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Visual attention to faces in intersexual and intrasexual selection
Pátková, Žaneta ; Třebická Fialová, Jitka (advisor) ; Lukavský, Jiří (referee) ; Stirratt, Michael (referee)
This thesis focuses on visual attention towards faces in intersexual and intrasexual selection. It consists of two main parts. The first part begins with a brief overview of the intersexual and intrasexual selection mechanisms. Within the framework of intersexual selection, facial attractiveness is discussed, with its putative link to health and immune system function. Within the framework of intrasexual selection, the thesis focuses on perceived facial dominance and formidability and their connection to actual characteristics. Moreover, specific facial traits and morphological features connected with judgements of attractiveness, dominance, and formidability are described. Given the scarce evidence of direct visual attention towards facial features connected with judgements of facial attractiveness and dominance or formidability, we discuss the eye-tracking method, which can measure direct visual attention. A brief summary of eye-tracking studies focusing on visual attention to faces, especially during attractiveness and dominance assessments, is provided. Finally, the thesis focuses on how individual sensory modalities (visual, olfactory and vocal) relate to each other in the perception of individuals and the detection of cues to an individual's quality. The second part of this thesis includes...
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Preferences for markers of health status in humans
Jíchová, Františka ; Havlíček, Jan (advisor) ; Fiala, Vojtěch (referee)
Several evolutionary hypotheses suggest that different organisms have evolved systematic preferences for markers of mate health. These markers may provide clues to an individual's immunocompetence, current health status, and health history. Correct recognition of good health helps to select a quality partner who can offer advantages such as good genetic qualities that can be passed on to offspring, can participate more effectively in the care of offspring, and thus does not put the individual at risk of infection. Awareness of these markers may be important not only in mate choice but also in other social interactions in which it is important mainly to correctly estimate current health and possibly avoid interaction with an infectious individual. Preference for markers of health in humans may be based, for example, on visual cues in the face, such as color, sexual dimorphism, skin texture, or an assessment of overall stature. Markers may also be olfactory, where an unattractive odor may indicate the presence of a potential disease. Last but not least, there are acoustic markers. However, the interaction of the manifestations of each modality may also be important. The aim of my bachelor thesis is to provide a theoretical overview of the association of current health, immunocompetence and health...
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Condition dependence of secondary ornamentation and mate choice in Grey Partridges
Gabrielová, Barbora ; Albrecht, Tomáš (advisor) ; Sedláček, Ondřej (referee)
This study focuses on relationships between individual condition, measures of ornament expression and mate choice in the Grey Partridge (Perdix perdix). It is based on the correlative data as well as results of manipulative experiments. I found positive correlation between the size of melanin- and carotenoid-based ornaments in partridges. The size and the redness of the carotenoid skin patch, and the size of the melanin-based feather ornamentation were associated with several measures of immunity and overall body condition (complement activity, ratio of immature erythrocytes, heterophil/leucocyte ratio, response to novel antigen). Furthermore, data from natural populations indicate that the expression of carotenoid-based ornamentation is associated with sexual attractiveness (measured as the ability to obtain a social mate) in partridges. Data from captive individuals indicate that carotenoid supplementation improves the redness of carotenoid-based ornament, while the stimulation of the immune system under increasing concentrations of supplemented carotenoids has no measurable effect on condition and physiological state. This seems to contradict predictions of the 'Carotenoid maintenance hypothesis'. Overall, results better understanding the role of carotenoid and melanin-based ornamentation in signaling...
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Consistency and paternal influence on human mate choice in heterosexual women
Taskovská, Kristýna ; Štěrbová, Zuzana (advisor) ; Bártová, Klára (referee)
People choose partners based on different characteristics, however it is not clear whether they systematically choose partners with specific characteristics. It is also not clear what modulates partner preferences. One of the factors are parents, however the question is, whether parents influence all types of relationships (e.g. one-night stand, marriage etc.). The main objective was to analyze the consistency of mate choice in physical characteristics in heterosexual women. Another objective was to test paternal influence on the mate choice, and whether this influence differs among partners with whom women have children and partners with whom they don't. Last objective was to test whether the similarity between father and current partner influences the relationship and sexual satisfaction of the respondent. In total 693 heterosexual women, aged 18-45, participated in the research (average age = 30,7; SE = 5,9) and provided physical characteristics (weight, height, attractiveness, masculinity, eye color, hair color, facial masculinity, facial hair, musculature, BMI, relative height, body hair and leg length) of their father, current partner (with whom they had/were expecting children) and long term ex-partners (with whom they had no children), they completed the standardized questionnaire s-EMBU...
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The distribution and role of UV reflectant patterns in Scarab beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae)
Vlach, Jan ; Šípek, Petr (advisor) ; Kleisner, Karel (referee)
The diploma thesis is focused on the distribution and role of UV reflectant patterns in beetles (Coleoptera) with focus on the family Scarabaeidae. Through a survey of European museum collections, we discovered over 900 species of UV reflectant beetles, of which 850 species were identified as UV reflectant for the first time. The surface structures responsible for UV reflectant patterns in beetles were studied in detail using a scanning electron microscope. We have identified two ways how the UV reflectant patterns occur. The first way: the light rays interact with the internal structure of the cuticular formations or the cuticle itself; the second way: the light rays interact with the surface layer formed by cuticular secretion. Additionally we carried out experiments with live animals, where we investigated the effect of an individual's age on the intensity of UV reflectant patterns and the effect of UV reflectance on reproductive activity. In a pilot study we were able to show that freshly hatched individuals show a higher level of UV reflectance than older individuals.
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Role of body odour in partner relationship
Černý, David ; Kuncová, Lucie (advisor) ; Martinec Nováková, Lenka (referee)
Body odor is a good guide in mate choice, because it contains information such as the kinship, emotional state, or health condition of an individual, a person is able to perceive this information to a certain extent. The individual factors that affect the body odor will subsequently influence the preferences for the body odor as well. Those preferences are applied especially when seeking for a partner and at the beginning of the relationship. At the same time, however, it turns out that body odor affects even the process of partnership and the end of it. In the context of relationships and olfactory communication in humans, especially in the context of sexual life, the effect of pheromones is often discussed, which is the subject of the last chapter. The aim of the work is to gather and critically evaluate existing studies dealing with the role of body odor in the partnership and to suggest possible directions for further research. Keywords: smell, pheromones, partner preferences, mate choice
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The influence of oral hormonal contraceptive use on female sexuality: the evolutionary perspective
Klapilová, Kateřina ; Weiss, Petr (advisor) ; Procházka, Ivo (referee) ; Blažek, Vladimír (referee)
The proposed thesis is comprised of eleven papers connected by the employment of the evolutionary psychological approach in research on various aspects of human sexuality. The aim of the first monothematic part is to demonstrate the evolutionary-psychological approach to one recent phenomenon in female sexuality - the use of oral contraceptives (OC). OC use has been shown to suppress psychological mechanisms that are considered to be adaptive in the fertile period of the natural menstrual cycle. In particular, OC users' ratings of male stimuli that provide the cues of genetic quality and compatibility are lower in comparison with normally cycling women. Moreover, the increase in sexual desire and in the prevalence of proceptive behaviour observed during mid-cycle in normally cycling women is diminished. However, the impact of this phenomenon on mate-choice and relationship dynamics in an ecological context has not been studied. In the first study, we have analyzed the data of Czech women obtained via representative sampling within the Czech National Survey of Sexual Behavior. Results indicated that normally cycling women had a significantly higher number of one-night stands during the last year in comparison to OC users even when living in a long-term relationship. OC usage was also shown to have...
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