THE ROUGH GUIDE TO PSYCHOLOGYof a woman was unaffected by whether she was sat in an old banger or
something more swish.
Our evolutionary roots can even help explain some of our less savoury
romantic habits. According to Steve Stewart-Williams at Swansea
University, the reason some men insult their girlfriends or wives is out
of fear that their partners might leave them. Stewart-Williams tested
this idea by asking 245 men to admit how many times in the past month
they’d insulted their partner. Those who admitted hurling more insults
also tended to say that they indulged in other so-called mate reten-
tion behaviours, such as getting jealous when their partners went out
without them.
The biological foundations of our love interests are also highlighted
by the influence of the female menstrual cycle on the preferences of men
Homosexual relationships
Psychologists and sociologists have looked at ways that homosexual
couples tend to differ from couples of the opposite sex. According to
Victoria Clarke at the University of the West of England, research shows
that lesbian and gay couples are more likely to achieve equality in their
relationships in terms of household chores and wage earning.
Humans are far from being the only species in which same-sex
individuals have sex. In fact, homosexual activity has been observed in
as many as 1500 species, and our close relation, the Bonobo, has about
half its sex with same-sex partners. However, whereas many human
cultures tend to divide the majority of people into separate gay and
straight categories, the norm among many animal species seems to be
bisexuality – that is, there are few individuals who only mate with one
sex or the other. Without the cultural and social pressure to pledge our
allegiance one way or the other, it’s possible the same would be true
of more humans.
Homosexual behaviour can make evolutionary sense for many
species – for example, it can help promote pro-social behaviour
between individuals (bonobos are a far more peaceful species than
the more heterosexual common chimpanzee), or sustain fertility in the
absence of opposite-sex partners. This hasn’t stopped several crank
therapists from claiming the ability, and by implication the need, to
alter people’s sexual orientation. Such claims cast a dark shadow over
the psychology of sexuality and prompted the American Psychological
Association to make a formal declaration that such therapy does not
work and could well be harmful. Their announcement in 2009 followed
a task-force report that scrutinized 83 relevant studies, published
between 1960 and 2007.