Hostname: page-component-76d6cb85b7-2r2wp Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-07-17T15:21:31.463Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Evolutionary reasons why men are more likely to engage in romantic behavior than women

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 June 2026

Adolf Heschl Open the ORCID record for Adolf Heschl [Opens in a new window]
Adolf Heschl*
Affiliation:
Universalmuseum Joanneum, Graz, Austria adolf.heschl@alumni.uni-graz.at https://museum-joanneum.academia.edu/AdolfHeschl
*
*Corresponding author.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

When it comes to true romance, the relationship between a man and a woman surpasses anything comparable in the animal kingdom. This is due to our evolutionary past, in which solitary, tree-dwelling ape men were transformed by the rigors of life on the African savannah into loyal and caring human fathers. But everything in evolution comes at a price, both for men and women.

Information

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 49 , 2026 , e103
Check for updates
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2026. Published by Cambridge University Press

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.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Barkan, S. E. ( 2014). Gender and abortion attitudes: Religiosity as a suppressor variable. The Public Opinion Quarterly, 78(4), 940–950 10.1093/poq/nfu047CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ben-Shlomo, Y., Smith, G. D., Shipley, M., & Marmot, M. G. ( 1993). Magnitude and causes of mortality differences between married and unmarried men. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 47(3), 200–205.10.1136/jech.47.3.200CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bromhall, C. ( 2003). The eternal child – an explosive new theory of human origins and behaviour. Random House.Google Scholar
Burleson, B. R. ( 2003). The experience and effects of emotional support: What the study of cultural and gender differences can tell us about close relationships, emotion, and interpersonal communication. Personal Relationships, 10(1), 1–23 10.1111/1475-6811.00033CrossRefGoogle Scholar
De Waal, F. ( 1982). Chimpanzee politics: Power and sex among apes. Jonathan Cape Google Scholar
Hart, D., & Sussman, R. W. ( 2009). Man the hunted – primates, predators, and human evolution. (Expanded ed.) Routledge.Google Scholar
Hrncir, V. ( 2023). The use of wooden clubs and throwing sticks among recent foragers: Cross-cultural survey and implications for research on prehistoric weaponry. Human Nature, 34(1), 1–31 10.1007/s12110-023-09445-3CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Packer, C., & Pusey, A. E. ( 1982). Cooperation and competition within coalitions of male lions: Kin selection or game theory?. Nature, 296, 740–742 10.1038/296740a0CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shrock, D. A. ( 1984). Suppression of women by religion. Counseling and Values, 29(1), 49–58 10.1163/2161007X-02901008CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thornhill, R., & Gangestad, S. W. ( 2008). The evolutionary biology of human female sexuality. Oxford University Press.10.1093/oso/9780195340983.001.0001CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Trivers, R. L. (Ed). ( 1972). Parental investment and sexual selection. In Sexual selection and the descent of man. (pp. 136–179). Routledge.Google Scholar
Wilder, J. A., Mobasher, Z., & Hammer, M. F. ( 2004). Genetic evidence for unequal effective population sizes of human females and males. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 21(11), 2047–2057.10.1093/molbev/msh214CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wilson, E. O. ( 1978). Sociobiology: The new synthesis. Harvard University Press.Google Scholar