The health of a nation predicts their mate preferences: cross-cultural variation in women's preferences for masculinized male faces
The health of a nation predicts their mate preferences: cross-cultural variation in women's preferences for masculinized male faces
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DOI：
10.1098/rspb.2009.2184
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发表时间：
2010-08-07
影响因子：
4.7
通讯作者：
Little, Anthony C.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
DeBruine, Lisa M.;Jones, Benedict C.;Little, Anthony C.
性选择理论的最新表述强调了配偶选择如何受到环境因素（例如捕食风险和资源质量）的影响。女性对男性阳刚气质的偏好程度差异很大，这种差异被认为反映了女性在选择男性伴侣时如何权衡成本（例如低投资）和收益（例如健康的后代）之间的差异。这种权衡理论的一个强有力的预测是，在健康状况不佳对生存特别有害的文化中，女性对男性气质的偏好会更强。我们调查了女性对男性面部阳刚之气的偏好与源自世界卫生组织死亡率、预期寿命和传染病影响统计数据的健康指数之间的关系。在 30 个国家中，随着健康状况的下降，男性偏好增加。这种关系与财富或女性择偶策略方面的跨文化差异无关。这些发现显示了面部吸引力判断中的非任意跨文化差异，并证明了使用权衡理论来调查女性择偶偏好的跨文化差异。
Recent formulations of sexual selection theory emphasize how mate choice can be affected by environmental factors, such as predation risk and resource quality. Women vary greatly in the extent to which they prefer male masculinity and this variation is hypothesized to reflect differences in how women resolve the trade-off between the costs (e.g. low investment) and benefits (e.g. healthy offspring) associated with choosing a masculine partner. A strong prediction of this trade-off theory is that women's masculinity preferences will be stronger in cultures where poor health is particularly harmful to survival. We investigated the relationship between women's preferences for male facial masculinity and a health index derived from World Health Organization statistics for mortality rates, life expectancies and the impact of communicable disease. Across 30 countries, masculinity preference increased as health decreased. This relationship was independent of cross-cultural differences in wealth or women's mating strategies. These findings show non-arbitrary cross-cultural differences in facial attractiveness judgements and demonstrate the use of trade-off theory for investigating cross-cultural variation in women's mate preferences.