Large number of researches proven sexual differences in frequency and content of sexual fantasies (SF) in men and women. Results of the recent studies consent on fact that male SF are more frequent, and there are more types of SF compared to female SF. Study that we propose is one of the first to investigate repertoire gaining in both sexes based on different presumptions for each. Among mechanisms we will test are: higher frequency of masturbation among man which gives more space to form larger repertoire, selective attention to external erotic stimuli related to different evolutionary-biological relevance in men and women and gaining the content of SF trough realization of activity that SF later represents. Also we present factor analysis of SF content. Significant difference was found in number of SF in man and woman in absolute number of different types of SF related to objects (F=10,06, p= 0,002) but not activities. Largest impact on amount of SF related to objects was found in age when person had most orgasms - negatively (r = -0,347, p = 0,003), amount of orgasms in that age per week(r = 0,930, p = 0,011), frequency of masturbation (r = 0,776, p = 0,030) and erotica exposure (r = 0,353,p = 0,001). When GLM was aplicated on previously tested affects sex of participant was not significant...

Previous studies have pointed out an interesting fact: the use of hormonal contraceptives modifies the partner preferences of women towards men more feminine and genetically less compatible. This master thesis first tried to experimentally verify whether these different preferences are reflected in real mate choice outside the context of the laboratory. It includes two studies comparing partner satisfaction and relationship dynamics in couples that have been formed under the influence of pills versus under the influence of the natural menstrual cycle. Study 1 includes 3116 mothers and was conducted through an online questionnaire. The second study collected representative data from 1605 Czech men and women aged 35 to 65 years representing the population of the CZ also through a hand-to- hand questionnaire. Study 1 confirmed the assumption in several ways: hormonal contraception users (during the mate choice) assessed their partners as less attractive and masculine compared with women who naturally cycled at that time. We also found their sexual satisfaction was reduced, however, they were more satisfied with non-sexual aspects of the relationship. In contrast to established hypotheses Study 1 found that the partnerships formed under the influence of hormonal contraceptives separated significantly...

The thesis is divided into three parts. The first part is focused on the main theories of human mating strategies, such as sociosexual orientation and sexual strategies theory, which emphasizes intersexual differences as a result from the asymmetry of parental investment, and strategic pluralism theory, which highlights intrasexual variation in mating behavior. The second part consists of one review article published in the Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science and one original research article published in The Journal of Sex Research, a peer-reviewed journal. In this part we explored possible evolutionary origins and adaptive values of paraphilic interests and their prevalence in the Czech population. The third part consist of one article published in the peer-reviewed journal Personality and Individual Differences and two research studies which are currently under peer-review in two international journals. The main aim of this part was to test whether individual differences in femininity-masculinity, Big Five personality traits, and propensity to sexual excitation and inhibition are associated with individual sociosexual orientation. A further aim was to test whether attention towards sexual stimuli is affected by an individual's level of sociosexual orientation and by depressive...

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<p>Previous research indicates that vocal and facial masculinity and femininity influence perceptions of attractiveness. Men generally perceive women with feminine traits as more attractive than less feminine women. This may be because women who possess more feminine traits are likely to be healthier and more fertile mates than are less feminine women. Masculine male traits also influence women’s perceptions of attractiveness. Although women do not always prefer masculine male traits, preferences for masculinity are observed under circumstances where women may gain the fitness benefits of heritable health and dominance. Masculine traits in men and feminine traits in women are further associated with the potential fitness risks of infidelity and reduced investment in mates. Here I address three previously unanswered questions concerning the influence of masculinity and femininity on social perceptions. First, how do male vocal and facial masculinity influence perceptions of attractiveness when these two traits are presented simultaneously? Second, does vocal masculinity influence perceptions of the potential fitness risks of infidelity and reduced relationship investment in mates? Third, do male masculinity and female femininity influence perceptions of potential same-sex rivals? In this dissertation I demonstrate that simultaneously presented male vocal and facial masculinity influence women’s perceptions of men’s attractiveness, that perceivers are somewhat aware of the potential fitness risks associated with preferring high quality mates, and that vocal and facial masculinity influence mate choice and intrasexual competition in similar ways. Overall, these studies demonstrate the pervasive influence of masculinity and femininity on mate-choice relevant social perceptions.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

A multitude of research supports that fluctuations in fertility and hormonal shifts in normally cycling females influence changes in female sexual strategies, preferences, and desires across the menstrual cycle. Evolutionary theory posits that in order to maximize reproductive benefits, near ovulation female responses to sexual stimuli alter and cues of sex are more appealing. The post-auricular reflex (PAR) is a psychophysiological reaction that has been linked to motivation and reward, emotion, and appetitive responding. The PAR responds to pleasant stimuli, including stimuli that are relevant to evolutionary themes. The purpose of the current study was to explore the nature of the post-auricular reflex, and in particular, to examine potential shifts in motivation and reward processing of sexual and emotional stimuli across the female menstrual cycle. Ovulation blunted PAR responses to non-erotic categories in normally cycling females, while responses to erotica did not significantly decrease across phases of the menstrual cycle. Ovulation was also found to affect female self-report of sexual desire. These shifts were not seen in females using hormonal birth control. The study results suggest that ovulation shifts female priorities towards reproduction by increasing desire and also decreasing motivations for non-mate-relevant activities. The study also demonstrates the need for greater investigation of the PAR and the appetitive responding system. / Psychology

This dissertation examines the academic debate that surrounds the new field called "Evolutionary Psychology." Evolutionary psychology has emerged as the most popular successor theory to human sociobiology. Its proponents search for evolved psychological mechanisms and emphasize universal features of the human mind. My thesis is that in order to flourish evolutionary psychologists must engage other researchers on equal terms -- something they have not been doing. To show this, I examine the stances of practitioners from three other social science fields whose claims have been shortchanged by evolutionary psychology: Barbara King in biological anthropology, George Lakoff and Mark Johnson in empirical linguistics and Annette Karmiloff-Smith in developmental psychology. These researchers are also involved in cognitive science investigations that bear on evolutionary psychology's key claims about the mind and how it works. Evolutionary psychologists make three key claims about the mind. The first (1) is that the mind is massively modular; the second (2) is that this massively modular mind has been shaped by the processes of natural selection over evolutionary time; and the third (3) is that it is adapted to the Pleistocene conditions of our past. Evolutionary psychologists seek to elevate these three claims to the status of meta-theoretical assumptions making them the starting place from which our deliberations about human cognition ought proceed. These claims would constitute the framework for a new paradigm in the ultimate sense. I argue that elevating these claims to such a status is not only premature, but also unwarranted on the available evidence. This result is justified by evidence produced outside evolutionary psychology by those disciplines from which evolutionary psychologists explicitly seek to distance themselves. / Ph. D.