Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-wg55d Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-05-01T13:25:37.277Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

7 - Mate Poaching

from Part I - Precopulatory Adaptations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 June 2022

Todd K. Shackelford
Affiliation:
Oakland University, Michigan
Get access

Summary

Mate poaching is a form of romantic attraction in humans defined as a “behavior intended to attract someone who is already in a romantic relationship” (Schmitt & Buss, 2001; p. 894). Two essential criteria to mate poaching are that a romantic relationship from which a poached individual comes is monogamous, and that a poacher is aware that the relationship he/she is poaching from is exclusive. Mate poaching is a reasonably common practice to form new short-term and long-term romantic relationships. In most world regions, women report less frequent poaching attempts for short-term and long-term relationships than men do. Additionally, higher proportions of women report poaching attempts for a long-term than for a short-term relationship, whereas almost equal proportions of men report poaching attempts for long-term and short-term relationships. Women are less frequently successfully poached than men for both short-term and long-term relationships, but more women succumb to long-term than short-term poaching attempts. Research on sex differences shows that some environmental factors moderate women’s short-term mate poaching. Women are more inclined to short-term mate poaching in resource-rich environments, in societies with higher levels of gender equality and in those where women outnumber men. A number of other biological, psychological, and social factors affect women’s mate poaching experiences such as phase of their menstrual cycle, the level of commitment to their romantic partners, mate value of their current partners and poachers, previous friendship with poachers, mate-guarding and infidelity detection, enticement and disguising tactics, mate copying, and personality characteristics. The relationships between mate poaching experiences and personality characteristics are small to moderate, the largest between mate poaching and the Dark triad traits, followed by several of the Sexy Seven dimensions, five-factor personality traits, sociosexuality, and attachment styles. As a poacher or a poached, women may be exposed to various costs such as jealousy, violent acts from their partner ranging from subtle violence to rape and uxoricide, feelings of shame, and social exclusion. Their new relationships may be characterized by lower satisfaction and commitment, higher jealousy and infidelity, and their children may suffer lower investment and physical abuse from a stepfather. As victims of poaching, women may experience a loss of a high-quality partner and his resources. One of the main benefits of women’s mate poaching can be derived from the dual mating hypothesis. It states that by simultaneous pursuing of short-term and long-term mating strategies women may obtain investment from a regular partner and superior genes from an affair partner. Growing evidence suggests that one function of women’s mate poaching is breaking up with one partner and remating with another, known as the mate switching hypothesis. Other possible benefits of women’s mate poaching are taking pride in the conquest of a long-term relationship, taking revenge on a rival, gaining an already proven mate, obscuring paternity, and increasing genetic variability of offspring.

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adair, L., Dillon, H., & Brase, G. (2017). I’ll have who she’s having: Mate copying, mate poaching, and mate retention. In Fisher, M. L. (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of women and competition (pp. 319336). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Aguirre, J. D., & Marshall, D. J. (2012). Does genetic diversity reduce sibling competition? Evolution: International Journal of Organic Evolution, 66(1), 94102. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1558-5646.2011.01413.xGoogle Scholar
Alcock, J. (1980). Beyond the sociobiology of sexuality: Predictive hypotheses. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 3(2), 181182. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X00004131Google Scholar
Alexandre, G. C., Nadanovsky, P., Moraes, C. L., & Reichenheim, M. (2010). The presence of a stepfather and child physical abuse, as reported by a sample of Brazilian mothers in Rio de Janeiro. Child Abuse & Neglect, 34(12), 959966. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2010.06.005CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Anderson, K. G. (2006). How well does paternity confidence match actual paternity? Evidence from worldwide non-paternity rates. Current Anthropology, 47(3), 513520. https://doi.org/10.1086/504167Google Scholar
