Who dares, wins: Heroism versus altruism in women's mate choice
Heroism is apparently nonadaptive in Darwinian terms, so why does it exist at all? Risk-taking and heroic behavior are predominantly male tendencies, and literature and legend reflect this. This study explores the possibility that heroism persists in many human cultures owing to a female preference...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Journal article |
| Language: | English |
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2001
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| _version_ | 1826300851847692288 |
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| author | Kelly, S Dunbar, R |
| author_facet | Kelly, S Dunbar, R |
| author_sort | Kelly, S |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | Heroism is apparently nonadaptive in Darwinian terms, so why does it exist at all? Risk-taking and heroic behavior are predominantly male tendencies, and literature and legend reflect this. This study explores the possibility that heroism persists in many human cultures owing to a female preference for risk-prone rather than risk-averse males as sexual partners, and it suggests that such a preference may be exploited as a male mating strategy. It also attempts to quantify the relative influences of altruism and bravery in the evolution of heroism. Our study found that females do prefer risk-prone brave males to risk-averse non-brave males, and that men are aware of this preference. Bravery in a male was shown to be the stronger factor influencing female choice of short-term partners, long-term partners, and male friends, with altruism playing a lesser part in their choice. Altruism was deemed important in long-term relationships and friendships, but for short-term liaisons, non-altruists were preferred to altruists. Heroism may therefore have evolved owing to a female preference for brave, risk-prone males because risk-taking acts as an honest cue for "good genes." Altruism was judged to be a less influential factor in the evolution of heroism than bravery and a demonstrated willingness to take risks. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T05:23:26Z |
| format | Journal article |
| id | oxford-uuid:dfb908d6-dbdd-4580-9920-9a1a525f53d6 |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T05:23:26Z |
| publishDate | 2001 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:dfb908d6-dbdd-4580-9920-9a1a525f53d62022-03-27T09:41:24ZWho dares, wins: Heroism versus altruism in women's mate choiceJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:dfb908d6-dbdd-4580-9920-9a1a525f53d6EnglishSymplectic Elements at Oxford2001Kelly, SDunbar, RHeroism is apparently nonadaptive in Darwinian terms, so why does it exist at all? Risk-taking and heroic behavior are predominantly male tendencies, and literature and legend reflect this. This study explores the possibility that heroism persists in many human cultures owing to a female preference for risk-prone rather than risk-averse males as sexual partners, and it suggests that such a preference may be exploited as a male mating strategy. It also attempts to quantify the relative influences of altruism and bravery in the evolution of heroism. Our study found that females do prefer risk-prone brave males to risk-averse non-brave males, and that men are aware of this preference. Bravery in a male was shown to be the stronger factor influencing female choice of short-term partners, long-term partners, and male friends, with altruism playing a lesser part in their choice. Altruism was deemed important in long-term relationships and friendships, but for short-term liaisons, non-altruists were preferred to altruists. Heroism may therefore have evolved owing to a female preference for brave, risk-prone males because risk-taking acts as an honest cue for "good genes." Altruism was judged to be a less influential factor in the evolution of heroism than bravery and a demonstrated willingness to take risks. |
| spellingShingle | Kelly, S Dunbar, R Who dares, wins: Heroism versus altruism in women's mate choice |
| title | Who dares, wins: Heroism versus altruism in women's mate choice |
| title_full | Who dares, wins: Heroism versus altruism in women's mate choice |
| title_fullStr | Who dares, wins: Heroism versus altruism in women's mate choice |
| title_full_unstemmed | Who dares, wins: Heroism versus altruism in women's mate choice |
| title_short | Who dares, wins: Heroism versus altruism in women's mate choice |
| title_sort | who dares wins heroism versus altruism in women s mate choice |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT kellys whodareswinsheroismversusaltruisminwomensmatechoice AT dunbarr whodareswinsheroismversusaltruisminwomensmatechoice |