Coria-Avila Genaro A
Centro de Investigaciones Cerebrales, Universidad Veracruzana, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico.
Socioaffect Neurosci Psychol. 2012 Mar 15;2:17340. doi: 10.3402/snp.v2i0.17340. eCollection 2012.
Partner preferences are expressed by many social species, including humans. They are commonly observed as selective contacts with an individual, more time spent together, and directed courtship behavior that leads to selective copulation. This review discusses the effect of conditioning on the development of heterosexual and homosexual partner preferences in rodents. Learned preferences may develop when a conditioned stimulus (CS) is associated in contingency with an unconditioned stimulus (UCS) that functions as a reinforcer. Consequently, an individual may display preference for a partner that bears a CS. Some UCS may be more or less reinforcing, depending on when they are experienced, and may be different for males and females. For example, it could be that, only during periods of early development, that stimuli associated with nurture and juvenile play become conditioned. In adulthood, other stimuli such as sexual reward, cohabitation, mild stress, or even pharmacological manipulations may function as reinforcers to condition partner preferences. Evolutionary biologists and psychologists must take into consideration the idea that an individual's experience with reward (i.e. sexual and pharmacological) can override presumably 'innate' mate choices (e.g. assortativeness and orientation) or mate strategies (e.g. monogamy or polygamy) by means of Pavlovian and operant contingencies. In fact, it is likely as innate to learn about the environment in ways that maximize reward and minimize aversive outcomes, making so-called 'proximate' causes (e.g. pleasure) ultimately more powerful predictors of social behavior and choice than so-called 'ultimate' causes (e.g. genetic or reproductive fitness).
包括人类在内的许多社会性物种都会表现出伴侣偏好。它们通常表现为与某一个体的选择性接触、更多的共处时间以及导致选择性交配的定向求偶行为。这篇综述讨论了条件作用对啮齿动物异性和同性伴侣偏好发展的影响。当条件刺激（CS）与作为强化物的无条件刺激（UCS）偶然相关联时，习得性偏好可能会形成。因此，个体可能会对带有CS的伴侣表现出偏好。某些UCS的强化作用可能或多或少，这取决于它们出现的时间，而且对雄性和雌性可能有所不同。例如，可能只有在早期发育阶段，与养育和幼年玩耍相关的刺激才会形成条件作用。在成年期，其他刺激，如性奖励、同居、轻度压力，甚至药物操作，都可能作为强化物来形成伴侣偏好。进化生物学家和心理学家必须考虑到这样一种观点，即个体对奖励（即性和药物方面）的体验可以通过巴甫洛夫式和操作性条件作用，推翻大概是“天生的”配偶选择（如选型交配和性取向）或配偶策略（如一夫一妻制或一夫多妻制）。事实上，以最大化奖励和最小化厌恶结果的方式了解环境很可能是天生的，这使得所谓的“近端”原因（如愉悦）最终比所谓的“远端”原因（如基因或生殖适应性）更能有力地预测社会行为和选择。