Anderson, K. G., Kaplan, H., & Lancaster, J. (1999). Paternal care by genetic fathers and stepfathers I: Reports from Albuquerque men. Evolution and Human Behavior, 20(6), 405431. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1090–5138(99)00023-9Google Scholar
Anderson, K. G., Kaplan, H., & Lancaster, J. B. (2007). Confidence of paternity, divorce, and investment in children by Albuquerque men. Evolution and Human Behavior, 28(1), 110. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2006.06.004Google Scholar
Anderson, R. C., & Surbey, M. K. (2014). I want what she’s having: Evidence of human mate copying. Human Nature, 25(3), 342358. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12110-014-9202-7Google Scholar
Anderson, R. C., & Surbey, M. K. (2020). Human mate copying as a form of nonindependent mate selection: Findings and considerations. Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences, 14(2), 173196. https://doi.org/10.1037/ebs0000151Google Scholar
Baker, R. R., & Bellis, M. A. (1993a). Human sperm competition: Ejaculate adjustment by males and the function of masturbation. Animal Behaviour, 46(5), 861885. https://doi.org/10.1006/anbe.1993.1271Google Scholar
Baker, R. R., & Bellis, M. A. (1993b). Human sperm competition: Ejaculate manipulation by females and a function for the female orgasm. Animal Behaviour, 46(5), 887909. https://doi.org/10.1006/anbe.1993.1272Google Scholar
Baker, R. R., & Bellis, M. A. (1995). Human sperm competition: Copulation, masturbation, and infidelity. London: Chapman & Hall.Google Scholar
Basile, K. C. (2002). Prevalence of wife rape and other intimate partner sexual coercion in a nationally representative sample of women. Violence and Victims, 17(5), 511524. https://doi.org/10.1891/vivi.17.5.511.33717CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Belu, C., & O’Sullivan, L. (2018). Why find my own when I can take yours?: The quality of relationships that arise from successful mate poaching. Journal of Relationships Research, 9, Article e6. https://doi.org/10.1017/jrr.2018.5CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Belu, C. F., & O’Sullivan, L. F. (2020). Once a poacher always a poacher? Mate poaching history and its association with relationship quality. Journal of Sex Research, 5(74), 508521. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2019.1610150Google Scholar
Betzig, L. (1989). Causes of conjugal dissolution: A cross-cultural study. Current Anthropology, 30(5), 654676. https://doi.org/10.1086/203798Google Scholar
Bleske-Rechek, A. L., & Buss, D. M. (2001). Opposite-sex friendship: Sex differences and similarities in initiation, selection, and dissolution. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 27(10), 13101323. https://doi.org/10.1177/01461672012710007Google Scholar
Bleske, A. L., & Shackelford, T. K. (2001). Poaching, promiscuity, and deceit: Combatting mating rivalry in same-sex friendships. Personal Relationships, 8(4), 407424. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-6811.2001.tb00048.xCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blow, A. J., & Hartnett, K. (2005a). Infidelity in committed relationships I: A methodological review. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 31, 217233. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1752-0606.2005.tb01555.xGoogle Scholar
Blow, A. J., & Hartnett, K. (2005b). Infidelity in committed relationships II: A substantive review. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 31(2), 217233. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1752-0606.2005.tb01556.xGoogle Scholar
Brand, R. J., Markey, C. M., Mills, A., & Hodges, S. D. (2007). Sex differences in self-reported infidelity and its correlates. Sex Roles, 57(1), 101109. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-007-9221-5Google Scholar
Buss, D. M. (1988). From vigilance to violence: Tactics of mate retention in American undergraduates. Ethology and Sociobiology, 9(5), 291317. https://doi.org/10.1016/0162-3095(88)90010-6Google Scholar
Buss, D. M. (1989). Sex differences in human mate preferences: Evolutionary hypotheses tested in 37 cultures. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 12(1), 114. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X00023992Google Scholar
Buss, D. M., & Duntley, J. D. (2014). Intimate partner violence in evolutionary perspective. In Shackelford, T. K. & Hansen, R. D. (Eds.), The evolution of violence (pp. 121). New York, NY: Springer.Google Scholar
Buss, D. M., Goetz, C., Duntley, J. D., Asao, K., & Conroy-Beam, D. (2017). The mate switching hypothesis. Personality and Individual Differences, 104, 143149. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2016.07.022Google Scholar
Buss, D. M., & Schmitt, D. P. (1993). Sexual strategies theory: A contextual evolutionary analysis of human mating. Psychological Review, 100(2), 204232. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295x.100.2.204Google Scholar
Buss, D. M., & Schmitt, D. P. (2019). Mate preferences and their behavioral manifestations. Annual Review of Psychology, 70(1), 77110. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-010418-103408Google Scholar
