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Patterns of paternal investment explain cross-cultural variance in jealous response

Scelza, Brooke A; Prall, Sean P; Blumenfield, Tami; Crittenden, Alyssa N; Gurven, Michael; Kline, Michelle; Koster, Jeremy; Kushnick, Geoff; Mattison, Siobhán M; Pillsworth, Elizabeth; Shenk, Mary K

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Long-lasting, romantic partnerships are a universal feature of human societies, but almost as ubiquitous is the risk of instability when one partner strays. Jealous response to the threat of infidelity is well studied, but most empirical work on the topic has focused on a proposed sex difference in the type of jealousy (sexual or emotional) that men and women find most upsetting, rather than on how jealous response varies1,2. This stems in part from the predominance of studies using student...[Show more]

dc.contributor.authorScelza, Brooke A
dc.contributor.authorPrall, Sean P
dc.contributor.authorBlumenfield, Tami
dc.contributor.authorCrittenden, Alyssa N
dc.contributor.authorGurven, Michael
dc.contributor.authorKline, Michelle
dc.contributor.authorKoster, Jeremy
dc.contributor.authorKushnick, Geoff
dc.contributor.authorMattison, Siobhán M
dc.contributor.authorPillsworth, Elizabeth
dc.contributor.authorShenk, Mary K
dc.date.accessioned2020-05-07T00:13:35Z
dc.identifier.issn2397-3374
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1885/203836
dc.description.abstractLong-lasting, romantic partnerships are a universal feature of human societies, but almost as ubiquitous is the risk of instability when one partner strays. Jealous response to the threat of infidelity is well studied, but most empirical work on the topic has focused on a proposed sex difference in the type of jealousy (sexual or emotional) that men and women find most upsetting, rather than on how jealous response varies1,2. This stems in part from the predominance of studies using student samples from industrialized populations, which represent a relatively homogenous group in terms of age, life history stage and social norms3,4. To better understand variation in jealous response, we conducted a 2-part study in 11 populations (1,048 individuals). In line with previous work, we find a robust sex difference in the classic forced-choice jealousy task. However, we also show substantial variation in jealous response across populations. Using parental investment theory, we derived several predictions about what might trigger such variation. We find that greater paternal investment and lower frequency of extramarital sex are associated with more severe jealous response. Thus, partner jealousy appears to be a facultative response, reflective of the variable risks and costs of men’s investment across societies.
dc.description.sponsorshipB.A.S. acknowledges support from a UCLA Faculty Research Grant and NSF-BCS-1534682, the latter of which also funded S.P.P. as a postdoctoral scholar. J.S. acknowledges support from the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR)–Labex IAST.
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.language.isoen_AU
dc.publisherNature Publishing Group
dc.rights© 2019
dc.sourceNature Human Behaviour
dc.titlePatterns of paternal investment explain cross-cultural variance in jealous response
dc.typeJournal article
local.description.notesImported from ARIES
local.identifier.citationvolume4
dc.date.issued2019
local.identifier.absfor160102 - Biological (Physical) Anthropology
local.identifier.ariespublicationu6048437xPUB778
local.publisher.urlhttps://www.nature.com/
local.type.statusPublished Version
local.contributor.affiliationScelza, Brooke A , Department of Anthropology, University of California,
local.contributor.affiliationPrall, Sean P, University of California
local.contributor.affiliationBlumenfield, Tami, Yunnan University
local.contributor.affiliationCrittenden, Alyssa N , Department of Anthropology, University of Nevada
local.contributor.affiliationGurven, Michael, University of California
local.contributor.affiliationKline, Michelle, Simon Fraser University
local.contributor.affiliationKoster, Jeremy, University of Cincinnati
local.contributor.affiliationKushnick, Geoff, College of Arts and Social Sciences, ANU
local.contributor.affiliationMattison, Siobhán M, University of New Mexico
local.contributor.affiliationPillsworth, Elizabeth, California State University
local.contributor.affiliationShenk, Mary K, Pennsylvania State University
local.description.embargo2037-12-31
local.bibliographicCitation.issue1
local.bibliographicCitation.startpage1
local.bibliographicCitation.lastpage10
local.identifier.doi10.1038/s41562-019-0654-y
dc.date.updated2022-02-20T07:21:53Z
CollectionsANU Research Publications

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