Human Partnership - Article

Despite living in a society, where evolutionary mechanisms for survival and mating are not visible parts of our daily lives, there is scientific evidence that natural selection still plays a role in today’s modern society. Since our society is constantly changing as we adapt modern values, our natural instincts and evolution-based behavior is considered outdated and can be seen as dysfunctional. This article will be looking at three different aspects of how living in a modern society may impact how we choose our partners and engage in relationships.

Firstly we will consider media exposure to unrealistic images of women and men. Secondly the new opportunities we have for meeting our potential partners such as online dating. Thirdly we will be looking at culturally based aspects such as contraception. All these factors may alter and skew the way we view our potential partners and ultimately who we choose to spend our lives with. At last, we will discuss how evolutionary psychology may be applied in the context of social change and mate choice.

Effects of mass media

Through mass media, we are constantly being exposed to pictures of men and women, that have been re-touched and photoshopped. The result is an unrealistic range and amount of attractive people we are constantly being exposed to through advertisement, television etc.. This is a new phenomenon that none of our ancestors were ever subject to before. It creates a false illusion that highly preferable mates are more common than they are in reality. This may even have a negative effect on our romantic relationships as it creates a contrast effect which is incorporated in the social judgment theory. The main premise of this theory is that being exposed to a very attractive individual, when present with the next individual, we will rate them as much less attractive, due to the contrast of setting the bar too high in the first place. This concept may also be extended to other domains of psychology. The following section will discuss what various studies have shown about the contrast effect of media on attractiveness ratings.

One study presented men with segments of a television show Charlie’s Angels, with three very attractive women. It was shown that men who were to rate women immediately after viewing this show, rated them as less attractive. This effect was only present when rating the women immediately after, as men who waited in between watching Charlie’s Angels and doing the ratings did not display this effect. (Kenrick and Gutierres,1980) This finding was questioned and later studies found that if exposure to attractive women is repeated, thus if the stimulus is shown over and over, the contrast effect may persist over time. More research was subsequently done to study full body attractiveness using nude models. The results suggest that the contrast effect is stronger for full-body attractiveness than for faces. This may be due to the fact that we are exposed to more faces than nude bodies (hopefully) on a day-to-day basis and thus the contrast effect is “corrected” for through a lot of exposure. (Kenrick et al, 1989).

In the last study both men and women in committed long term relationships were shown nude images of highly attractive members of the opposite sex and subsequently asked to rate their current partners. Men were shown to rate their partners as less sexually attractive and reported to be less in love with them then the control condition. Women on the other hand seemed unaffected by the nude images. The research team hypothesized that women would be more affected by exposure to men with highly desirable characteristics rather than just nude models. (Kenrick et al, 1989).

Another study tested what effect pictures of highly attractive individuals and descriptions of desirable qualities to see whether this would have an effect on male and female ratings of their current relationship quality and their partner’s values. Turns out men rated the quality of their relationship and their partners value as lower, while women only rated their relationship quality as lower, while their partner’s values was not affected (Kenrick et al. 1994). Another interesting finding was that men who work as secondary and college teachers are more likely to get a divorce. This may also be due to the fact that they are exposed to young attractive women which strengthens the contrast between their current relationship and what they could potentially have. Since they are being exposed to these attractive girls on a daily basis, this contrast effect keeps being reinforced and may be very damaging to their long-term relationships as its creates a skewed illusion of the range and frequency of their potential partners.

Apparently the contrast effect does not only work for comparing partners but also how we see ourselves. In particular, women rate themselves as less desirable marriage partners when exposed to very attractive women, whereas men rate themselves as less desirable when exposed to other very dominant men. It is important to note that this finding is only relevant when considering our own mating value, not our overall self-value. It may be concluded that it is our perception of the availability of more desirable others that plays a mediating role in assessing our mating value. This effect is especially strong for women who are self-conscious, as they are more sensitive to potential threat. Media exposure to highly attractive others can make us doubt our own desirability. We may feel as if we have little value as mating partners, because there is a large number of more attractive individuals out there, so why should we be picked. In extreme cases this can even lead to clinical depression.