Buss, D. M., & Shackelford, T. K. (1997). From vigilance to violence: Mate retention tactics in married couples. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 72(2), 346361. https://doi.org/10.1037//0022-3514.72.2.346Google Scholar
Case, A., & Paxson, C. (2001). Mothers and others: Who invests in children’s health? Journal of Health Economics, 20(3), 301328. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0167–6296(00)00088-6Google Scholar
Centifanti, L. C. M., Thomson, N. D., & Kwok, A. H. (2016). Identifying the manipulating mating methods associated with psychopathic traits and BPD features. Journal of Personality Disorders, 30(6), 721741. https://doi.org/10.1521/pedi_2015_29_225Google Scholar
Conroy-Beam, D., Goetz, C., & Buss, D. M. (2016). What predicts romantic relationship satisfaction and mate retention intensity? Mate preference fulfillment or mate value discrepancies? Evolution and Human Behavior, 37(6), 440448. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2016.04.003Google Scholar
Cross, C. P., & Campbell, A. C. (2014). Violence and aggression in women. In Shackelford, T. K. & Hansen, R. D. (Eds.), The evolution of violence (pp. 211232). New York, NY: Springer.Google Scholar
Daly, M., & Wilson, M. (1985). Child abuse and other risks of not living with both parents. Ethology & Sociobiology, 6(4), 197210. https://doi.org/10.1016/0162-3095(85)90012-3Google Scholar
Daly, M., & Wilson, M. (1988). Homicide. Piscataway, NJ: Transaction Publishers.Google Scholar
Daly, M., & Wilson, M. (2008). Is the “Cinderella Effect” controversial?: A case study of evolution-minded research and critiques thereof. In Crawford, C. & Krebs, D. (Eds.), Foundations of evolutionary psychology (pp. 383400). New York, NY: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Davies, A. P. C., & Shackelford, T. K. (2015). Comparisons of the effectiveness of mate attraction tactics across mate poaching and general attraction and across types of romantic relationships. Personality and Individual Differences, 85, 140144. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2015.05.001Google Scholar
Davies, A. P. C., & Shackelford, T. K. (2017). Don’t you wish your partner was hot like me?: The effectiveness of mate poaching across relationship types considering the relative mate values of the poacher and the partner of the poached. Personality and Individual Differences, 106, 3235. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2016.10.029CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Davies, A. P. C., Shackelford, T. K., & Hass, G. R. (2007). When a ‘‘poach” is not a poach: Redefining human mate poaching and re-estimating its frequency. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 36(5), 702716. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-006-9158-8Google Scholar
Davies, A. P. C., Shackelford, T. K., & Hass, R. G. (2010). Sex differences in perceptions of benefits and costs of mate poaching. Personality and Individual Differences, 49(5), 441445. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2010.04.014Google Scholar
Davies, A. P. C., Tratner, A. E., & Shackelford, T. K. (2019). Not clearly defined, not reliably measured, and not replicable: Revisiting the definition and measurement of human mate poaching. Personality and Individual Differences, 145, 103105. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2019.03.036CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dugatkin, L. A. (1992). Sexual selection and imitation – females copy the mate choice of others. The American Naturalist, 139(6), 13841389. http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/285392Google Scholar
Duntley, J. D., & Buss, D. M. (2007). Backup mates. Paper presented to the Annual Meeting of the Human Behavior and Evolution Society. Williamsburg, VA.Google Scholar
Eagly, A. H., & Wood, W. (2005). Universal sex differences across patriarchal cultures ≠ evolved psychological dispositions. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 28(2), 281283. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X05290052CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ein-Dor, T., Perry-Paldi, A., Hirschberger, G., Birnbaum, G. E., & Deutsch, D. (2015). Coping with mate poaching: Gender differences in detection of infidelity-related threats. Evolution and Human Behavior, 36(1), 1724. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2014.08.002CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Feingold, A. (1988). Matching for attractiveness in romantic partners and same-sex friends: A meta-analysis and theoretical critique. Psychological Bulletin, 104(2), 226235. https://doi.org/10.1037//0033-2909.104.2.226Google Scholar
Fincham, F. D., & May, R. W. (2017). Infidelity in romantic relationships. Current Opinion in Psychology, 13, 7074. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2016.03.008Google Scholar
