk of cuckoldry. However there are costs of maternal investment and they are a lot higher for women than they are for men, so the act of random mating in women can be extremely costly for them because they could be left alone to bring up the child if shew as to become pregnant.

Front 7

AO2 - the consequences of affairs including cuckoldry benefits/risks with supporting evidence

Back 7

Due to the expense of child rearing it means that women want to make sure that they have good quality offspring, one way to get this is to marry a man with good resources but also 'shop around' for good genes by having affairs with more attractive way, by doing this they get the best of both because they have a husband with resources but also it will mean their offspring will have the best genes. So through affairs, it means that women are able to receive additional support from another male and have high quality genes for their children. However this does come with its consequences as it could mean that the women get abandoned by their long term partner, leaving them to bring up any children they may have had on their own. Evidence to support this comes from Geher et al who found a clear difference in arousal to parenting scenarios, emphasising costs of parenting. Males had higher heart rates to these scenarios meaning that they are less prepared than females when it comes to children

Front 8

AO1 - sex differences in parental investment (paternal)

Back 8

Overall, males invest less into their offspring. A woman can only produce a limited number of offspring whereas a man can produce potentially an unlimited number. Females carry a developing child for 9 months and males can simply walk away after conception. So, indiscriminate mating can be very costly for women in terms of resources, but not for men.

Front 9

AO2 - contradicting evidence

Back 9

Males have been found to invest in their offspring. Joint parental care is desirable because of the obvious benefits to a successful reproduction. If a man can increase the success of child rearing then it will benefit him in the future as well as present time. Reid supports this claim that males do actually contribute to parenting because they provide resources for both the child and mother which allows his family to be healthy and live in a good environment, lowering the chances of the child becoming ill or potentially dying.

Front 10

IDA - non - human animals

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in chimpanzees, males show little parental investment, this suggests that parenting by males is due to cultural learning and it isn't an innate response.

Front 11

AO1 - parental investment and cuckoldry

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Males must protect themselves from cuckoldry. If they're making a contribution to the upbringing of their offspring then they much ensure that their care is not being wasted on offspring that aren't his.

Front 12

AO2 - contradicting evidence

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Anderson found that fathers appeared not to discriminate between step children and their own children in terms of financial investment and time that is actually spent with them.

Front 13

AO1 - investment made by grandparents

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Michalski and Shackelford found that differences in maternal and paternal investment by grandparents was different. Grandparents invest more in the maternal line than the paternal line.

Front 14

IDA - evolved characteristics

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Rowe suggests that an explanation of paternal investment based on evolutionary factors alone is very limited. Belsky added that a males parental behavior depends on the quality of the relationship that he has with the mother of the child, his childhood experiences and personality characteristics.