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Sex differences in human mate preferences vary across sex ratios.

ABSTRACT: A wide range of literature connects sex ratio and mating behaviours in non-human animals. However, research examining sex ratio and human mating is limited in scope. Prior work has examined the relationship between sex ratio and desire for short-term, uncommitted mating as well as outcomes such as marriage and divorce rates. Less empirical attention has been directed towards the relationship between sex ratio and mate preferences, despite the importance of mate preferences in the human mating literature. To address this gap, we examined sex ratio's relationship to the variation in preferences for attractiveness, resources, kindness, intelligence and health in a long-term mate across 45 countries (n = 14 487). We predicted that mate preferences would vary according to relative power of choice on the mating market, with increased power derived from having relatively few competitors and numerous potential mates. We found that each sex tended to report more demanding preferences for attractiveness and resources where the opposite sex was abundant, compared to where the opposite sex was scarce. This pattern dovetails with those found for mating strategies in humans and mate preferences across species, highlighting the importance of sex ratio for understanding variation in human mate preferences.

SUBMITTER: Walter KV

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8292757 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Sex differences in human mate preferences vary across sex ratios.

Walter Kathryn V KV Conroy-Beam Daniel D Buss David M DM Asao Kelly K Sorokowska Agnieszka A Sorokowski Piotr P Aavik Toivo T Akello Grace G Alhabahba Mohammad Madallh MM Alm Charlotte C Amjad Naumana N Anjum Afifa A Atama Chiemezie S CS Duyar Derya Atamtürk DA Ayebare Richard R Batres Carlota C Bendixen Mons M Bensafia Aicha A Bizumic Boris B Boussena Mahmoud M Butovskaya Marina M Can Seda S Cantarero Katarzyna K Carrier Antonin A Cetinkaya Hakan H Croy Ilona I Cueto Rosa María RM Czub Marcin M Dronova Daria D Dural Seda S Duyar Izzet I Ertugrul Berna B Espinosa Agustín A Estevan Ignacio I Esteves Carla Sofia CS Fang Luxi L Frackowiak Tomasz T Garduño Jorge Contreras JC González Karina Ugalde KU Guemaz Farida F Gyuris Petra P Halamová Mária M Herak Iskra I Horvat Marina M Hromatko Ivana I Hui Chin-Ming CM Jaafar Jas Laile JL Jiang Feng F Kafetsios Konstantinos K Kavčič Tina T Ottesen Kennair Leif Edward LE Kervyn Nicolas N Khanh Ha Truong Thi TT Khilji Imran Ahmed IA Köbis Nils C NC Lan Hoang Moc HM Láng András A Lennard Georgina R GR León Ernesto E Lindholm Torun T Linh Trinh Thi TT Lopez Giulia G Luot Nguyen Van NV Mailhos Alvaro A Manesi Zoi Z Martinez Rocio R McKerchar Sarah L SL Meskó Norbert N Misra Girishwar G Monaghan Conal C Mora Emanuel C EC Moya-Garófano Alba A Musil Bojan B Natividade Jean Carlos JC Niemczyk Agnieszka A Nizharadze George G Oberzaucher Elisabeth E Oleszkiewicz Anna A Omar-Fauzee Mohd Sofian MS Onyishi Ike E IE Özener Baris B Pagani Ariela Francesca AF Pakalniskiene Vilmante V Parise Miriam M Pazhoohi Farid F Pisanski Annette A Pisanski Katarzyna K Ponciano Edna E Popa Camelia C Prokop Pavol P Rizwan Muhammad M Sainz Mario M Salkičević Svjetlana S Sargautyte Ruta R Sarmány-Schuller Ivan I Schmehl Susanne S Sharad Shivantika S Siddiqui Razi Sultan RS Simonetti Franco F Stoyanova Stanislava Yordanova SY Tadinac Meri M Correa Varella Marco Antonio MA Vauclair Christin-Melanie CM Vega Luis Diego LD Widarini Dwi Ajeng DA Yoo Gyesook G Zaťková Marta Marta MM Zupančič Maja M

Proceedings. Biological sciences 20210721 1955

A wide range of literature connects sex ratio and mating behaviours in non-human animals. However, research examining sex ratio and human mating is limited in scope. Prior work has examined the relationship between sex ratio and desire for short-term, uncommitted mating as well as outcomes such as marriage and divorce rates. Less empirical attention has been directed towards the relationship between sex ratio and mate preferences, despite the importance of mate preferences in the human mating li ...[more]

PMID: 34284630

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Project description:Extremely female-biased sex ratios of parasitoid wasps in multiple-foundress groups challenges evolutionary theory which predicts diminishing bias as foundress numbers increase. Recent theory based on foundress cooperation has achieved qualitative rather than quantitative success in explaining bias among parasitoids in the genus Sclerodermus. Here, we develop an explanation, expanding the theory of local mate competition, based on the observation that male production seems dominated by some foundresses within groups. Two sex ratio effects arise from such reproductive dominance: an immediate effect via suppression of male production, and a long-term evolutionary response to reproductive skew. We analyze the outcome of these effects at the individual and group level, the latter being more readily observable. Three model scenarios are analyzed: (1) random killing of developing sons in a group by all foundresses, without reproductive skew, (2) the development of reproductive dominance by some foundresses after sex allocation decisions by all foundresses have been implemented, and (3) reproductive dominance within foundress groups before sex allocation decisions are implemented. The 3 scenarios have subtly different implications for sex ratio evolution, with Models 2 and 3 being novel additions to theory, showing how reproductive dominance can alter the outcome of sex ratio evolution. All models match observations in their outcomes better than other recently proposed theory, but Models 2 and 3 are closest to observations in their underlying assumptions. Further, Model 2 shows that differential offspring mortality after parental investment can influence the primary sex ratio even when random with respect to parental and offspring characters, but targeted at entire clutches. The novel models are solved for both diploid and haplodiploid genetic systems, and confirmed with simulations. Overall, these models provide a feasible explanation for the extremely female-biased sex ratios produced by multi-foundress groups and expand the scope of local mate competition theory to consider reproductive dominance.

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Sex differences in human mate preferences vary across sex ratios.

Publications

Sex differences in human mate preferences vary across sex ratios.

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