Studies also showed that we tend to overestimate the frequency of attractive female faces. Both men and women have a tendency to do this. We tend to selectively pay attention to more attractive faces. The extent to which we do this may be predicted by our sociosexuality. Sociosexuality means how likely we are to engage in sex without commitment (tendency for one night stand’s for example). Overestimating the number of attractive females and attending to them more than the less attractive ones, may be another cause of relationship dissatisfaction and negative assessments of self-worth as a desirable mate partner for women.

One of the consequences of perceiving low self-worth as a potential mate due to a high instance of more attractive individuals can be developing Anorexia Nervosa. Anorexia is more prevalent in western countries than non-western countries and can be seen as a response to changing cultural values. When we are constantly subject to comparing ourselves with more attractive women, we may act in maladaptive ways such as depriving ourselves of food. This is a result of a pathological reaction to overexposure of women with desirable traits; thinness in the case. The reproductive suppression hypothesis considers anorexia to be a sort of temporary mechanism to suppress reproduction (anorexia often causes temporary infertility) until the environment offers more suitable conditions. By this we mean that the development of anorexia often signifies low emotional support from others, high competition from other women and general lack of resources for the woman to be able to take good care of herself and the potential child. Some theories also view anorexia to be as nature’s strategy to promote competition amongst women, as thinness is seen as a characteristic that men value and increasing the amount of thin women, increases competition, which may in some be beneficial for reproduction in general.

The high competition theory was tested, by letting participants read a high competition scenario case and a low competition scenario. Results showed that participants who read the high competition case scored higher on the eating disorder scale than participants in the other condition. Another study showed that women who were subject to a high level of media exposure showed more body dissatisfaction that women who had less exposure to media. This leads us to conclude that with increasing media exposure and influence, the negative and maladaptive effects on female perception of self-worth and male skewed views on women’s beauty may suffer further.

Effects of urbanization and internet

Our ancestors were used to living in closely tied communities, with a few members out of whom they would eventually choose their life partners. Their choices and preferences were restricted as they did not have the same means of communication as we do. Nowadays, we have cities available to us, where thousands or even millions live in close proximity. Despite this, people remain isolated as we adhere to individualistic values and have a low sense of communal life. Our technological advancements allow us to meet each other virtually on social networks and dating sites. Another modern phenomena is speed dating, which is a set up series of very brisk encounters with potential partners. Finding a partner has become an advertised business, from which many prosper from. Dating sites are a good example of this. On such sites, people are given the freedom to present themselves in a light, in which they wish to be seen. Despite expecting honesty, people seeking partners on dating sites pay less value to characteristics that may be tweaked (attractiveness) and pay more attention to objective descriptions such as occupation and height. Such sites are often built on complex algebraic calculations which bring people together based on calculated preferences. This may be very effective as dating sites seem relatively popular, but may also induce superficial preferences and judgment which may be harmful as our expectations of who we have just met online, may be skewed and cause disappointment. All in all technology has had a large impact on how we meet partners, we have the whole world open to us, however we must treat this with caution as not everything that glitters is gold.

Effects of birth control

Modernazation does not only affect our preferences, but also our biological settings. A good example of this is the use of contraception for women. Many studies have shown that women who take oral contraceptives show different mate preferences to women who do not use birth control. This may be due to the fact that women not on birth control naturally prefer more masculine, healthy and more genetically qualified men around their time of ovulation; in the middle of their cycle. These women do are not only more sensitive to sign of quality but are also more sensitive to genetic disadvantages around their ovulation. This is most likely nature’s way of ensuring that women choose the best qualified mating partner when they are most fertile.

This effect is not seen in women who use oral contraceptives. Studies have shown that women on birth control pills have weaker preferences for signs of masculinity such as deep voices, manly facial features and body odor. Body odor can function as a genetic signal of whether to mate or not. We have a natural preference for body odor that signifies a genetic setup that is different from ours. Studies have shown that women who take oral contraceptives have a higher preference for men with a more similar major histocomability complex (MHC), than women who do not use oral contraceptives. This effect has been proven, as the same women would shift her preferences towards more similar MHC men just after three months of using birth control. This is just one example of how drugs can alter the course of partnership. Another example are selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors, a type of antidepressant, which cause users to display a lower libido, less interest in emotional bonding and attraction towards potential partners. The effects of these drugs are only temporary and their effects are averted when people stop using them or lower their intake.