Fisher, H. E. (2012). Serial monogamy and clandestine adultery: Evolution and consequences of the dual human reproductive. In Roberts, S. C. (Ed.), Applied evolutionary psychology (pp. 93111). Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Fisher, M. L., & Wade, T. J. (2019). Mate poaching. In Shackelford, T. K. & Weekes-Shackelford, V. A. (Eds.), Encyclopedia of evolutionary psychological science. Cham: Springer International Publishing. https://doi-org-443.webvpn.jnu.edu.cn/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_1744-1Google Scholar
Foster, J. D., Jonason, P. K., Shrira, I., Campbell, W. K., Shiverdecker, L. K., & Varner, S. C. (2014). What do you get when you make somebody else’s partner your own? An analysis of relationships formed via mate poaching. Journal of Research in Personality, 52, 7890. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2014.07.008Google Scholar
Fugère, M. A., Cousins, A. J., & MacLaren, S. A. (2015). (Mis)matching in physical attractiveness and women’s resistance to mate guarding. Personality and Individual Differences, 87, 190195. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2015.07.048Google Scholar
Gallup, G. G. Jr., Burch, R. L., Zappieri, M. L., Parvez, R., Stockwell, M., & Davis, J. A. (2003). The human penis as a semen displacement device. Evolution and Human Behavior, 24(4), 277289. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1090–5138(03)00016-3CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gangestad, S. W. (2006). Evidence for adaptations for female extra-pair mating in humans: Thoughts on current status and future directions. In Platek, S. M. & Shackelford, T. K. (Eds.), Female infidelity and paternal uncertainty (pp. 3757). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Gangestad, S. W., & Haselton, M. G. (2015). Human estrus: Implications for relationship science. Current Opinion in Psychology, 1, 4551. http://dx.doi.10.1016/j.copsyc.2014.12.007Google Scholar
Gangestad, S. W., & Simpson, J. A. (2000). The evolution of human mating: Trade-offs and strategic pluralism. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 23(4), 573587. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X0000337XGoogle Scholar
Gangestad, S. W., & Thornhill, R. (1998). Menstrual cycle variation in women’s preferences for the scent of symmetrical men. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences, 265(1399), 927933. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.1998.0380CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gangestad, S. W., Thornhill, R., & Garver-Apgar, C. E. (2005). Women’s sexual interests across the ovulatory cycle depend on primary partner developmental instability. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences, 272(1576), 20232027. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2005.3112Google Scholar
Geary, D. C. (2016). Evolution of paternal investment. In Buss, D. M. (Ed.), The handbook of evolutionary psychology: Vol. 1: Foundations (pp. 524541). New York, NY: Wiley.Google Scholar
Gildersleeve, K., Haselton, M. G., & Fales, M. R. (2014). Do women’s mate preferences change across the ovulatory cycle? A meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin, 140(5), 12051259. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0035438Google Scholar
Glass, S. P., & Wright, T. L. (1985). Sex differences in type of extramarital involvement and marital dissatisfaction. Sex Roles, 12(9–10), 11011120. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00288108CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Glass, S. P., & Wright, T. L. (1992). Justifications for extramarital relationships: The association between attitudes, behaviors, and gender. Journal of Sex Research, 29(3), 361387. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499209551654Google Scholar
Goetz, A. T., & Shackelford, T. K. (2006). Sexual coercion and forced in-pair copulation as sperm competition tactics in humans. Human Nature, 17(3), 265282. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12110-006-1009-8Google Scholar
Goetz, A. T., & Shackelford, T. K. (2009). Sexual coercion in intimate relationships: A comparative analysis of the effects of women’s infidelity and men’s dominance and control. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 38(2), 226234. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-008-9353-xGoogle Scholar
Gouda-Vossos, A., Nakagawa, S., Dixson, B. J., & Brooks, R. C. (2018). Mate choice copying in humans: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Adaptive Human Behavior and Physiology, 4(4), 364386. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40750-018-0099-yGoogle Scholar
Greeff, J. M., & Erasmus, J. C. (2015). Three hundred years of low non-paternity in a human population. Heredity, 115(5), 396404. https://doi.org/10.1038/hdy.2015.36Google Scholar
Greiling, H., & Buss, D. M. (2000). Women’s sexual strategies: The hidden dimension of extra-pair mating. Personality and Individual Differences, 28(5), 929963. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0191–8869(99)00151-8Google Scholar
