ANTH 332 Assignment 3_Hawks

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Apr 3, 2024

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ANTH 332 Assignment 3 This worksheet does double-duty as a study guide for next week’s quiz. It focuses on key studies presented in lectures 22-24 on WHR (which summarize and build upon week 5 readings), and is aimed at helping you see how science is a process of continually testing and revising hypotheses. Each question is worth 20 points. Make sure you answer all parts of each question. Type your answers into this sheet after the question you are answering. 1). List the reasons Singh (1993) gave for why he hypothesized that selection produced adaptations for male preference for low WHR. Describe the stimuli Singh used to test his hypothesis. What WHR did men in his study find most attractive? The reasons Singh gave that the males would have an adaptive preference for low WHR all concluded that low WHR would provide a reliable cue to mate value. Singh also hypothesized and found that high WHR in females is associated with a risk for primary infertility, Cardiovascular disorders, and female carcinoma. However, Sugiyama found that the number of females suffering from conditions would have been relatively low compared to infectious diseases and other health problems under evolutionary conditions. The stimuli used in Singh's test were estrogen and testosterone. Estrogen affects a female's WHR because, at puberty, it stimulates fat deposition on the thighs, hips, and buttocks and inhibits deposition around the abdomen. On the other hand, testosterone in males leads to fat deposition in the stomach. Singh's overall conclusion in the study was that men found females with WHR of about 0.7 most attractive. 2) According to Lassek & Gaulin (2005), what is the function of gluteal femoral fat? What was the relationship between female WHR and cognitive performance? What was the relationship between female WHR and offspring cognitive performance? According to Lassek and Gaulin, the function of gluteal femoral fat showed a relationship between the mother's WHR and the offspring's cognitive scores. Hence, women with a lower WHR had children with higher cognitive performance. Gluteal femoral fat is significant in the uptake of fatty acids in circulation and acts as a reservoir for excess fats. The fat layer is crucial as it regulates the number of fatty acids to keep it balanced. Essentially, Gluteal femoral fat is composed of high levels of essential fatty acids (like omega-3 fatty acids) that are rare in food but necessary for brain growth) and this fat is conserved except when mobilized during the last trimester of pregnancy and breastfeeding. 3) What was the “weight” and WHR of the line drawings Yu & Shepard (1999) presented to Machiguenga men? Which stimuli did more remote Machiguenga prefer? Which

stimuli did more acculturated Machiguenga prefer? How do Yu & Shepard explain this pattern of results? Yu and Shepard used a subset of the Singh images that consisted of high, medium/moderate, and low body weight and the WHR of 0.9 and 0.7 for the Machiguenga men. The stimuli that more remote Machiguenga preferred showed evidence of no WHR preferences, but the more acculturated Machiguenga preferred women with heavy figures or with low WHR. Yu and Shepard explained these patterns due to acculturation which had the men more assimilated to new trends and values instead of what is genuinely preferred in the culture. 4) According to Sugiyama, what is the problem with Yu & Shepard’s explanation for the differences between remote and acculturated Machiguenga men’s preferences in their study? According to Sugiyama, acculturation drove the problem with Yu and Shepard's explanation for the difference between remote and acculturated Machiguenga men's preferences. Machiguenga men are attracted to thick-waisted women, contrary to the assumption that low WHR attracts males. In their culture, higher WHR symbolizes a healthy and fit woman. However, what they consider fat or thick-waisted is quite different from what we in western society would consider being. The Machiguenga men have never seen someone immobilized by their weight and therefore do not have that stigma surrounding heavier women. Western media may have played a role in influencing the perception of beauty, but certain cultures remained adamant in their perception of body attractiveness. 5) Sugiyama (1996, 2004) hypothesized that WHR preference would be calibrated to the range of variation in the local population. What was the mean female WHR in his Shiwiar sample? When presented with all 12 of Singh’s original stimuli, which figures did Shiwiar men prefer? When Sugiyama presented only line drawings of women within a weight class, what did Shiwiar men prefer? The mean female WHR cited from Sugiyama’s Shiwiar sample was 0.87, “removing five women known or reported pregnant during the study, as well as one woman who may be infertile, leaves mean adult female WHR of 0.87” (Sugiyama 56). When presented with 12 figures, Shiwiar men preferred high-weight figures to low-weight figures. But, when only presented line drawings of women within a weight class, the men preferred low WHR compared to the average population. 6) What were the basic results of both Marlowe & Wetsman’s (1999) study of WHR preference among the Hadza? Did Marlowe, Apicella & Reed’s (2005) study of WHR preference among the Hadza come to the same basic conclusions regarding whether or

not Hadza men had preferences for low WHR? Were the results similar or different, and why? Marlowe and Westman's study showed that the basic results were that Hadza men preferred higher frontal WHR but lower profile WHR. Between the two societies of the American and the Hadza, "these results imply that Hadza and American men's preferences for women's actual WHR would not be as different as the two previous studies of frontal WHR would lead us to believe" (Marlowe 55). The results from Marlowe's experiment were not similar to those of Apiccela and Wetsman because, from the sides, Hadza men were found to prefer women with low WHRs compared to those with high WHRs. 7) Tovee et al. used silhouettes of actual women in their study of WHR preference. What did they find regarding the relative importance of BMI and WHR in assessments of female attractiveness? According to Sugiyama, why are these conclusions unlikely to be valid? What was interesting about Tovee’s study is that the participants preferred silhouettes of low WHR, yet they also showed a preference towards a high BMI. According to Sugiyama, these stimuli may lead to unreliable results due to the lack of variability in the silhouettes. By eliminating males, juveniles, adolescent females, pregnant women, etc.- these studies eliminated much of the variability that WHR assessment is hypothesized to have been selected to assess. 8) Sugiyama & Blackwell presented stimuli derived from the same individuals from childhood through adulthood. What was the age range of the figures found most attractive? Based on this preference, and data from Tanner & Whitehead on growth and development in this sample, what aspect of female mate value does male preference appear to be targeting? Images from the study showed six figures from each sex and age range and proceeded to have 25 heterosexual males rank figures by sorting them through a card sort. Males found figures aged 13-15.5 most attractive regardless of the actual sex; this is also the peak female residual reproductive value age. The results showed that high WHR has a more substantial effect on attractiveness than BMI or body fat, but both contribute; effects of WHR and body fat are indirect. A combination of low WHR and low body fat may signal peak reproductive value. 9) Even though female Shuar WHR is higher than in Western populations, does WHR still distinguish between females and males? Does Shuar BMI differ by sex? There is no significant relationship between BMI and WHR among the Shuar: can preferences for WHR be a byproduct of preference for BMI? Among Shuar, is WHR related to women’s total live births? If so, how?

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Even though female Shuar WHR is higher than in western populations, WHR still distinguishes between males and females. This is because the BMI amongst Shuar differs by sex—however, no significant differences are noticeable between BMI and WHR among the Shuar. Although some experiences demonstrate that WHR may be a byproduct of preference for BMI among people. The findings show that the complications during pregnancy and childbirth are related to WHR levels. Overall, preferences for WHR can be the byproduct of preference for BMI.

ANTH 332 Assignment 3_Hawks

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