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Parent-Offspring Conflict over Mating: The Case of Beauty:

Parent-Offspring Conflict over Mating: The Case of Beauty: In pre-industrial societies parents exercise a strong influence over the mating decisions of their offspring. As modern pre-industrial societies approximate the way of life in ancestral human societies, human mating behavior should be seen as the outcome of a co-evolutionary process between parental and offspring's mating choice. Both parents and offspring have evolved mating preferences, which enable them to select those mates and in-laws who maximize their inclusive fitness. Following Trivers' (1974) theory of parent-offspring conflict, it is hypothesized that in-law and mating preferences substantially overlap, but also differ with respect to the beauty trait of a mating candidate. This hypothesis is tested on a sample of 292 parents. It is found that the two sets of preferences are strongly correlated, while beauty is preferred significantly more in a mating partner than in an in-law. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Evolutionary Psychology SAGE

Parent-Offspring Conflict over Mating: The Case of Beauty:

Evolutionary Psychology , Volume 6 (2): 1 – Apr 1, 2008

Parent-Offspring Conflict over Mating: The Case of Beauty:

Evolutionary Psychology , Volume 6 (2): 1 – Apr 1, 2008

Abstract

In pre-industrial societies parents exercise a strong influence over the mating decisions of their offspring. As modern pre-industrial societies approximate the way of life in ancestral human societies, human mating behavior should be seen as the outcome of a co-evolutionary process between parental and offspring's mating choice. Both parents and offspring have evolved mating preferences, which enable them to select those mates and in-laws who maximize their inclusive fitness. Following Trivers' (1974) theory of parent-offspring conflict, it is hypothesized that in-law and mating preferences substantially overlap, but also differ with respect to the beauty trait of a mating candidate. This hypothesis is tested on a sample of 292 parents. It is found that the two sets of preferences are strongly correlated, while beauty is preferred significantly more in a mating partner than in an in-law.

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References (31)

Publisher
SAGE
Copyright
Copyright © 2022 by SAGE Publications Inc., unless otherwise noted. Manuscript content on this site is licensed under Creative Commons Licenses
ISSN
1474-7049
eISSN
1474-7049
DOI
10.1177/147470490800600207
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

In pre-industrial societies parents exercise a strong influence over the mating decisions of their offspring. As modern pre-industrial societies approximate the way of life in ancestral human societies, human mating behavior should be seen as the outcome of a co-evolutionary process between parental and offspring's mating choice. Both parents and offspring have evolved mating preferences, which enable them to select those mates and in-laws who maximize their inclusive fitness. Following Trivers' (1974) theory of parent-offspring conflict, it is hypothesized that in-law and mating preferences substantially overlap, but also differ with respect to the beauty trait of a mating candidate. This hypothesis is tested on a sample of 292 parents. It is found that the two sets of preferences are strongly correlated, while beauty is preferred significantly more in a mating partner than in an in-law.

Journal

Evolutionary PsychologySAGE

Published: Apr 1, 2008

Keywords: parent-offspring conflict; parental choice; mating preferences; in-law preferences; mating behavior

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