CNRS, Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution, Université Montpellier II, CC065, Place Eugène Bataillon, 34095 Montpellier Cedex 5, France.
Evolution. 2010 Aug;64(8):2189-203. doi: 10.1111/j.1558-5646.2010.00985.x. Epub 2010 Feb 26.
Assortative mating for human height has long attracted interest in evolutionary biology, and the phenomenon has been demonstrated in numerous human populations. It is often argued that mating preferences generate this pattern, but other processes can also induce trait correlations between mates. Here, we present a methodology tailored to quantify continuous preferences based on choice experiments between pairs of stimuli. In particular, it is possible to explore determinants of interindividual variations in preferences, such as the height of the chooser. We collected data from a sample of 200 individuals from France. Measurements obtained show that the perception of attractiveness depends on both the height of the stimuli and the stature of the individual who judged them. Therefore, this study demonstrates that homogamy is present at the level of preferences for both sexes. We also show that measurements of the function describing this homogamy are concordant with several distinct mating rules proposed in the literature. In addition, the quantitative approach introduced here fulfills metrics that can be used to compare groups of individuals. In particular, our results reveal an important disagreement between sexes regarding height preferences in the context of mutual mate choice. Finally, both women and men prefer individuals who are significantly taller than average. All major findings are confirmed by a reanalysis of previously published data.
人类身高的选择性交配长期以来一直引起进化生物学的兴趣，并且在许多人类群体中已经证明了这种现象。人们普遍认为，交配偏好产生了这种模式，但其他过程也可以在配偶之间诱导特征相关性。在这里，我们提出了一种方法，旨在根据对刺激对的选择实验来定量连续偏好。特别是，可以探索偏好的个体间变异的决定因素，例如选择者的身高。我们从法国的 200 个人的样本中收集了数据。获得的测量结果表明，吸引力的感知取决于刺激的高度和判断它们的个体的身高。因此，这项研究表明，同型交配存在于两性对偏好的水平上。我们还表明，描述这种同型交配的函数的测量值与文献中提出的几种不同的交配规则一致。此外，这里引入的定量方法满足了可用于比较个体群体的度量标准。特别是，我们的结果揭示了在相互配偶选择的背景下，男女之间在身高偏好方面存在重要分歧。最后，女性和男性都偏爱明显高于平均身高的个体。所有主要发现都通过对先前发表的数据的重新分析得到了证实。
