The Evolution of Human Mating

The Evolution of Human Mating

It may seem obvious to some why people mate, however there are many facets to human mating. Psychology has shown that reasons for mating have gone beyond the scope of love and physical attractiveness. People may search for mates who resemble archetypical images of the opposite-sex parent, mates with characteristics that are either complementary or similar to one's own qualities, or mates with whom to make an exchange of valuable resources (Buss 238). Although these theories play a key role in understanding patterns in human mating preferences, evolutionary psychology and sexual selection theory provide more concrete frameworks for explaining human mating.

Evolutionary framework for human mating is based on three elements. First, strategies for mating developed to solve specific problems in human evolutionary history. Second, people behave differently depending on the type of mating involved. There are two types of mating, short term and long term mating. Short term mating is defined as casual sex (i.e. one-night stands and brief affairs). Long term mating is seen as a committed relationship (i.e. dating, going steady, and marriage). Third, males and females developed different strategies due to the difference in problems they have had over the course of human evolution (Buss 241). This paper will examine those strategies specific to males.

Men have developed different mating strategies to solve problems in both long term and short term mating. In pursuing a short-term sexual strategy men face four man problems: partner number (variety), identifying women who are sexually accessible, identifying women who are fertile, and avoiding commitment and investment. Men evolved over evol...

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...ionary history, both men and women have evolved mechanisms that have functioned to solve adaptive problems that they encounter in pursuing successful long-term and short-term mating. These mechanisms along with behavior constitute the evolved sexual strategies of men and women. "Strategies are defined as evolved solutions to adaptive problems, with no consciousness or awareness on the part of the strategist implied (Buss, Schmitt 206)."

Bibliography:

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