Grundler, P., Kardum, I., & Hudek-Knezevic, J. (2013). Učestalost nekih aspekata preotimanja partnera i njihova povezanost sa socioseksualnosti [The frequency of some aspects of mate poaching and their relationship with sociosexuality]. Društvena istraživanja, 22(1), 6378. https://doi.org/10.5559/di.22.1.04Google Scholar
Harcourt, A., Harvey, P., Larson, S., & Short, R. V. (1981). Testis weight, body weight and breeding system in primates. Nature, 293(5827), 5557. https://doi.org/10.1038/293055a0Google Scholar
Harris, G. T., Hilton, N. Z., Rice, M. E., & Eke, A. W. (2007). Children killed by genetic parents versus stepparents. Evolution and Human Behavior, 28(2), 8595. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2006.08.001Google Scholar
Hrdy, S. B. (2006). The optimal number of fathers: Evolution, demography, and history in the shaping of female mate preferences. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 907(1), 7596. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-6632.2000.tb06617.xGoogle Scholar
Johnson, D. J., & Rusbult, C. E. (1989). Resisting temptation: Devaluation of alternative partners as a means of maintaining commitment in close relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57(6), 967980. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/0022-3514.57.6.967Google Scholar
Jonason, P. K., Li, N. P., & Buss, D. M. (2010). The costs and benefits of the Dark Triad: Implications for mate poaching and mate retention tactics. Personality and Individual Differences, 48(4), 373378. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2009.11.003Google Scholar
Jones, B. C., Hahn, A. C., Fisher, C. I., Wang, H., Kandrik, M., Han, C., … & DeBruine, L. M. (2018). No compelling evidence that preferences for facial masculinity track changes in women’s hormonal status. Psychological Science, 29(6), 9961005. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797618760197Google Scholar
Jünger, J., Kordsmeyer, T. L., Gerlach, T. M., & Penke, L. (2018). Fertile women evaluate male bodies as more attractive, regardless of masculinity. Evolution and Human Behavior, 39(4), 412423. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2018.03.007Google Scholar
Kardum, I., Hudek-Knezevic, J., & Mehic, N. (2018). Personality and mate poaching. In Shackelford, T. K. & Weekes-Shackelford, V. A. (Eds.), Encyclopedia of evolutionary psychological science. Cham: Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_1750-1Google Scholar
Kardum, I., Hudek-Knezevic, J., Schmitt, D. P., & Grundler, P. (2015). Personality and mate poaching experiences. Personality and Individual Differences, 75, 712. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2014.10.048Google Scholar
Kavaliers, M., Matta, R., & Choleris, E. (2017). Mate-choice copying, social information processing, and the roles of oxytocin. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 72, 232242. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.12.003Google Scholar
Kenrick, D. T., Groth, G. E., Trost, M. R., & Sadalla, E. K. (1993). Integrating evolutionary and social exchange perspectives on relationships: Effects of gender, self-appraisal, and involvement level on mate selection criteria. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 64(6), 951969. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/0022-3514.64.6.951Google Scholar
Kenrick, D. T., Sadalla, E. K., Groth, G., & Trost, M. R. (1990). Evolution, traits, and the stages of human courtship: Qualifying the parental investment model. Journal of Personality, 58(1), 97116. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.1990.tb00909.xGoogle Scholar
Khan, R., Brewer, G., Kim, S., & Centifanti, L. C. M. (2017). Students, sex, and psychopathy: Borderline and psychopathy personality traits are differently related to women and men’s use of sexual coercion, partner poaching, and promiscuity. Personality and Individual Differences, 107, 7277. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1016/j.paid.2016.11.027CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Larmuseau, M. H., Matthijs, K., & Wenseleers, T. (2016). Cuckolded fathers rare in human populations. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 31(5), 327329. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2016.03.004Google Scholar
Larson, C. M., Haselton, M. G., Gildersleeve, K. A., & Pillsworth, C. G. (2013). Changes in women’s feelings about their romantic relationships across the ovulatory cycle. Hormones and Behavior, 63(1), 128135. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yhbeh.2012.10.005Google Scholar
Larson, C. M., Pillsworth, E. G., & Haselton, M. G. (2012). Ovulatory shifts in women’s attractions to primary partners and other men: Further evidence of the importance of primary partner sexual attractiveness. PLoS One, 7(9), Article e44456. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0044456Google Scholar
