The Evolution of Sexual Attraction. Mate-Search Strategies. What Does David Buss Write About?

David Buss is a professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Texas and an evolutionary psychologist. In his book "The Evolution of Desire: Strategies of Human Mating," Buss reveals the evolutionary component that shapes our strategies for finding, attracting, and retaining partners. This book presents the results of a study conducted across 35 cultures, so it frequently describes the characteristics of different cultures and the differences in preferences and strategies. The study was conducted primarily through surveys, so the results may be somewhat subjective in nature, which increases the likelihood of fairly subjective interpretations. Nevertheless, we can identify certain patterns that help us understand the spectrum of diversity in male and female strategies and preferences, as well as the causes and consequences of that diversity. It is important to understand that sexual strategies are entirely subconscious, and the conclusions presented in the book are generalizing in nature. The author writes that we cannot evaluate the described strategies by analyzing the possibility of conscious actions in any given situation; however, we can try to understand what evolutionary aspects underlie those actions. It is also important to understand that the strategies described are not universal — in real life we can very often observe the influence of situation and circumstances that change our behavior to the opposite of what would be evolutionarily advantageous. Furthermore, the observed behavior of men and women is the result of the interference of strategies — male strategies very often contradict and interfere with female ones, and vice versa. This is a fairly common phenomenon described for many animals. A scorpionfly will not mate with a male until she receives a nuptial gift from him, and the larger it is, the better for her. However, the male will choose a gift of precisely the right size — large enough to last the duration of the copulation (about 20 minutes), but not too small (so he can introduce his sperm while she is eating) and not too large (so he does not have to fight with the female over the leftovers of the food he caught). The spectrum of conflicts in the reproductive behavior of women and men is far broader and more complex than the described case with scorpionflies. So what do partners want from each other? A large portion of Buss's book is devoted to answering the question "What do women want?" Women want to secure resources for their offspring; they will choose men with good material standing and high social status, which can provide their children with additional advantages. Even women who themselves possess resources and power, according to research conducted among the Bakweri people, still prefer partners with resources. Age is also important for women — a partner must be reproductively successful while already having achieved a high position in society. On average, women choose men who are about 3 years older than themselves. However, high-status women may choose younger partners, guided by the strategy of finding a father with the best genes for their children. The family man must be hardworking, stable, generous, and sincere, and must have high intelligence. It is important for a woman to know that a man provides and will continue to provide for her family and will remain faithful, since otherwise resources might partially flow elsewhere. For a woman, a man's expressions of love are important as a guarantee of devotion — and therefore of fidelity. For long-term relationships, women choose reliable and financially secure men; for short-term ones — young, healthy men who possess markers of a successful genotype. And the results of female preferences shape the modern vectors of development of the species Homo sapiens. "The preferences of the sex that invests the most in reproduction — women — are enormously capable of determining the direction of a species' evolution. Because it is ultimately the woman who decides when to have sex, how often, and with whom" — Sarah Hrdy, "The Woman That Never Evolved." What do men want? A man will always choose a young and healthy woman. On average, men prefer women about 2.5 years younger than themselves. However, this gap increases with age: men in their 30s–40s prefer women 5 years younger, while men aged 50–60 prefer women 10–20 years younger. At this age a man can obtain a young, healthy, reproductively promising partner, since he already has resources and status. The primary indicators of health when choosing a partner are clear skin, correct proportions (a waist-to-hip ratio of 0.7–0.8 is most favorable for female reproduction), a healthy complexion, and healthy hair and eyes. These preferences apply to men when choosing women for both long-term and short-term relationships alike. However, requirements for partners more often decrease due to lack of choice (when the sex ratio is skewed, we observe the "closing time effect"), as well as due to an awareness of one's own lack of competitiveness in the mate market. In discussing the different orientations of male and female strategies, the author approaches the question of the double standard. A man who has an affair can thereby increase his reproductive success with minimal costs (only if his infidelity is not discovered and he does not lose his family). In addition, the Coolidge effect (the increase in sexual arousal in response to a novel female) is highly significant for men. As Donald Symons argues, "the decline in desire for one's own wife is adaptive... because it causes a man to look at other women." A woman, on the other hand, spends a large amount of resources on pregnancy, childbirth, and nursing — she is unlikely to increase the number of her children through affairs. So do the costs always outweigh the benefits of infidelity for a woman? Not entirely — she can obtain better genes for her offspring. Men have relatively large testes compared to our closest relatives — 0.08% of body mass, which is 60% more than in orangutans (0.05%) and four times more than in gorillas (0.02%). The large testes of human males suggest that for many centuries there was a need to increase semen volume to improve the chances of winning sperm wars. And sperm wars, in turn, are evidence that women engaged in infidelity for their own hidden purposes. If it is advantageous for men to have a large number of partners with whom they engage in short-term relationships, why would they burden themselves with long-term commitments? The fact is that for many centuries women maintained selection pressure in favor of men willing to invest in the family and demonstrate fidelity. Moreover, men increase the survival of their children by being present in the family and supporting their development. And a man who stays close to his partner can monitor her fidelity and increase his chances of reproductive success with her. What is the primary function of female orgasm, and why do women experience orgasm more frequently with lovers than with husbands? What are the main causes of divorce? What methods exist for retaining partners? Why does the phenomenon of sexual harassment exist in our society, and do women have any adaptive mechanisms directed against it? Why does menopause occur so early in our species (in other primates the post-reproductive period takes up no more than 10% of the lifespan)? All these questions have their answers, arising from our evolutionary past. David Buss's work is a classic — his book is an excellent choice for those who want to become acquainted with the evolutionary-ecological approach to explaining our behavior. The book will be comprehensible and interesting even to those who are far from biology, and will help open doors that conceal the keys to understanding the reasons behind our not-always-easily-explained actions.