Science of Sex- Matching Phenomenon
Summary
TLDREvolutionary psychologist Douglas Kenrick explores the complexities of human mate selection through an experiment with 10 men and 10 women of varying attractiveness. Participants, initially anonymous, are assigned random 'desirability' numbers and must pair up based on these numbers. The experiment reveals insights into the mating strategies of individuals, with higher 'desirability' numbers affording more choices and patience. A second round allows true physical attractiveness to guide pairing, resulting in matches closely aligned with each other's attractiveness ratings, demonstrating how people generally pair with others of similar attractiveness.
Takeaways
- 🧠 Douglas Kenrick, an evolutionary psychologist, has conducted experiments to understand human mating strategies.
- 👥 He gathered 10 men and 10 women with varying levels of physical attractiveness to simulate a mating game.
- 👕 Participants were dressed in identical, sexually neutral outfits to minimize external differences.
- 🔢 Each participant was assigned a random number from 1 to 10, representing their perceived desirability.
- 🎯 The goal was to pair up with the highest-numbered partner possible, reflecting real-world mate selection.
- 📉 People with higher numbers could afford to be more selective, while those with lower numbers felt more urgency to pair up.
- 👫 The experiment showed a correlation where higher-numbered individuals received more offers and were more selective.
- 👶 The process mimics the self-discovery of one's own attractiveness, especially relevant for adolescents.
- 🎤 A participant's narration revealed the thought process behind mate selection, including initial optimism and eventual compromise.
- 👁️🗨️ When physical attractiveness was the sole factor, participants tended to pair with someone close to their own attractiveness level.
Q & A
What is the main focus of the experiments conducted by Dr. Douglas Kenrick?
-The main focus of Dr. Douglas Kenrick's experiments is to understand the process of mate selection and how people pair up based on perceived attractiveness or desirability.
How did Dr. Kenrick attempt to control for variables in the experiment?
-Dr. Kenrick controlled for variables by dressing all participants in identical and sexually neutral outfits to minimize differences between them and to focus on their desirability numbers.
What do the numbers assigned to participants represent in the experiment?
-In the experiment, the numbers assigned to participants represent their perceived desirability, with one being the least desirable and ten being the most desirable.
What was the initial strategy of the participants when trying to pair up?
-The initial strategy of the participants was to aim high by trying to pair up with the most desirable person, represented by the highest number, and then gradually lowering their expectations if they were not accepted.
How did the participants with higher numbers differ from those with lower numbers in the experiment?
-Participants with higher numbers were able to hold back longer and received more offers, while those with lower numbers did not receive any offers, reflecting a real-world pattern where attractiveness can influence the number of potential mates.
What was the outcome for the two participants who were both ranked as fives in the experiment?
-The two participants who were both ranked as fives eventually paired up with each other, indicating that they settled for a match close to their own perceived desirability level.
How did the experiment simulate the experience of an adolescent trying to understand their own attractiveness?
-The experiment simulated the experience of an adolescent by having participants interact and receive feedback on their desirability without knowing their own assigned number, which can be a painful process of self-discovery.
What was the role of the woman ranked number three in the experiment?
-The woman ranked number three was asked to narrate her mate selection strategy, providing insights into her thought process and the dynamics of choosing a partner based on the numbers and her own attractiveness rating.
How did Dr. Kenrick change the experiment to incorporate true physical attractiveness?
-Dr. Kenrick changed the experiment by removing the head coverings and allowing the participants to rate each other's physical appearance, thus letting their own preferences for attractiveness influence their mate selection.
What was the final outcome of the experiment when physical attractiveness was considered?
-In the final part of the experiment, each person found a partner within a point or so of their own attractiveness rating, suggesting that people tend to pair up with others who are similarly attractive.
Outlines
🧠 Mating Game Experiment
Evolutionary psychologist Douglas Kenrick explores the complexities of mate selection in humans. He conducts an experiment with 10 men and 10 women, each assigned a random number from 1 to 10 to represent their perceived desirability. Participants are tasked with pairing up with the highest-numbered person they can, simulating the real-world challenge of assessing one's own attractiveness and choosing a mate. The experiment reveals that individuals with higher numbers can afford to be more selective, while those with lower numbers face rejection and must settle for less. This scenario mirrors the real-life dynamics of the mating market, where people must learn to gauge their own attractiveness, which can be a difficult and sometimes painful process.
👁🗨 Physical Attractiveness in Mate Selection
In a follow-up to the initial experiment, Kenrick modifies the rules to allow physical attractiveness to directly influence mate selection. Participants, who had previously rated each other's physical appearance on a scale of 1 to 10, are now asked to pair up based on their true preferences. The women remove their head coverings, and the men do the same, allowing their natural appearances to guide their choices. As expected, each person finds a partner whose attractiveness rating is within a point or so of their own, demonstrating a tendency for individuals to match with others of similar perceived attractiveness.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Evolutionary Psychology
💡Mate Selection
💡Physical Attractiveness
💡Desirability
💡Social Dynamics
💡Experiment
💡Adolescence
💡Mating Pool
💡Self-Perception
💡Feedback
💡Attraction Rating
Highlights
Douglas Kenrick's decades-long research into human mating strategies.
The concept that if everyone pursued only the most attractive partners, societal satisfaction would decrease.
Experiments designed to understand how people match up in terms of attractiveness.
Participants were dressed in identical outfits to minimize superficial differences.
A 'mating game' was introduced to simulate real-life partner selection.
Numbers assigned to participants represented their perceived desirability.
The game's objective was to pair up with the highest-numbered partner possible.
Observation that people with higher numbers could afford to be more selective.
Those with lower numbers faced rejection and had to settle for less desirable matches.
The experiment reflects the dynamics of the real-world mating pool.
Adolescents' self-awareness regarding their attractiveness is explored.
The experiment accelerated the learning curve of understanding one's attractiveness.
A female participant's narration of her mate selection strategy is featured.
The participant's realization of her lower attractiveness ranking through lack of offers.
A second experiment where physical attractiveness ratings determined mate selection.
Participants rated each other's physical appearance before meeting.
The final experiment showed that people tend to pair with those of similar attractiveness.
Transcripts
decide when to pair up and with whom is
a riddle that evolutionary psychologist
Douglas Kenrick has tried to solve for
decades if we all just went for good
jeans everyone would be unhappy if the
guys didn't end up you know with
Jennifer Lopez uh or some other fashion
model they would just stop then and the
women would stop if they couldn't get
Brad Pit or some extremely handsome guy
in real life people have to match up
with one another
how does this matching up process work
to find out Dr Kendrick gathered 10 men
and 10 women from a fairly average range
of physical attractiveness and prepared
to perform a few experiments in human
social dynamics first he Stripped Away
as many differences as possible between
the guinea pigs by dressing them in
identical and sexually neutral
[Music]
outfits okay now you're going to play
sort of a mating game you all have a
number as you can see you can't see your
own number but you can see the other
people's numbers offer your hands to
someone and if they accept it then
you've paired up and you walk back to
the back uh if the if the person does
not accept your offer then you'd move on
and offer it to someone else again the
task being to try to get the highest
number that you can and realizing that
you have a number on your own head that
they are responding to as well
[Music]
the numbers drawn at random are meant to
represent desirability one being least
and 10 being most in the real world
where most of us don't know exactly how
attractive we are we tend to aim high
trying to snare a 10 then gradually we
work our way down to someone who will
accept
us so the people are trying and not
getting
paired uh the two people who were fives
have paired up with one
another it wasn't like the tens
perfectly matched and the ones perfectly
matched but you did get a
correlation the people with the high
numbers were able to hold back a little
bit longer and they got more offers the
people with the low numbers didn't get
any offers and that's sort of what
happens in a real mating
pool the experiment opens a window into
the mind of an adolescent who is not yet
fully aware of how attractive he or she
is let's imagine teenagers in a high
school you've got a guy and a girl who
are both tens well what's going to
happen to them is they're going to get a
lot of offers from the opposite sex and
they're eventually going to have some
sense that they have lots of more
opportunities if you're a five or a six
as most people are they'll let you know
you'll get feedback basically this is
something we all have to learn and it
can be a painful
process to glimpse a sped up version of
this learning curve Dr Kenrick put a
microphone on the woman who is ranked
number three and asked her to narrate
her mate selection
strategy I guess everyone's going to
start off going to the number 10
guy 3 1 4 10 oh 10 is taken now nobody
will make eye contact with me I'm not
really used to that I like that one yeah
but it numberers too low I can do better
let's see
one no seven I can oh he's being paired
up I have a feeling I have a very low
number cuz no one's coming over to me at
all or now come on two no I can do
better than that um we're running out of
numbers
one eight I guess this is all that's
left okay I'm stuck with two
after using random numbers Dr Kendrick
wanted to see how things would turn out
if he let true physical attractiveness
Drive mate selection when the volunteers
first arrived before the men and women
met face to face Kenrick had them rate
each other's physical appearance on a
scale of 1 to 10 he pulled the numbers
for each person and came up with an
attractiveness rating now it's time for
the test subjects to try and reel in the
most physically attractive person they
can we are going to change the rules a
little bit and we're going to begin by
asking the ladies to take your head
stockings
off okay now if the guys would all
remove their head coverings
let your own preferences now uh you know
have their way and again keeping in mind
the last game try to get the person who
you regard as the highest uh
attractiveness in your opinion
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
just as Kenrick expected each person
found a partner within a point or so of
themselves
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