Mating

David M. Buss: Hypotheses on Human Mating

In “The Strategies of Human Mating,” David M. Buss provides hypotheses that deal with humans and how they go about using mating strategies based on qualities they observe in each other.
“Short-term mating is more important for men than women.” To prove this hypothesis, Buss tested his predictions with a sample of 148 college students, 75 that were men and 73 women, from the Midwest. The testing proved that men desire more short-term sexual relationships and are more interested in short-term rather than long-term relationships. Men also desire a greater amount of sexual partners during their lifetimes than women and are quicker to jump into sexual relations during a relationship than women.
After an interesting test where 50 men and women were asked where asked three questions, it was found that men were more likely to have sex with a stranger upon first meeting by a rate of 75 percent and found the requests to be flattering, where women only agreed by a rate of 6 percent (a staggering difference). These tests were a good way to measure the hypothesis Buss started out with.
“Men seeking a short-term mate will minimize commitment and investment.” The idea behind this hypothesis is that men faced with a short-term mate found the mate less desirable if faced with commitment. Buss used 44 men and asked them to rate the desirability of a mate in a short-term relationship if commitment was brought up. This study proved that the hypothesis was true because men more than women were interested in less commitment in short-term relationships.
“Women will be more selective than men in choosing a short-term mate.” This hypothesis focused mainly on how women look for a man with greater physical strength and stature in their short-term relationships rather than their long-term relationships. Buss measured this using a study of 42 men and 44 women to measure the desirability of a mate in a...