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Sexual Conflict

Sexual Conflict. The Coevolutionary Battle of the Sexes (Part I). Understanding Sexual Conflict. A psychic struggle, often unconscious, resulting from the opposition or simultaneous functioning of mutually exclusive impulses, desires, or tendencies Why does sexual conflict occur?

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Sexual Conflict

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  1. Sexual Conflict The Coevolutionary Battle of the Sexes (Part I)

  2. Understanding Sexual Conflict • A psychic struggle, often unconscious, resulting from the opposition or simultaneous functioning of mutually exclusive impulses, desires, or tendencies • Why does sexual conflict occur? • Disagreement among actors in regards to goals and means of achieving them • Serves no direct purpose, unto itself

  3. Strategic Interference Theory • Men and women have different preferred mating strategies • While the final goal (i.e., reproduce) might be the same, the means of achieving this goal are often grounds for disagreement • in virtually all intersexual relationships • posing an adaptive problem

  4. The Utility of Negative Emotions • We qualify certain emotions as “negative” • However, these emotions may have adaptive purposes • Help focus our attention to problems • May encode problematic events into memory for easier recovery • May encourage problem-solving action

  5. Conflict Over Sexual Access • Common relationship problem • Men tend to overestimate sexual interest of women • This “inference mechanism” may be manipulated for benefits

  6. Focus: Water Striders • Water striders are an interesting clade for studying the coevolution of sexually antagonistic traits

  7. Conflict Over Commitment • Men may be more guarded about their resources, particularly if they are scarce • However, there is a demand for investment (signaled by commitment) on the “mating market,” hence men may attempt to deceive mates • Women may have coevolved adaptations to counter such deception, such as delaying sex

  8. Conflict Over Sexual Withholding • Fulfills several functions • Enhances ability to choose appropriate mates • Increase its scarcity, thus increasing its cost to potential mates • Manipulates female’s mate value

  9. Jealousy • As discussed several times, men and women have different mating costs • Heavy minimum investment for women • Cuckolding for men • These differing costs may lead to sex differences in jealousy-evocation • Sexual vs. emotional infidelity

  10. Mate Retention Tactics • Purpose is twofold • Deter partner from committing acts of sexual infidelity • Deter partner from leaving the relationship • Sex differences • Men: concealment, threats, violence, resource displays, submission • Women: appearance enhancement, jealousy inducement

  11. Context Effects on Retention • Perceived likelihood of infidelity (men) • Reproductive value of woman (men) • Age & attractiveness • Study of Trinidadian men • Resources & status (women)

  12. Understanding Uxoricide (1) • Why would men pursue a mate or ex-mate in order to kill her? • Threats, unto themselves, have no value unless there is a belief that they will be carried out • Moreover, since young women are highest in reproductive value and most likely to “defect”, they are most at risk

  13. Understanding Uxoricide (2) • A male of low value may resort to more extreme forms of mate-retention tactics • Figueredo et al (2001) found two reciprocal effects of kin • Decrease risk of victimization for woman if her kin are nearby • Increase risk of perpetration for man if his kin are nearby

  14. The Problem with Patriarchy • Patriarchy is likely the product of coevolved preferences for resourceful mates among females and resource competition among males • While it may appear that competition happens between females and males, most competition is actually happening amongst males and amongst females

  15. The Wrap-Up • Understanding conflict • Strategic interference theory • Conflict over sexual access, commitment, and withholding • Jealousy • Mate retention • Uxoricide

  16. Things to Come • Evolutionary perspectives on rape • Research issues • Controversies • Animal models • Adaptation vs. by-product • Mate deprivation hypothesis • Short-term mating strategies

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