Laumann, E. O., Gagnon, J. H., Michael, R. T., & Michaels, S. (1994). The social organization of sexuality: Sexual practices in the United States. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Lewis, D. M. G., Conroy-Beam, D., Al-Shawaf, L., Raja, A., DeKay, T., & Buss, D. M. (2011). Friends with benefits: The evolved psychology of same- and opposite-sex friendship. Evolutionary Psychology, 9(4). https://doi.org/10.1177%2F147470491100900407Google Scholar
Li, N. P. (2007). Mate preference necessities in long- and short-term mating: People prioritize in themselves what their mates prioritize in them. Acta Psychologica Sinica, 39(3), 528535.Google Scholar
Madkan, V. K., Giancola, A. A., Sra, K. K., & Tyring, S. K. (2006). Sex differences in the transmission, prevention, and disease manifestations of sexually transmitted diseases. Archives of Dermatology, 142(3), 365370. https://doi.org/10.1001/archderm.142.3.365Google Scholar
McKibbin, W. F., Bates, V. M., Shackelford, T. K., Hafen, C. A., & LaMunyon, C. W. (2010). Risk of sperm competition moderates the relationship between men’s satisfaction with their partner and men’s interest in their partner’s copulatory orgasm. Personality and Individual Differences, 49(8), 961966. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2010.08.005Google Scholar
McKibbin, W. F., Pham, M. N., & Shackelford, T. K. (2013). Human sperm competition in postindustrial ecologies: Sperm competition cues predict adult DVD sales. Behavioral Ecology, 24(4), 819823. https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/art031Google Scholar
Mogilski, J. K., & Wade, T. J. (2013). Friendship as a relationship infiltration tactic during human mate poaching. Evolutionary Psychology, 11(4), 926943. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F147470491301100415Google Scholar
Moran, J. B., Kuhle, B. X., Wade, T. J., & Seid, M. A. (2017). To poach or not to poach? Men are more willing to short-term poach mated women who are more attractive than their mates. EvoS Journal: The Journal of Evolutionary Studies Consortium, 8(3), 5869.Google Scholar
Moran, J. B., & Wade, T. J. (2019a). Perceptions of a mismatched couple: The role of attractiveness on mate poaching and copying. Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences. https://doi.apa.org/doi/10.1037/ebs0000187Google Scholar
Moran, J. B., & Wade, T. J. (2019b). Self-perceived success in mate poaching: How a couple’s attractiveness and relationship duration impact men’s short-term poaching intentions. Human Ethology, 34, 2640. https://doi.org/10.22330/he/34/026-040CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nascimento, B. S., & Little, A. (2020). Mate retention behaviours and jealousy in hypothetical mate-poaching situations: Measuring the effects of sex, context, and rivals’ attributes. Evolutionary Psychological Science, 6(1), 2029. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40806-019-00207-yGoogle Scholar
Parker, G. G. (1970). Sperm competition and its evolutionary consequences in the insects. Biological Reviews, 45(4), 525567. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-185X.1970.tb01176.xGoogle Scholar
Pedersen, F. A. (1991). Secular trends in human sex ratios: Their influence on individual and family behavior. Human Nature, 2(3), 271291. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02692189Google Scholar
Penke, L., & Asendorpf, J. B. (2008). Beyond global sociosexual orientations: A more differentiated look at sociosexuality and its effects on courtship and romantic relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 95(5), 11131135. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.95.5.1113Google Scholar
Petersen, J. L., & Hyde, J. S. (2010). A meta-analytic review of research on gender differences in sexuality, 1993–2007. Psychological Bulletin, 136(1), 2138. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/a0017504Google Scholar
Pound, N. (2002). Male interest in visual cues of sperm competition risk. Evolution and Human Behavior, 23(6), 443466. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1090–5138(02)00103-4Google Scholar
Pruett-Jones, S. (1992). Independent versus nonindependent mate choice: Do females copy each other? The American Naturalist, 140(6), 10001009. https://doi.org/10.1086/285452Google Scholar
Puts, D. A. (2010). Beauty and the beast: Mechanisms of sexual selection in humans. Evolution and Human Behavior, 31(3), 157175. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2010.02.005Google Scholar
Puts, D. A., Dawood, K., & Welling, L. L. M. (2012). Why women have orgasms: An evolutionary analysis. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 41(5), 11271143. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-012-9967-xGoogle Scholar
Puts, D. A., Welling, L. L., Burriss, R. P., & Dawood, K. (2012). Men’s masculinity and attractiveness predict their female partners’ reported orgasm frequency and timing. Evolution and Human Behavior, 33(1), 19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2011.03.003Google Scholar
Scelza, B. A., Prall, S. P., Swinford, N., Gopalan, S., Atkinson, E., McElreath, R., … & Henn, B. M. (2020). High rate of extra-pair paternity in a human population demonstrates diversity in human reproductive strategies. Science Advances, 6(8), Article eaay6195. http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aay6195Google Scholar
