- Led to formation of early human society driven by long-lasting relationships
- Women's decision not to go with alpha males marked us out from other primates
- Mathematical simulation 'proves' women were key
- As if man 'tamed himself' say researchers
By Tamara Cohen
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At a crucial point in our evolution, women decided not to simply go for the 'alpha male' - and instead settled down with good providers
Confident and cocky, alpha males might have you believe that they could win the heart of any woman they want.
But when it comes to finding a mate, women are actually hardwired to go for a meeker, less macho chap who is a good provider, a study suggests.
American researchers have looked into the reasons why humans developed the two-parent nuclear family.
Our primitive ancestors would have inherited the social structure of the apes â€" a sexual free-for-all with males fighting each other f or mating rights.
But scientists at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, say a ‘sexual revolution’ occurred when lower-ranking males who had no chance of winning a fight cottoned on to providing food and care instead.
Their effort paid off, as they got the immediate benefit of mating. And in the long run, females decided they preferred being looked after and started forming long-term relationships, the study found.
Sergey Gavrilets, an evolutionary biologist, said this was ‘a foundation for the later emergence of the institution of modern family’.
Happy family: It was an early version of the 'sexual revolution' - where pair-bonding replaced promiscuity, and pack battles for available females were replaced by an early version of family life
It made males more productive, as they wasted less time fighting, and having two parents around meant offspring were more likely to survive, the study suggests.
Professor Gavrilets said experts have struggled to explain how the modern family arose, because they thought if low-ranking males started providing food, the bigger ones would just fight them off.
He said they did not realise until now that female choice was the critical factor.
‘Once females began to show preference for being provisioned, the low-ranked males’ investment in female provisioning over male-to-male competition pays off,’ he added.
The study is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The study on early human evolution demonstrates mathematically that the most commonly proposed theories for the transition to human pair-bonding are not biologically feasible.
However, the authors advance a new model showing that the transition to pair-bonding can occur when female choice and faithfulness, among other factors, are included.
The result is an increased emphasis on provisioning females over male competition for mating.
The effect is most pronounced in low-ranked males who have a low chance of winning a mate in competition with a high-ranked male, the study claims.
Thus, the low-ranked male attempts to buy mating by providing for the female, which in turn is then reinforced by females who show preference for the low-ranked, ‘provisioning’ male, according to author.
The study reveals that female choice played a crucial role in human evolution and that future studies should include between-individual variation to help explain social dilemmas and behaviours, Mr Gavrilets said.
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I must admit I had much more luck online dating once I started giving the impression I had money, despite having a face like a bag of spanners. It generally took the ladies around a month to realise I wasn't rich....ahem.
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Dear DM - would it be possible in the future, when you publish articles about studies, to also reference exactly the title of the study, names of authors and exactly where the study was published so that I can go and find the study myself and read it? ( I thought this is how it was normally done anyway!) Thanks.
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And this article requires a scantily clad woman image because....? - Alex, Sweden, 28/05/2012 10:58 Because we love them?
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It wasn't women but evolution of mankind that chose this, by choosing men with intelligence to have and keep power (most likely chosen by other men to begin with), the brawn became the pions to fight in wars and intelligence stayed. Intelligence is mightier than the sword.
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Ah yes, you go for the provider as a mate but the survey says nothing about keeping an alpha male as a bit on the side.
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Did we need a study to tell us what most of us (men) are already aware of?Women have always headed for men who they percieve to be the best providers (cash). I have yet to meet a male divorcee who's wife as 'not' left for a man with more money. This is why, if you go into 'any' affluent area, you can't fail to notice all the very attractice females. Men with money 'know' regardless of what they look like, they won't have any problems attracting women. 'Snakes on legs' is a term I've heard quite a lot from bitter men who've been betrayed by greed.
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Unfortunately, the prevailing shallow Hollywood-inspired culture of Bods, Bucks and Brainlessness is encouraging a shift back to the alpha males. Just look at a lot of celebrity marriages - and just how well most of THOSE are working out. A good reason to give these macho magazine-inspired 'trends' all the respect they deserve - one big goose egg.
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The problem is this , the modern woman is a deluded hypocrite ,the reason being is in one ear they are told they are little darling princesses , in the other they are told they are a feminist. Women want a "real man" who is strong and provides for them , yet don't want an aggressive partner , or one that likes too much sport , be provided for Eg: paid for on the first date , given the first place on a sinking ship , doors held open for them, want to "be Independant", and have their own money. They want a man to be commited , but file 80-90% of divorces , they want a commited father , yet take custody from him, they say they don't need men , yet rely on child support , they don't want to cook and clean , yet stills expect men to do traditional roles such as lift heavy objects , they want men to find them attractive , but cry sexual harrasment when a guy tries too hard. I could go on ALL DAY - Dave, London , 29/05/2012 01:50 Sorry to add to your list but we don't like whinges either ;)
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More sexist nonsense.... Every time something between the sexes comes up this "newspaper" does everything in their power to belittle men, and nowhere would you EVER see a man standing on a womans head, as that would be wrong, but fine the other way around. You do this deliberately to wind people up.... you're pathetic DM.
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To : Pool oh , Prince , 29/5/2012 03:15 - If WW3 breaks out it will be the fault of men, and their power hungry grapple for the worlds resources. I cannot recall many (any) war's started by women? If you are going to get sexist and nasty, thus showing your bitterness towards females, at least have the decency to put forth an intelligent argument. Lol, some old men make me laugh. :D
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