Effects of manipulating our appearance

When talking about how our natural mate preferences may be altered, we should not forget the cosmetic advancements of the last century. This includes everything from using simple cosmetic products to complex surgical procedures. All these undertakings have the same goal of enhancing our natural attractiveness and manipulating our appearances. Most people who resort to surgical procedures are in their twenties (most fertile age) and are usually dissatisfied with their natural looks. This is of course very subjective and in the vast majority of cases mediated by the impact of media and what is currently considered to be attractive. These people usually view attractiveness to be very important and yet hold very low opinions of their own. They consider surgery to be an investment in themselves and their future partnerships.

Another, more alternative yet common way to alter our looks is through piercings, tattoos and rarely even fake scars aka scarifications. In some cultures, these body decorations are a symbol of higher status. An example of this are the New Zelandish Maori, where having the traditional moko (maori tattoos) is a symbol of adulthood and those without are usually of the lowest social standing. Interestingly enough one study found that the majority of people with modern tattoos are of higher biological quality. A possible explanation for this may be that individuals with greater physical qualities are willing to put them on display and decorate them with tattoos. This may reflect on our mate choice as for example a study showed that people with facial scarring were preferred as short-term partners but not long terms partners (Burris et al, 2009). More studies were done with somewhat conflicting results as to what the effect of tattooing really is, one of which linked tattoos on males to higher perceived dominance and masculinity.

We have previously mentioned body odor as being an important signal of one’s genetic make-up. Nowadays the perfumery industry is multi billion business with a long standing tradition in many cultures all around the world. Perfume advertisements often display erotic cues to women and men. Many of us return to the same perfumes over again and recall our partners by the smell of their perfume (lyric featured in many songs). This is because our body odor is as previously mentioned a biological signal. Women’s body odors tend to be most pleasant around their ovulation and this is also when women are most sensitive to the body odors of others. When ill or under environmental pressure we might not give off the nicest smell, which is when the use of deodorants and perfumes becomes most prevalent. We use them to mask bad smells and enhance our naturally good body odors. An interesting study showed that people genotype may actually predict which perfume they choose (Milinski and Wedekind, 2001). This finding means that we do not necessarily try to alter our smell, but we tend toward those perfumes that bring out what we consider to be our most valuable natural odor.

We have mentioned that women during ovulation shift their preferences towards their potential partners. This also works the other way around; women’s faces are evaluated as most attractive by other, when the woman is ovulating. This effect is only true when women do not use facial cosmetics to alter their looks. The use of make-up is very common amongst women as it helps cover imperfections and bring out the most desirable features. The use of make-up (as other body alterations) is affected by media exposure as women in media are often digitally airbrushed to look as flawless as possible. This then becomes the look that women strive for, one that is hard to achieve and may require extensive use of cosmetics and surgical undergoing.

Conclusion

We have covered various effects of modern trends on our mate preferences. These range from media exposure and virtual bonding to various appearance tweaks, some of which are very common. All of these alter how we choose our partners and ultimately may affect the quality of our relationships. The number of surgical cosmetic procedures is rising along with the number of divorces and individuals that are reluctant to be in a committed relationship in the first place. We are being raised in an individualist society, being met by high expectations and setting unrealistically high standards for ourselves and others. This may be disrupting our natural selection process through providing unfeasible exemplars of what it means to be a worthy partner. It is unlikely that we will go back to a world without media influence, birth control and cosmetics so we should strive for figuring out a way to mediate these effects and help people make rational decisions when it comes to choosing their partner. Evolutionary psychologists are starting to shift from a descriptive focus of how our preferences evolved to a more practical one, in which they could potentially tackle these current social issues. Evolutionary psychology gives us perspective as to which parts of our behavior may be explained through biology and which are results of our evolving social phenomena’s.

All in all, our modern way of life has provided us with many shortcuts, making life easier and people more accessible, at the same time depriving us of some aspects of what it means to be human. Hopefully evolutionary science and our common sense will override these issues and use modernization in a way that promotes, rather than suppresses, the true qualities of being human.