Schmitt, D. P. (2014). Evaluating evidence of mate preference adaptations: How do we really know what Homo sapiens sapiens really want? In Weekes-Shackelford, V. A. & Shackelford, T. K. (Eds.), Evolutionary perspectives on human sexual psychology and behavior (pp. 342). Cham: Springer International Publishing.Google Scholar
Schmitt, D. P., Alcalay, L., Allik, J., Alves, I. C. B., Anderson, C. A., Angelini, A. L., … & Zupančič, A. (2017). Narcissism and the strategic pursuit of short-term mating: Universal links across 11 world regions of the International Sexuality Description Project-2. Psychological Topics, 26(1), 89137. https://doi.org/10.31820/pt.26.1.5Google Scholar
Schmitt, D. P., & Buss, D. M. (2000). Sexual dimensions of person description: Beyond or subsumed by the Big Five? Journal of Research in Personality, 34(2), 141177. https://doi.org/10.1006/jrpe.1999.2267CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schmitt, D. P., & Buss, D. M. (2001). Human mate poaching: Tactics and temptations for infiltrating existing mateships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 80(6), 894917. https://doi.org/10.1037//0022-3514.80.6.894CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schmitt, D. P., & International Sexuality Description Project. (2003). Universal sex differences in the desire for sexual variety: Tests from 52 nations, 6 continents, and 13 islands. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85(1), 85104. https://doi.apa.org/doi/10.1037/0022-3514.85.1.85Google Scholar
Schmitt, D. P., & International Sexuality Description Project. (2004). Patterns and universals of mate poaching across 53 nations: The effects of sex, culture, and personality on romantically attracting another person’s partner. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 86(4), 560584. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/0022-3514.86.4.560Google Scholar
Schmitt, D. P., & Jonason, P. K. (2015). Attachment and sexual permissiveness: Exploring differential associations across sexes, cultures, and facets of short-term mating. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 46(1), 119133. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0022022114551052Google Scholar
Schmitt, D. P., & Shackelford, T. K. (2003). Nifty ways to leave your lover: The tactics people use to entice and disguise the process of human mate poaching. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 29(8), 10181035. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0146167203253471Google Scholar
Schmitt, D. P., & Shackelford, T. K. (2008). Big Five traits related to short-term mating: From personality to promiscuity across 46 nations. Evolutionary Psychology, 6(2), 246282. https://doi.org/10.1177/147470490800600204Google Scholar
Semchenko, A. Y., & Havlíček, J. (2019). Costs and benefits of mate poaching. In Shackelford, T. K. & Weekes-Shackelford, V. A. (Eds.), Encyclopedia of evolutionary psychological science. Cham: Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_1748-1Google Scholar
Shackelford, T. K., Buss, D. M., & Bennett, K. (2002). Forgiveness or breakup: Sex differences in responses to a partner’s infidelity. Cognition & Emotion, 16(2), 299307. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699930143000202Google Scholar
Shackelford, T. K., & Goetz, A. T. (2007). Adaptation to sperm competition in humans. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 16(1), 4750. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1111/j.1467-8721.2007.00473.xGoogle Scholar
Shackelford, T. K., LeBlanc, G. J., & Drass, E. (2000). Emotional reactions to infidelity. Cognition & Emotion, 14(5), 643659. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699930050117657Google Scholar
Shackelford, T. K., LeBlanc, G. J., Weekes-Shackelford, V. A., Bleske-Rechek, A. L., Euler, H. A., & Hoier, S. (2002). Psychological adaptation to human sperm competition. Evolution and Human Behavior, 23(2), 123138. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-28039-4_13Google Scholar
Shackelford, T. K., Pound, N., & Goetz, A. T. (2005). Psychological and physiological adaptations to sperm competition in humans. Review of General Psychology, 9(3), 228248. https://doi.org/10.1037/1089-2680.9.3.228Google Scholar
Shackelford, T. K., Weekes-Shackelford, V. A., LeBlanc, G. J., Bleske, A. L., Euler, H. A., & Hoier, S. (2000). Female coital orgasm and male attractiveness. Human Nature, 11(3), 299306. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12110-000-1015-1Google Scholar
Sigle-Rushton, W., & McLanahan, S. (2006). Father absence and child well-being: A critical review. In Moynihan, D. P., Smeeding, T. M., & Rainwater, L. (Eds.), The future of the family (pp. 116147). New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation.Google Scholar
