Professor Glenn Wilson, Gresham College, London

1. THE OEDIPUS EFFECT Professor Glenn Wilson, Gresham College, London

2. THE OEDIPUS MYTH There once lived man named Oedipus Rex. You may have heard about his odd complex. His name appears in Freud’s index ‘Cause he loved his mother. (Tom Lehrer, 1959) Today we need only expound faithfully on the myth of Oedipus, according to its inmost essence, and we in it win an intelligible picture of the whole history of mankind. (Richard Wagner, 1851)

3. OEDIPUS COMPLEX Freud: infant boys desire their mother sexually; feel jealousy/hostility to fathers (castration anxiety). Female equivalent: Electra Complex (+ penis envy). Failure to “resolve” results in “fixation” and “inverted” sexuality. Such notions are difficult to test: (1) supposed to be unconscious. (2) defence mechanisms like reaction formation can rescue the theory against contrary findings. Freud’s theory of homosexuality is wrong in light of biological origins (Wilson & Rahman, 2005).

4. OEDIPUS IN THE TROBRIANDS Freud became progressively grandiose: “the beginnings of religion, morals, society and art converge in the Oedipus complex”(Totem and Taboo,1918). Debate among anthropologists as to whether OC was universal or culturally variable. Malinowski (1929): OC absent in “matrilineal” societies without a “triangular” family arrangement. Spiro (1982): found OC alive and well in The Trobriands. Such disputes continue and may ultimately be futile because the theory lacks clarity (Shey, 2013).

5. OEDIPUS IN THE ARTS Freudian ideas have permeated literary analysis and theatre. Ernest Jones (Freud’s biographer) interpreted Hamlet as a man blocked from revenge against his stepfather by Oedipal conflict. Incest themes were more explicit in Wagner – likely Freud’s inspiration (Siegmund/Sieglinde are long-lost brother & sister instinctively drawn to each other). Incest is appearing increasingly in TV series (e.g., Boardwalk Empire, The Borgias, Game of Thrones). The Tyrone Guthrie production of Hamlet at the Old Vic in 1937 (filmed in 1948) featured a youthful looking Queen Gertrude in Eileen Herlie (actually 13 years younger than Laurence Olivier).

6. POST-ADOPTION REUNIONS When people separated by adoption from their families as infants rediscover their biological relatives in adulthood there is often a “lightning bolt” romantic and sexual attraction. This has been called genetic sexual attraction and it may lead to incestuous sexual relationships. There is often a “recognition of oneself in the other” and a feeling of being “half in love” before actually meeting (Greenberg & Littlewood, 1995). In Star Wars Luke & Leia have fallen in love before discovering Darth Vader is their father.

7. REAL-LIFE EXAMPLES In 1984 a Tennessee woman (37) was charged with marrying her son (19) given up for adoption as a baby. Both claimed this was unwitting chance but she, at least, was probably aware. Brother-sister unions are more common - perhaps increasing with more liberal laws re tracing family after adoption. German siblings Patrick & Susan Stuebing live together with four children despite having been jailed for incest. They did not meet until their 20s. In Essex, siblings Kim Straker & Terri Bigham were given suspended sentences and ordered to live apart despite having a baby together. Had also been separately adopted 25 years earlier.

8. INCEST TABOOS Prohibitions against incest are seen in most societies, often backed by laws and punishments. Apply most forcibly with respect to parent/child (viewed as child abuse). Brother/sister prohibitions also common but laws relating to second-degree relatives vary. (Samaritans and Pakistanis often promote cousin marriage). Exceptions to brother/sister marriage bans among elite subgroups like Egyptian pharaohs, where concern is with consolidating power & property within family. More often, outbreeding is used to build political alliances (Leavitt, 2013). Eminent Colombia U. political scientist admitted consensual sex with his adult daughter in 2010 - was conditionally discharged & retained job.

9. WESTERMARCK EFFECT Families are protected against incest by familiarity breeding contempt. We are seldom sexually excited by those we have grown up with, regardless of biological kinship. Of 2769 kibbutz marriages, none had shared home before age 6 (Shepher, 1983). The longer the duration of sibling co-residence the more the idea of incest is thought “morally wrong” (Lieberman et al 2003). Presumed to have evolved as a proxy for kin recognition to protect against inbreeding (coincidence of harmful recessives). Westermarck applies to most species but fails when relatives are separately raised (e.g., Oedipus & Jocasta). Finnish anthropologist Edvard Westermarck observed that incest prohibitions were hardly needed; inhibition arises naturally with early intimate exposure.

10. TEENAGE REBELLION Westermarck is backed up by other forces. One is spatial dispersion, seen in many male primates. Young males move away from their birth troupe. Also teenage rebellion? Being difficult in adolescence, manufacturing rows, choosing music/dress etc. that alienates parents is striving for independence but also keeps parents at bay to reduce risk of incest. Once beyond “hormonal” adolescence the need for this distancing diminishes and good relations can be restored.

11. AVOIDING DAD WHEN FERTILE Females tend to avoid social contact with male kin when mid-cycle. Mobile phone records show that girls are half as likely to call their father when ovulating. If their father calls them, they end the call twice as fast (Lieberman et al, 2011). Presumably an adaptation to avoid inbreeding. Not avoiding parental control, since calls to mother increase. Fertile women don’t avoid men in general. Their dress/gestures become sexier – e.g., wearing red/pink 3x as often (Beall & Tracy, 2013).

12. OPTIMAL ODOUR In non-humans, Westermarck is primarily mediated by olfaction. The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) governs our immune system and is detectable by smell. Animals prefer to mate with individuals of dissimilar MHC, thus increasing offspring heterozygosity (Wedekind et al, 1995). Women prefer men of dissimilar MHC when in breeding mode (mid-cycle, not on pill, coupled, not pregnant). Other times they lean toward familial smells (Havlicek & Roberts, 2009). This promotes “good genes” when fertile; family support/safety when not breeding. The importance of odour in mate choice, particularly to women, has led to the concept of pheromone parties where partners are chosen by sniffing undergarments.

13. SIMILARITY DETECTION Advantages of outbreeding are well-recognised but inbreeding also has merits, e.g., preventing the break-up of successful gene combinations (Bateson, 1978). The idea of inclusive fitness (kin selection) implies that we are more helpful to close relatives because it helps our own genes. We prefer similar people as partners. “Perfect outbreeders discount their genome by 50% with each generation” (Leavitt, 2013). Balance needs to be struck (optimaloutbreeding) but a range of successful strategies is possible. We choose friends and mates that overlap with us genetically hence must have mechanisms for detecting our genes in others (Rushton & Bon, 2005).

14. NARCISSISM Choice of a partner similar to ourselves could derive from use of opposite-sex parent as model. Alternatively, we may seek a partner who is as much like ourselves as possible (though usually of opposite gender). Before mirrors, this would involve seeing one’s reflection in water. The stream has shown my reflected face – and now I find it before me. In you I see it again, just as it shone from the stream. (Sieglinde to Siegmund, The Valkyrie). Papageno finds his soulmate Papagena in Mozart’s Magic Flute.

15. IN LOVE WITH OURSELVES? Fraley & Marks (2010) had students rate sexual attractiveness of 100 strangers’ faces. For half, each face was preceded by a subliminal presentation of a family member. Controls were exposed to non-relatives. Experimental group rated strangers as more attractive. Second study: faces were morphed to resemble their own face. The greater the morphing towards themselves the more attractive the face was judged to be. Which is the stronger force, genetic relatedness or self-resemblance? Michael Jackson appeared to be morphing himself into his sister LaToya

16. BEAUTY IN FACE OF BEHOLDER Laeng et al (2013) compared attractiveness ratings of romantic partners morphed in various ways. Some were blended with the self to varying degree (11%, 22%, 33%); others with the same-sex prototype. The prototype blend was preferred over the original by independent judges. The self-based morph with a 22% amalgam was consistently preferred over all others. Signal-detection analysis showed 22% was the highest level of self-resemblance operating at a subconscious level.

17. SEX DIFFERENCES IN INCEST AVOIDANCE Another morphing study examined the effect of sibling resemblance (Marcinkowska et al, 2013). Self-similarity did not affect judgements of other-sex faces. Sibling blends did, but in opposite directions for men and women. Women rated pictures morphed to look like their brother as less sexually attractive; men rated sister-morphed images as more attractive. Westermarck aversion applies more for females because they bear greater costs of inbreeding (Haig, 1999). In Game of Thrones, Cersie & Jaime Lannister are twins and long-term lovers.

18. TRUST vs LUST A The value of family resemblance depends on whether one is evaluating partners for long-term relationships or short-term encounters. DeBruine (2005) found that manipulation of other-sex faces towards the self increased apparent trustworthiness but not sex appeal. Where short-terms flings were concerned , self-resemblance decreased sexual desirability. Kinship cues can be positive or negative according to context. B C A rates C as more trustworthy than B. (C has been morphed towards the self).

19. IMPRINTING OF PARTNER PREFERENCES Cross-fostering studies(Kendrick et al, 1998) reveal importance of mother-image. Lambs raised by a goat mother (left) and kids raised by a sheep mother (right) fancy the “wrong” species in adulthood (esp. true for males, who acquire more visual “targets”).

20. SUPER-SIGNALS Male zebra finches are attracted to maternal colour in potential mates (ten Cate et al, 2006). Plumage was always white but maternal and paternal beak colours were altered with nail varnish (continuum of red to orange). Attraction to females measured by proportion of songs directed at different females. The males were most attracted to females showing exaggerated maternaltraits (beyond those actually experienced as chicks). Songs directed toward females of various beak colours. Group R = raised with red-beak mother & orange father. Group O = vice versa. Arrows show maternal/paternal anchors used.

21. OEDIPAL MODELLING Hawaiians of mixed race tend to marry into ethnic group of opposite-sex parent (Jedlicka, 1980). Women fall in love with men of eyecolour more similar to their father than their mother (Wilson & Barrett, 1987). Daughters of older men chooseolder partners (Perrett et al, 2002). People choose partners more similar to their opposite-sex parent in both eye and hair colour (Little et al, 2003). Photos of wives are correctly matched by external judges to mothers-in-law beyond chance (Bereczkei et al, 2004). Self-image theory does not account for these cross-sex effects.

22. FACIAL METRICS Berecskei et al (2009) used facial measurements to assess similarity among subjects, comparing family members with random pairings. Spouses were assortatively mated on most metrics. Men correlated with their partner’s father (but not her mother). Women resembled their partner’s mother (but not his father). These relationships were all replicated by similarity ratings using photographs. Again, support for idea that opposite-sex parents are used as a template for choosing a mate.

23. COMPULSIVE ATTRACTION Madonna was “instantly attracted” to “bad boy” Sean Penn and remained “addicted” to him despite physical abuse and an acrimonious divorce. According to her brother, Sean was a “ringer” for their father Silvio, who brought her up alone after her mother had died but “broke her heart” by marrying the family housekeeper. Both men are of Italian origin.

24. RELATIONSHIP QUALITY Partner preferences are affected by the quality of parent-child relationships. Daughters with good relationships with their father choose partners more similar to him (Wiszewska et al, 2007). This applies also to the relationship with an adoptive father (Bereczkei et al, 2004). Individual cases are complex. Angelina Jolie was estranged from Jon Voight from childhood (reconciled in 2007). Brad Pitt is first partner to resemble Voight.

25. ONE’S SPITTING IMAGE? Resemblance between men’s wives and their mothers is also greater when the relationship with the mother was good (Bereczkei et al, 2004)

26. SEXUAL IMPRINTING Sexual preferences are influenced by early experiences linking sexual arousal to certain sensory (especially visual and olfactory) stimuli (Epstein, 1987). Rats suckled by mothers with citral treated nipples/genitals were sexually excited in adulthood by lemon-flavoured females more than normal receptive females (Fillion & Blass, 1986). Sexual preference for pregnant/lactating women is more common in men whose mother nursed younger siblings when they were 1.5-5 yrs old – apparently the sensitive period (Enquist et al, 2011).

27. MASOCHISM If sexual imprinting in humans is “inappropriate”, sexual variations such as fetishism can result (Wilson, 1987). Submission fantasies are surprisingly common among men, especially those occupying powerful positions in daily life. These appear to derive from experiences of motherly discipline in early childhood that have become imprinted in connection with first sexual stirrings.

28. FREUD OR DARWIN? Freud’s theory of the Oedipus complex is a distortion of the facts. Incest avoidance is the default; it emerges naturally with intrafamily exposure and seldom needs taboos for reinforcement. There is no evidence for cross-sex antagonism during the “Oedipal” years (Daly & Wilson, 1990). Imprinting of parental stimuli affects mate preferences but we don’t desire intercourse with our parents. By the time the partner blueprint is activated our parents no longer embody it. Evolutionary psychology is a better framework for understanding these phenomena than psychoanalysis.

30. Professor Wilson’s Next Lecture Cosmic Influences on Behaviour? Tuesday 18th March 2014 Museum of London