Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/438
Title: Psychological and physiological adaptations to sperm competition in humans
Authors: Shackelford, TK
Pound, N
Goetz, AT
Keywords: Sperm competition;Postcopulatory competition;Evolutionary psychology
Issue Date: 2005
Publisher: American Psychological Association
Citation: Review of General Psychology, 9: 228-248, Sep 2005
Abstract: Postcopulatory competition between males, in the form of sperm competition, is a widespread phenomenon in many animal species. The extent to which sperm competition has been an important selective pressure during human evolution remains controversial, however. The authors review critically the evidence that human males and females have psychological, behavioral, and physiological adaptations that evolved in response to selection pressures associated with sperm competition. The authors consider, using evidence from contemporary societies, whether sperm competition is likely to have been a significant adaptive problem for ancestral humans and examine the evidence suggesting that human males have physiological and psychological mechanisms that allow for “prudent” sperm allocation in response to variations in the risk of sperm competition.
URI: http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/438
ISSN: 1089-2680
Appears in Collections:Psychology
Dept of Life Sciences Research Papers

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