403. Attraction, Beauty, Growth, and Sex | Dr. Sarah Hill
The Jordan B. Peterson PodcastThu Dec 07 2023
Evolutionary Biology and Sex Differences:
- Dr. Sarah Hill explains that sex differences are foundational in setting the stage for different minimum levels of investment in offspring, which then leads to the evolution of sex differences.
- She relates sex differences to the difference in size between sperm and egg, highlighting how this difference is echoed at every biological level and impacts behavior.
- The conversation delves into male competition for competence-based reputation as a means of attracting mates, emphasizing how men value competence as a consequence of hunting collective success.
Reproductive Strategies and Emotional Responses:
- Dr. Jordan Peterson discusses how women become more sensitive to threat during puberty due to their sexual vulnerability and increased investment in offspring, leading to higher sensitivity to negative emotions.
- He suggests that women's increased emotional investment in their offspring results in a greater alertness to signs of danger or predation, despite making them more susceptible to false positives.
- They explore the benefits of aligning with competent individuals within a group context, drawing parallels from lecking behavior observed in non-human animals where males gather to attract mates through displays of dominance.
Sexual Regret and Personality Traits:
- Dr. Sarah Hill points out that there is a rich literature on sexual regret, with women often regretting short-term mating opportunities they participated in while men regret missed opportunities.
- Both speakers discuss potential predictors of post-short-term sex regret, including personality traits such as neuroticism, agreeableness, and socioeconomic status markers.
Attraction and Mate Choice:
- In mate-choice copying, women are influenced by the choice of a beautiful woman when evaluating potential partners based on physical appearance.
- The magnitude of the gap between a woman's attractiveness and the man's appearance influences how desirable his hidden qualities are perceived.
Women's Investment in Offspring:
- Women invest more in offspring due to their higher biological investment, as evidenced across various levels from cellular to cognitive functions.
- The evolutionary perspective suggests that women's age increases the comparative value of their children, leading to increased investment and time spent caring for them as they grow older.
Parental Investment and Child Rearing:
- Balancing intense maternal presence with pursuing personal interests is crucial for optimal child rearing, as it allows children to observe adults engaging in meaningful activities while not being excessively indulged.
- Overindulgence can lead to children lacking coping skills necessary for navigating life's challenges independently, highlighting the importance of finding an optimized balance between parental care and fostering independence.
Sexual Behavior and Unintended Consequences:
- The birth control pill has had groundbreaking implications by allowing women reliable contraception and enabling them to plan their reproductive choices effectively.
- The unintended consequences of reliable contraception have significantly impacted societal dynamics related to sexual behavior, mate selection strategies, and family planning decisions.
Career Choices and University Dynamics:
- A shift has been observed where universities are attracting performers who are predominantly women seeking flexibility due to familial responsibilities while exhibiting competence, motivation, and drive.
- There is a bifurcation in university performers versus non-performers, often characterized by competent female academics excelling while facing mediocrity among some older male academics striving to maintain traditional systems.
Women's Hormonal Cycles:
- Women experience cyclical hormonal changes that influence various aspects of their behavior and physiology, including sexual attractiveness, scent, appearance, and mood.
- These hormonal fluctuations are associated with different psychological and physiological patterns, preparing the body for activities such as sex, conception, and pregnancy.
Impact of Birth Control Pills on Women:
- The birth control pill introduces synthetic estrogen and progesterone to mimic a woman's hormonal state during the second half of her menstrual cycle when conception isn't possible.
- This constant synthetic hormonal state signals the hypothalamus not to stimulate the ovaries to produce a new egg, essentially simulating a post-conception or non-fertile state. This may lead to reduced interest in sex due to the body reacting as if it were pregnant.
Women's Career Choices and Feminism:
- The feminist movement has brought attention to gender equality in career opportunities but has also led to certain contradictions regarding women's biological rhythms.
- There is an emphasis on careers being the most important part of a woman's life while simultaneously striving for diversity in the workforce by hiring women. However, this approach often downplays or disregards the significance of women's cyclical hormonal variations.
Implications of Suppressing Women's Cyclicity:
- By suppressing women's cyclical hormones through means such as birth control pills, essential aspects of femininity related to attraction, scent, appearance, and psychological patterns are altered.
- The cultural paradigm that equates normalcy with male patterns overlooks the importance and predictability of female hormonal cycles
Attraction and Hormonal Influence:
- Women on the pill prefer less masculine men due to hormonal effects.
- Women's preferences for partners can change after discontinuing birth control.
- Birth control influences women's mate selection based on hormone levels.
Impact of Birth Control on Partner Choice:
- Women may prioritize qualities like safety and nurturance when choosing partners while on birth control.
- The pill affects women's ability to make trade-offs in partner selection, leading to potential shifts in partner preferences.
- Hormonal transformation due to birth control usage can influence political activism among women.
Effects of Hormonal Imbalance on Gender Expectations:
- Women are expected to balance both traditional feminine roles and modern career-oriented responsibilities.
- Men performing more household work and childcare may experience decreased testosterone levels, impacting their sexual desirability.
- Modern societal expectations have led to a complex situation where both men and women are expected to embody traits traditionally associated with the opposite gender.
Consequences of Blunted Cortisol Response in Women on Birth Control:
- Use of hormonal birth control can lead to blunted cortisol response, affecting stress adaptation mechanisms.
- Blunting of cortisol response may impact emotional memory encoding and navigational map updating processes in women using hormonal birth control.
Attraction and Hormonal Birth Control:
- Women on hormonal birth control, especially in adolescence, have a high risk of depression and suicide during the first three months of use.
- The flooding of glucocorticoid receptors with nonspecific progestins can lead to constant stress for women on hormonal birth control.
- Fertility regulation is crucial for women, leading many to tolerate the side effects of hormonal birth control due to limited choices and lack of awareness.
Male Birth Control:
- Current research focuses on male birth control using a gel that lowers testosterone levels, but it presents similar side effects as hormonal birth control for women.
- There is skepticism about the acceptance and popularity of this method among men due to its impact on testosterone production and potential side effects.
Personalized Approach to Birth Control:
- The decision to use hormonal birth control should be unique to each woman based on factors such as age, brain development, life goals, and relationship context.
- Educating oneself about the trade-offs involved in using hormonal birth control is essential while advocating for better alternatives from drug makers and policymakers.
Comprehensive Sex Education:
- It's important to educate young people not only about the biological aspects but also the psychological realities of sexual behavior, including short-term versus long-term mating strategies.
- A serious conversation about sexual behavior needs to consider the broader relational context and societal implications, emphasizing the importance of informed choices.
Considerations for Long-Term Mating Suitability:
- The finite fertility window highlights the significance of making well-informed choices regarding committed dating partners within a limited timeframe.
- Considering age, life stage, product type, non-hormonal options, costs, benefits, and long-term aspirations are crucial when evaluating birth control methods.
Insights into Hormonal Birth Control:
- Despite being a psychologist studying women's hormones' effects on psychology and behavior, there was a blind spot regarding understanding the psychological impact of hormonal birth control.
- Comparing availability over-the-counter with anabolic steroids' illegal status raises questions about society's treatment of these two hormone-affecting substances.