Simpson, J. A., & Gangestad, S. W. (1991). Individual differences in sociosexuality: Evidence for convergent and discriminant validity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 60(6), 870883. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/0022-3514.60.6.870Google Scholar
Simpson, J. A., Wilson, C. L., & Winterheld, H. A. (2004). Sociosexuality and romantic relationships. In Harvey, J. H., Wenzel, A., & Sprecher, S. (Eds.), Handbook of sexuality in close relationships (pp. 87111). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
Smith, R. L. (1984). Human sperm competition. In Smith, R. L. (Ed.), Sperm competition and the evolution of animal mating systems (pp. 601660). New York, NY: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Starratt, V. G., Goetz, A. T., Shackelford, T. K., McKibbin, W. F., & Stewart-Williams, S. (2008). Men’s partner-directed insults and sexual coercion in intimate relationships. Journal of Family Violence, 23(5), 315323. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-008-9153-zGoogle Scholar
Sunderani, S., Arnocky, S., & Vaillancourt, T. (2013). Individual differences in mate poaching: An examination of hormonal, dispositional, and behavioral mate-value traits. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 42(4), 533542. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-012-9974-yGoogle Scholar
Symons, D. (1979). The evolution of human sexuality. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Tafoya, M. A., & Spitzberg, B. H. (2007). The dark side of infidelity: Its nature, prevalence, and communicative functions. In Spitzberg, B. H. & Cupach, W. R. (Eds.), The dark side of interpersonal communication (pp. 201242). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
Thompson, A. P. (1983). Extramarital sex: A review of the research literature. Journal of Sex Research, 19(1), 122. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224498309551166Google Scholar
Thornhill, R., & Gangestad, S. W. (2008). The evolutionary biology of human female sexuality. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Thornhill, R., Gangestad, S. W., & Comer, R. (1995). Human female orgasm and mate fluctuating asymmetry. Animal Behaviour, 50(6), 16011615. https://doi.org/10.1016/0003-3472(95)80014-XGoogle Scholar
Træen, B., & Martinussen, M. (2008). Extradyadic activity in a random sample of Norwegian couples. Journal of Sex Research, 45(4), 319328. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224490802398324Google Scholar
Trivers, R. (1972). Parental investment and sexual selection. In Campbell, B. (Ed.), Sexual selection and the descent of man, 1871–1971 (pp. 136179). Chicago, IL: Aldine-Atherton.Google Scholar
Vakiritzis, A., & Roberts, S. C. (2012). Do women really like taken men? Results from a large questionnaire study. Journal of Social, Evolutionary, and Cultural Psychology, 6(1), 5065. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/h0099225Google Scholar
Waynforth, D. (2007). Mate choice copying in humans. Human Nature, 18(3), 264271. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12110-007-9004-2Google Scholar
Welling, L. M., & Puts, D. (2014). Female adaptations to ovulation. In Weekes-Shackelford, V. A. & Shackelford, T. K. (Eds.), Evolutionary perspectives on human sexual psychology and behavior (pp. 243260). New York, NY: Springer.Google Scholar
Williams, K. M., Spidel, A., & Paulhus, D. L. (2005, July). Sex, lies, and more lies: Exploring the intimate relationships of subclinical psychopaths. Poster presented at the 1st conference of the Society for the Scientific Study of Psychopathy, Vancouver, BC, Canada.Google Scholar
Wilson, M., & Daly, M. (1992). The man who mistook his wife for a chattel. In Barkow, J. H., Cosmides, L., & Tooby, J. (Eds.), The adapted mind (pp. 289322). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Wilson, M. I., & Daly, M. (1996). Male sexual proprietariness and violence against wives. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 5(1), 27. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8721.ep10772668Google Scholar
Wilson, M., Daly, M., & Weghorst, S. J. (1980). Household composition and the risk of child abuse and neglect. Journal of Biosocial Science, 12(3), 333340. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0021932000012876Google Scholar
Wood, W., & Eagly, A. H. (2002). A cross-cultural analysis of the behavior of men and women: Implications for the origins of sex differences. Psychological Bulletin, 128(5), 699727. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.128.5.699Google Scholar
Zhuang, J-Y., Ji, X., Zhao, Z., Fan, M., & Li, N. P. (2017). The neural basis of human female mate copying: An empathy-based social learning process. Evolution and Human Behavior, 38(6), 779788. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2017.05.006Google Scholar
Zvoch, K. (1999). Family type and investment in education: A comparison of genetic and stepparent families. Evolution and Human Behavior, 20(6), 453464. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1090–5138(99)00024-0Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×