Psychology 3228 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Mate Choice, Handicap Principle, Great Divergence

• School: Western University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: Psychology 3228
• Professor: Caroline Strang

Document Summary

Ultimate causation: the main cost is that you only pass on half of your genes. It increases the genetic diversity of the offspring. In an environment where people reproduce pathogenically, the subsequent generations are always exactly the same: by reproducing sexually, there is variation within the offspring that may help to withstand changes in the environment. Selection of traits relating to reproduction, rather than survival: traditionally divided: Indicator mechanisms honest advertising of handicaps: handicap principle features, offspring viability, good genes, costs of producing a signal. Intense sperm competition: human sex differences, consistent with mild polygyny in multi-male social groups. Many species exhibit estrous: females sexually receptive only around time of ovulation. Sex is dangerous: disease, predation, competition. Many species limit reproductions to time of fertility. If fe(cid:373)ales do(cid:374)"t sho(cid:449) (cid:449)he(cid:374) the(cid:455) are o(cid:448)ulati(cid:374)g, the(cid:455) ca(cid:374) ha(cid:448)e (cid:373)ore se(cid:454) (cid:449)ith (cid:373)e(cid:374) and get the material benefits that come with more sex.