Areas and Consequences of the Mismatch Between Ancestral and Modern Conditions on Mate-Retention Capacity

Bibliographic Data

ID6014698
AuthorsM Apostolou (0000-0002-0685-1848, University of Nicosia, corresponding author)
Year2025
Volume5
Issue4
Pages29-29
Publication date2025-11-21
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueHumans (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2673-9461 • E-ISSN: 2673-9461
PublisherMDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT)
DOI10.3390/humans5040029
OpenAlexW7106252716
LanguageEN
References cited37

Several people in contemporary postindustrial societies experience difficulties retaining intimate partners. This paper investigates the proximate reasons (the immediate causes of reduced capacity) and the ultimate reasons (the evolutionary causes behind those proximate mechanisms) that lead to such difficulties. I argue that the mechanisms or adaptations involved in partner retention evolved in ancestral preindustrial contexts and may not be effective in contemporary postindustrial settings. Relevant mismatches include the protection of human rights, dependence on intimate partners, freedom in mate choice, and access to parenting resources. I further argue that these mismatches have affected adaptations involved in partner retention, including the expression of undesirable traits, such as aggression and jealousy, insufficient mating effort, poor initial mate choice, and an impaired ability to meet the demands of parenting. As a consequence, many individuals today experience reduced mate-retention capacity, with implications that I explore

Adaptation (eye · Aggression · Human evolution · Mating · Mechanism (biology · Post-industrial society · Proximate and ultimate causation · Demographic Trends and Gender Preferences · Evolutionary Game Theory and Cooperation · Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior

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