The cuckoldry conundrum
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2044290 |
|---|---|
| Authors | B A Scelza (0000-0001-5875-8875, Department of Anthropology UCLA Anthropology Los Angeles CA USA) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 33 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | e22023-e22023 |
| Publication date | 2024-06-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Evolutionary Anthropology Issues News and Reviews (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1060-1538 • E-ISSN: 1520-6505 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1002/evan.22023 |
| PMID | 38340074 |
| OpenAlex | W4391721528 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 82 |
Concerns about cuckoldry are a dominant theme in evolutionary studies of mating, frequently used to explain sex differences in reproductive strategies. However, studies in nonhuman species have shown that cuckoldry can be associated with important benefits. These insights have not been well integrated with the human literature, which continues to focus on anticuckoldry tactics and negative repercussions for men. I evaluate two key assumptions central to human models of cuckoldry: (1) men are being tricked into investing in nonbiological offspring and (2) investment in nonbiological offspring is wasted. The ethnographic data on fatherhood shows that the concepts of pater and genitor are complex and locally constructed ideas that often include explicit knowledge of extra-pair paternity, countering the idea that nonpaternity results from trickery. Furthermore, rather than being a "waste," paternity loss can be associated with important gains for men, helping to explain why men invest in nonbiological offspring
Biology · Focus (optics · Offspring · Pregnancy · Theme (computing · Animal Behavior and Reproduction · Computer Science · Evolutionary Game Theory and Cooperation · Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior · Psychology · Genetics
Matriliny as daughter-biased investment
Evolution of Desire, The
Sex Differences in Jealousy
Mate Preferences and Their Behavioral Manifestations
Sex Differences in Mate Preferences Across 45 Countries
Sexual Strategies Theory
Paternity confidence and social obligations explain men's allocations to romantic partners in an experimental giving game
A Survey of Non-Classical Polyandry
Nyinba Polyandry and the Allocation of Paternity
Levirate and Fraternal Polyandry Among the Pawnees
Polygyny as myth
Paternity
Male sexual jealousy
Fertility control and population growth among the Maasai
The Social Organization of Australian Tribes
Vicarious Paternity among Serbs and Croats
Only Death Will Separate Us
Patterns of paternal investment predict cross-cultural variation in jealous response
The Role of Spousal Separation on Norms Related to Gender and Sexuality among Himba Pastoralists
Fosterage as a System of Dispersed Cooperative Breeding
The evolutionary origins of patriarchy
The Destabilization of the Traditional Yoruba Sexual System
Child Fosterage in West Africa
The Implications of Birom Cicisbeism
The Manipulation of Kpelle Social Fatherhood
Pagan Gaddang Spouse Exchange
The Use and Abuse of Biology
Earning their keep? Fostering, children's education, and work in north-western Tanzania
Interrogating the Phenomenon of Denial
Adoption and Fosterage in Human Societies
Are All Dads Equal? Biology Versus Marriage as a Basis for Paternal Investment
The Barí Partible Paternity Project
Causes of Conjugal Dissolution
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |