Blog Post #5

The video, Evolutionary Psychology and Sexual Attitudes, was about male and female's perspective on casual sex and what traits they find attractive in the opposite sex. Men are more interested in having casual sex than women are. I've never thought about it, but it makes sense that gay men are more successful in having casual sex than straight men because both people are interested in it. Women are interested in men of high status, that will be able to provide, and have many resources. Men are interested in women that will be a good homemaker. I found it interesting that as the society changes and women become more equal, the ages of the partners that people seek also change. Men used to go after younger women so the women could give them a family and take care of it. Women would also go with older men who were successful and could provide. Now, women have their own jobs and can provide for themselves so they seek mates that are their own age.

The video, Natural Selection and Evolutionary Psychology, talked about how the body is a survival machine. Present genes that humans and animals possess are copies of successful genes passed on from their ancestors. This goes along with Darwin's principle of natural selection which states that among the range of inherited trait variations, those contributing to reproduction and survival will most likely be passed on to succeeding generations. Animals live to pass on their genes and everything they do has to do with passing those traits on to their offspring. Humans aren't like animals in this way. We waste time doing things that have nothing to do with natural selection and we participate in risky behaviors. It suprised me at how much the human race has changed over time. We used to be more like the animals just living to pass on genetics but with advances in technology, now we live for "fun" and the present.

In this chapter, I also learned about gender similarities and differences. Some of it was common knowledge, such as: compared with men, the average women enters puberty two years sooner, lives five years longer, carries more fat, has less muscle, and is shorter. I found it interesting how women smell fainter odors, are more vulnerable to depression and anxiety, and have a greater chance of developing eating disorders. Men are more likely to commit suicide; suffer from alcohol dependence; be diagnosed with autism, color-blindness, and ADHD. It was suprising how gender influences different diseases and personalities.