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Homogamy, genetic similarity, and imprinting

What have the studies of assertive mating or homogamy shown? The majority of mates resemble each other in a high number of traits Positive correlation has been found between:       

Age Race Socioeconomic status Intellectual ability Education Personality variables Physical attractiveness

Outline Theiessen and Gregg’s explanation for assortative mating Individuals have a tendency to detect other genetically similar organisms who are not relatives through common descent They tend to choose mates on the basis of gene similarity that is likely to yield reproductive benefits

What mechanism does Rushton believe we have evolved? A complex psychological mechanism- detect other genetically similar organisms and channel altruistic behaviour towards them

What have the studies shown about married couples? They are more genetically similar than randomly paired individuals

What are individuals guided to do according to genetic similarity theory? Phenotype matching: Respond to specific phenotypic cues in others and direct altruism selectively towards individuals with shared genes

Describe how Immelmann’s study relates to imprinting It suggests that an early exposure to a set of species characteristics will shape mate preferences that persist until late adulthood

What does Baetson suggest about sexual imprinting? He suggests that sexual imprinting enables individuals to learn the characteristics of their close kin and subsequently to choose mates that appear slightly different but not too different  

He uses Japanese quail as an example Japanese quail prefer to mate with birds that differ slightly in plumage colour from their parents

What relevance do early childhood experiences have? A long run sexual aversion develops between persons who lived together when they grew to the age of 6-8- Negative imprinting

What is meant by negative imprinting? The developing of strong sexual aversion to others with whom they lived closely in infancy and early childhood

Identify 3 studies that suggest a familiarization effect that parents have on children 1. People born of mixed marriages have been found to tend to marry into the ethnic group of the opposite sex parent 2. Older fathers lead to daughters seeking older men 3. Men who teenage girls professed to be in love were reported by the girls to match their fathers in eye colour more often than their mothers Summarise the proposal put forward by the current authors regarding the preferences of young men Sons may shape a mental model of their mother’s physical appearance and seek potential mates with the mental image of their mother

Four study predictions: 1. 2. 3. 4.

Couples will be more similar in physical appearance than randomly paired individuals Wives are expected to resemble their mother in law Wives will show a higher degree of similarity to the husbands mother The more positive affiliation a man has with their mother during childhood, the higher resemblance will appear between his mother and his wife

What photographs were taken? The face of 64 spouses at the age between 22 and 32

Explain the controls used in this study Portraits of 238 young women to judge similarities How many photos were shown at once? 5

What striking difference did they find when comparing study 1 and study 2 results? The judges correctly matched wives to their mothers in law at a significantly higher frequency than to their husbands

What was different about the results from men who had been frequently rejected by their mothers? Men who had been frequently rejected by their mothers were less likely to choose mates similar to the mothers on facial traits

What did the authors find? Familiarization may be responsible for the similarity between couples Children learn particular features of maternal phenotype across the enduring relationship with their mothers Phenotype matching may be an artefact of the familiarization effect Husbands mating choice is not independent of the maternal rearing practices...