Evidence for genetic variation in human mate preferences for sexually dimorphic physical traits

Intersexual selection has been proposed as an important force in shaping a number of morphological traits that differ between human populations and/or between the sexes. Important to these accounts is the source of mate preferences for such traits, but this has not been investigated. In a large samp...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one 2012-11, Vol.7 (11), p.e49294-e49294
Main Authors: Verweij, Karin J H, Burri, Andrea V, Zietsch, Brendan P
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Analysis
Biology
Body Height
Breast - anatomy & histology
Choice Behavior - physiology
Color
Environmental effects
Epidemiology
Evolution
Female
Genetic aspects
Genetic diversity
Genetic effects
Genetic Variation
Hair
Hair - physiology
Hair Color
Hair colorings
Heritability
Human populations
Humans
Laboratories
Likelihood Functions
Male
Mate selection
Medical research
Medicine
Middle Aged
Morphology
Neurosciences
Personality
Quantitative genetics
Quantitative Trait, Heritable
Selection, Genetic
Sex Characteristics
Sexual Behavior - physiology
Sexual dimorphism
Skin
Skin care
Skin Pigmentation
Social and Behavioral Sciences
Studies
Trends
Twins
Veterinary Science
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Description
Summary:Intersexual selection has been proposed as an important force in shaping a number of morphological traits that differ between human populations and/or between the sexes. Important to these accounts is the source of mate preferences for such traits, but this has not been investigated. In a large sample of twins, we assess forced-choice, dichotomous mate preferences for height, skin colour, hair colour and length, chest hair, facial hair, and breast size. Across the traits, identical twins reported more similar preferences than nonidentical twins, suggesting genetic effects. However, the relative magnitude of estimated genetic and environmental effects differed greatly and significantly between different trait preferences, with heritability estimates ranging from zero to 57%.
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0049294