The usual argument is that the energy cost of raising a human child is so great, and gestation and birth sufficiently disabling, that an important criteria in mate selection for human females is the reliability of the mate as a provider. EP people claim to have evidence to support this. It is true that, they also claim evidence that there is some biological programming of cheating behavior and that females use very different criteria in choosing mates to cheat with than to live with. But, from what I've seen of the theory and evidence, the suggestion that women would want to mate with a men who are about to go off to war would seem to run contrary to most thinking on the issue. Further, as I noted in my original post, those coming back would likely be a more select bunch than those who went off so that from the woman's perspective it is better to wait. - - Bill Dickens
William T. Dickens The Brookings Institution 1775 Massachusetts Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20036 Phone: (202) 797-6113 FAX: (202) 797-6181 E-MAIL: [EMAIL PROTECTED] AOL IM: wtdickens >>> [EMAIL PROTECTED] 10/03/01 11:12AM >>> Possibly. In many species of birds, the female will mate with high quality males who are often not around b/c high quality males have many mating opportunities. The female then nests with a lower quality male who raises the young. I don't actually know if humans do this, b/c humans don't always fit the models. Mitch Mitchell ----- Original Message ----- From: "William Dickens" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Wednesday, October 3, 2001 7:17 am Subject: Re: Disaster Raises Happiness, Trust > I think this is a good EP explanation for men, but there is a > problem with it as an explanation for women. I have to admit that > I don't know if women are aroused by stress as well, but from the > woman's perspective it would seem that her offspring would be most > likely to succeed if she waited for the guys to come back and then > picked from that bunch. They would presumably be a more fit sub- > sample of the original population and would be more likely to be > around to help provide for the children. - - Bill Dickens > > > William T. Dickens > The Brookings Institution > 1775 Massachusetts Avenue, NW > Washington, DC 20036 > Phone: (202) 797-6113 > FAX: (202) 797-6181 > E-MAIL: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > AOL IM: wtdickens > > >>> [EMAIL PROTECTED] 10/01/01 10:19PM >>> > With regard to Mr. Dickens' comment regarding whether stress > should cause > sexual arousal, I am tempted to think that evolutionary psychology > can > certainly explain this phenomenon. Early societies, according to > most models > of human development, used the males as hunters and warriors; > females were > gatherers. With this division of labor, males certainly incurred > the more > perilous part of the community's job. Before an important hunt or > major > battle, it is manifestly in the male's evolutionary favor to > become sexually > aroused; after all, this may be his genome's last chance to > reproduce itself! > Even if he dies in battle, his sex partners -- still safely at > home -- will > be able to bear his young. > >
