Research Article
Rafael Wlodarski & Robin I.M. Dunbar
Volume 30, No 1, Published March 30, 2015
DOI: https://…
Keywords: Mating strategies, sociosexuality, evolutionary stable strategies, 2D:4D.
ABSTRACT
Humans have been found to display considerable variety in their pursuit of mating strategies, varying in their preference for short-term mating encounters versus established long-term relationships. While we know that differences in mating strategy exist between the two sexes (as predicted by parental investment theory), it has recently been shown that each sex may further exhibit two mating phenotypes. Here we explore the possibility that the presence of two phenotypes may be frequency dependent, thus comprising an Evolutionary Stable Strategy (ESS). We suggest that the presence of these phenotypes reflects a compromise between male preference for promiscuity and a female preference in favour of long-term mating by males.
ISSN: 2224-4476