Pair-Bonding, Romantic Love, and Evolution
The Curious Case of Homo sapiens
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 5831376 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Garth J O Fletcher (0000-0002-7284-9498), Jeffry A Simpson (0000-0003-1899-2493), L Campbell (0000-0002-9071-4845), Nickola C Overall (0000-0002-9703-4383) |
| Year | 2015 |
| Volume | 10 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 20-36 |
| Publication date | 2015-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Perspectives on Psychological Science (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1745-6916 • E-ISSN: 1745-6924 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/1745691614561683 |
| PMID | 25910380 |
| OpenAlex | W2082355928 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 85 |
| References cited | 107 |
This article evaluates a thesis containing three interconnected propositions. First, romantic love is a "commitment device" for motivating pair-bonding in humans. Second, pair-bonding facilitated the idiosyncratic life history of hominins, helping to provide the massive investment required to rear children. Third, managing long-term pair bonds (along with family relationships) facilitated the evolution of social intelligence and cooperative skills. We evaluate this thesis by integrating evidence from a broad range of scientific disciplines. First, consistent with the claim that romantic love is an evolved commitment device, our review suggests that it is universal; suppresses mate-search mechanisms; has specific behavioral, hormonal, and neuropsychological signatures; and is linked to better health and survival. Second, we consider challenges to this thesis posed by the existence of arranged marriage, polygyny, divorce, and infidelity. Third, we show how the intimate relationship mind seems to be built to regulate and monitor relationships. Fourth, we review comparative evidence concerning links among mating systems, reproductive biology, and brain size. Finally, we discuss evidence regarding the evolutionary timing of shifts to pair-bonding in hominins. We conclude there is interdisciplinary support for the claim that romantic love and pair-bonding, along with alloparenting, played critical roles in the evolution of Homo sapiens
Evolutionary psychology · Homo sapiens · Parental investment · Polygyny · Romance · Evolutionary Game Theory and Cooperation · Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior · Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior
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| Unique citing works | 85 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 8,5 |
| Citation span | 2016 - 2026 (11) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 85 |