Name: how selection shapes mate choice
Uploaded: 2024-10-24T14:03:06.000Z
Duration: 1 min 6 s
Channel: JoVE

K12 Standards

Louisiana Student Standards for Science

High School

Life Sciences

Biological Evolution: Unity And Diversity

HS-LS4-2

Natural Selection and Mating Preferences

El principio de la selección natural sugiere que los organismos mejor adaptados a su entorno tienen más probabilidades de sobrevivir y reproducirse.
Los psicólogos evolutivos utilizan el principio de la selección sexual para explicar las diferencias en los comportamientos de apareamiento entre machos y hembras.
Las preferencias de apareamiento, un subconjunto de la selección sexual, influyen en el éxito reproductivo. Las personas a menudo seleccionan parejas en función de las características físicas que indican buena salud, aptitud genética o características ventajosas. Estas preferencias pueden conducir a la proliferación de un conjunto particular de características dentro de una población.
Por lo general, las hembras tienen un impulso biológico para concebir, llevar y potencialmente amamantar a las crías, lo que las lleva a preferir parejas que puedan proporcionar estabilidad y protección.
Si bien la psicología evolutiva proporciona un marco para comprender el comportamiento humano, no capta toda la complejidad del comportamiento sexual y social humano.

selección natural y preferencias de apareamiento

El principio de selección natural postula que los organismos mejor adaptados a su entorno tienen más probabilidades de sobrevivir y reproducirse. Este principio está estrechamente relacionado con las preferencias de apareamiento, un aspecto clave de la selección sexual, que los psicólogos evolucionistas creen que está impulsada por los instintos de propagación de los genes. Estos instintos influyen significativamente en los comportamientos de apareamiento y las preferencias entre los géneros.

Las hembras, debido a sus funciones biológicas en la concepción, el embarazo y la lactancia, priorizan inherentemente la búsqueda de parejas que puedan brindarles estabilidad y protección. Esta preferencia tiene su raíz en la necesidad de asegurar la supervivencia de su descendencia y la continuidad de su herencia genética. Rasgos universalmente valorados, como una piel tersa y un físico juvenil, se perciben en diversas culturas y épocas como indicadores de salud y fertilidad, lo que refleja su importancia en la selección natural y la atracción sexual.

Los hombres, por otra parte, suelen mostrar preferencia por mujeres con una relación cintura-cadera que indica una alta fertilidad y menos partos previos. Esta preferencia se alinea con su estrategia reproductiva de maximizar las posibilidades de transmitir sus genes mediante la selección de parejas capaces de producir múltiples hijos sanos.

Los patrones de atracción también varían con la edad, lo que refleja cambios en las estrategias reproductivas a lo largo de la vida de un individuo. Los adolescentes suelen preferir mujeres varios años mayores que ellos, probablemente porque estas mujeres están en la edad reproductiva máxima. En cambio, los hombres de veintitantos años suelen preferir a mujeres de su edad, mientras que los hombres mayores suelen preferir a mujeres más jóvenes, influenciados por la mayor fertilidad potencial de estas mujeres.

La interacción entre la selección natural y las preferencias de apareamiento impulsa la diversidad de formas de vida en la Tierra, dando forma a los rasgos genéticos, la apariencia física, los comportamientos y las relaciones ecológicas a lo largo de las generaciones. A través de estos mecanismos, las especies evolucionan para adaptarse mejor a sus entornos, atraer parejas y asegurar la supervivencia de sus crías, perpetuando así el ciclo de la vida.

Selección natural y preferencias de apareamiento

El principio de la selección natural sugiere que los organismos mejor adaptados a su entorno tienen más probabilidades de sobrevivir y reproducirse.
Evolutivo...

Education

Educación

JoVE Core

Introduction to Psychology

Introducción a la Psicología

Unit 1

Unidad 1

Biopsychology

Biopsicología

KEY TERMS AND CONCEPTS

TÉRMINOS Y CONCEPTOS CLAVE

how selection shapes mate choice

Natural selection and mating preferences work together to shape how organisms survive and reproduce. Natural selection favors traits that help an organism fit its environment. Mating preferences are part of sexual selection, which influences who mates with whom and how genes are passed on.

Evolutionary psychologists argue that these preferences are tied to instincts that support reproduction. For females, conception, pregnancy, and nursing create a strong need to choose mates who can offer stability and protection. This choice helps improve the chances that offspring will survive and that a genetic line will continue.

Some traits are widely seen as attractive because they suggest health and fertility. Smooth skin and a youthful body are examples that have been valued across different cultures and time periods. These features are often linked to reproductive fitness, which makes them important in mate choice.

Male preferences also reflect reproductive strategy. Males often prefer women with a waist-to-hip ratio that suggests high fertility and fewer previous childbirths. This preference can increase the chance of selecting a partner who can produce multiple healthy offspring.

Attraction also changes with age. Teenage boys often prefer women who are several years older, likely because those women are at a peak reproductive age. Men in their mid-twenties usually prefer peers, while older men generally prefer younger women because younger women may have higher fertility potential.

Together, natural selection and mating preferences help explain the variety of life on Earth. They shape physical traits, behavior, and ecological relationships across generations. Over time, these forces help species adapt to their environment, attract mates, and support the survival of offspring.

How Selection Shapes Mate Choice

introduction to biological bases of psychology

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Biological Factors Shaping Behavior and Mind

Biopsychology connects biology and psychology by showing how the body influences behavior and mental processes. It focuses on the nervous system, neurotransmitters, hormones, genetics, and evolutionary ideas. Together, these areas help explain why people think, feel, and act the way they do. The nervous system is the main foundation of biopsychology. It has two parts: the central nervous system, or CNS, and the peripheral nervous system, or PNS. The CNS includes the brain and spinal cord and...

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Neuron Parts and Signal Transmission

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lateralization

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organization of the brain

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evolutionary psychology

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somatosensory-motor-and-association-cortex

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heritability

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natural selection and adaptation

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natural selection and mating preferences

Natural selection and mating preferences work together to shape how organisms survive and reproduce. Natural selection favors traits that help an organism fit its environment. Mating preferences are part of sexual selection, which influences who mates with whom and how genes are passed on. Evolutionary psychologists argue that these preferences are tied to instincts that support reproduction. For females, conception, pregnancy, and nursing create a strong need to choose mates who can offer...

criticisms of the evolutionary perspective

criticisms-of-the-evolutionary-perspective

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key terms and concepts

Explore how natural selection and sexual selection influence mate choice, from fertility cues and protection to age-based attraction patterns in humans.

How Selection Shapes Mate Choice | JoVE K12

JoVE Core Introduction to Psychology offers an engaging learning experience on the fundamental principles of psychology through concise video lessons. Students will explore important topics such as cognitive processes, emotional regulation, and neural mechanisms, establishing a strong foundation in the study of the mind and human behavior. This series provides an accessible and captivating approach to grasp the essential concepts of the discipline.

introduction to psychology

HS-LS4-3

Arizona Science Standards

Life Science

HS+B.L3

HS+B.L3U1.10

new-york-state-science-learning-standards

New York State Science Learning Standards

Natural Selection and Evolution

HS-LS4-1.

HS-LS4-4.

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Analyze and interpret scientific information that common ancestry and biological evolution are supported by multiple lines of empirical evidence. Emphasis is on a conceptual understanding of the role each line of evidence (e.g., similarities in DNA sequences, order of appearance of structure during embryological development, cladograms, homologous and vestigial structures, fossil records) demonstrates as related to common ancestry and biological evolution.

HS-LS4-1

What is Natural Selection?

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Types of Selection

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Frequency-dependent Selection

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Limits to Natural Selection

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Natural Selection

Fitness
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Artificial Selection

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Natural Selection and Adaptation

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...

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Evolutionary ...

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Genetic Drift

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Gene Flow

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This ...

Construct an explanation based on evidence that biological diversity is influenced by (1) the potential for a species to increase in number, (2) the heritable genetic variation of individuals in a species due to mutation and sexual reproduction, (3) competition for limited resources, and (4) the proliferation of those organisms that are better able to survive and reproduce in the environment. Emphasis is on using evidence to explain the influence each of the four factors has on number of organisms, behaviors, morphology, or physiology in terms of ability to compete for limited resources and subsequent survival of individuals and adaptation of species. Examples of evidence could include mathematical models such as simple distribution graphs or proportional reasoning.

Mutation, Gene Flow, and Genetic Drift

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Hardy-Weinberg Principle

Diploid organisms have two alleles of each gene, one from each parent, in their somatic cells. Therefore, each individual contributes two alleles to the ...

Apply concepts of statistics and probability to support explanations that populations of organisms adapt when an advantageous heritable trait increases in proportion to organisms lacking this trait. Emphasis is on analyzing shifts in numerical distribution of traits and using these shifts as evidence to support explanations for adaptations. Explanations could include basic statistical or graphical analysis.

Understanding Species and Reproductive Barriers

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Formation of Species

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Speciation Rates

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Genetics of Speciation

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Hybrid Zones

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Extinction

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Evaluate evidence supporting claims that changes in environmental conditions can affect the distribution of traits in a population causing: (1) increases in the number of individuals of some species, (2) the emergence of new species over time, and (3) the extinction of other species. Emphasis is on determining cause and effect relationships for how changes to the environment such as deforestation, overfishing, application of fertilizers, drought, flood, and the rate of change of the environment affect distribution or disappearance of traits in species.

HS-LS4-5

How Selection Shapes Mate Choice

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