Wining and dining a woman is the best way to win her hand, according to a mathematical model that defines what makes an effective gift during courtship.
Researchers in Britain tested a series of scenarios in a model courtship game. They aimed to find the best way to impress a female mate.
Among humans, offers of expensive gifts show a man is committed but he risks being exploited by gold-diggers, the team said. Another factor to consider is females won't be impressed by cheap gifts.
"By offering expensive but worthless gifts, such as dinner and theatre trips, the male pays no cost if the invitation isn't accepted," said Peter Sozou of University College London's Centre for Mathematics and Physics in Life Science.
Women who aren't interested will likely turn down the invitation.
"Our analysis shows that there is evolutionary logic in men 'burning money' to impress the girl," his university colleague, math Prof. Robert Seymour, added in a release.
Females are generally drawn to attractive males who will help raise the children. An unattractive male who literally leaves her holding the baby alone is the worst-case scenario, the researchers noted.
The team also modeled courtship in species where the males do not help with raising young.
In that case, the main factor for a female is whether she's in a sexually receptive state and the male looks healthy. Gifts are one way the male can signal this condition, according to the researchers.
The study appears in the July 26 online issue of the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B.
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