Evolutionary determinants and hormonal underpinning of men's mating strategies: Correlational and experimental evidence from Chilean samples
Date Issued
2022
Type
Resource Types::text::journal::journal article
Abstract
Humans show a wide variety of mating strategies, from promiscuous mating to the establishment and maintenance of long-lasting pair-bonds, with variation between sexes, within sexes, and within-individuals. The following thesis focuses on men’s mating strategies, from an evolutionary and a proximate approach, presenting the results from two studies. The first one takes the evolutionary perspective, that proposes the variation on mating strategies can be partially explained by phenotypical, social, and environmental factors. We aimed to investigate the traits associated with men’s predisposition to invest in long-term mating to understand the selective pressures that shape the cost-benefit balance that favors men’s parental investment. We obtained that socioeconomic status is the main predictor for long-term mating orientation, while strength is highly associated with short-term orientation in men. The second study considers a proximate approach, where testosterone and immediate social context play a major role in regulating individuals’ mating strategies. We investigated the testosterone-related and social mechanisms involved in the calibration of long and short-term mating strategies, obtaining that the most relevant factor to explain these strategies is the inclusion of a female confederate in the immediate context where the session was carried out. This manuscript brings together approaches from the ultimate and proximate causes for a better understanding of human mating strategies in men