https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1090513823000697 JavaScript is disabled on your browser. Please enable JavaScript to use all the features on this page. [1694469728] Skip to main content Skip to article Elsevier logo * Journals & Books * * Search RegisterSign in * Access through your institution * Purchase PDF Search ScienceDirect[ ] Article preview * Abstract * Introduction * Section snippets * References (115) Elsevier Evolution and Human Behavior Available online 9 September 2023 In Press, Corrected ProofWhat's this? Evolution and Human Behavior Mating fast and slow? Sociosexual orientations are not reflective of life history trajectories Author links open overlay panelTran Dinh, Steven W. Gangestad Show more Share Cite https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2023.08.002Get rights and content Abstract Within evolutionary psychology, a dominant assumption is that adaptive variation in fast versus slow life history strategies centrally includes variation in sociosexual orientations. Fast reproductive strategies--prioritizing current reproduction and high number of low-quality offspring--are purportedly facilitated by short-term, uncommitted sexual relationships with multiple partners and investing little in resulting offspring (a high mating effort, low parental effort strategy). Slow strategies--of producing few, high-quality offspring--purportedly entails having few lifetime sexual partners and forming long-term, committed pair-bonds in which both parents invest heavily in offspring (a high parental effort, low mating effort strategy). Notably, proposals for individual variation in human life history strategies are inspired by cross-species evidence on covariation of traits related to reproduction and longevity. However, examination of evidence across mammals, birds, and primates reveals that variations in mating versus parental effort are not central to the interspecies dimensions of fast-slow strategies. Variations in pair-bonding and biparental care likewise do not map onto the fast-slow continuum or offspring quantity versus quality dimension. Indeed, in human foraging groups, male provisioning appears to increase offspring quantity. For several reasons, sex with multiple partners does not promote women's fertility rate. Alternative selection pressures are more likely to have led to adaptive variation in human mating strategies. Introduction For over a century, biologists have sought to explain the array of mating strategies across and within species: why individuals engage in costly mating contests, exhibit exaggerated secondary sexual characteristics, form life-long bonds or mate with multiple partners, engage in extra-pair copulations. Research in psychology and anthropology have also led to principled understandings of variations in human mating strategies, with insights often inspired by evolutionary biology. Emerging over half a century ago, a separate line of research examined interspecies variation in the life cycle. Observations that some species live much longer than others, produce offspring at higher rates, and age more quickly led biologists to study the selective forces giving rise to variations in life history strategies--the "fast versus slow" continuum observed in nature. Empirical support for the continuum instigated widespread adoption of fast-slow life history concepts to explain observed differences across and within human groups. Evolutionary social scientists attempted to test whether human individuals exhibit these same systematic fast-slow variations, explained by the same selectionist phenomena. In the recent years, these two realms of inquiry have merged. Within evolutionary psychology, theories that differences in human mating strategies are appropriately understood as variations in life history trajectories have gained tremendous traction. Human males and females who follow unrestricted sexual strategies and prioritize short-term over long-term mating purportedly are on a "live fast and die young" trajectory (Chisholm, 1993, 1999). Their life history speed parallels the fast life histories of species that reproduce early in life but senesce relatively young. Those who form stable pair-bonds, characterized by mutual trust, loyalty, and interdependence, are on a "slow, steady, and long" route. Their purportedly slow strategies parallel the life histories of species that reproduce relatively late in life and senesce slowly. In some theoretical formulations, adoption of these trajectories is adaptively contingent on early environments, in ways that parallel how environmental factors impact the life history evolution of different species (Ellis, Figueredo, Brumbach, & Schlomer, 2009). Specifically, harsh or unpredictable environments--notably, those associated with a high or variable extrinsic mortality rate--select for earlier reproduction, faster reproduction, and higher offspring number. These fast reproductive strategies are purportedly facilitated by having multiple sexual partners and tenuous relationships without lasting and deep commitment towards partner or parenting. By contrast, safe and secure environments--those associated with a low extrinsic mortality rate--select for later reproduction, slower reproduction, and higher offspring quality, facilitated by the establishment of stable, secure, and committed long-term partnerships. In other formulations, genetic factors may predispose fast versus slow personality types, which also vary in mating strategy. In this critical analysis, we evaluate whether the mating strategies posited by life history models in evolutionary psychology map onto fundamental trade-offs involved in the fast-slow dimension. Female strategies can be expected to differ from male strategies, due to differences in minimum obligate parental investment and maximum reproductive potential. Also, theoretical considerations and empirical support for the fast-slow paradigm in humans have placed greater emphasis on developmental trajectories of life history strategies in girls. We thus focus primarily on female mating and reproductive strategies. We start with an overview of theories positing fast-slow mating strategies within evolutionary psychology and follow with a brief description of life history theory in evolutionary biology. We discuss interspecific variations in life history trajectories and consider the trade-offs involved. The fast-slow dimension most centrally reflects trade-offs between current versus future reproduction. Secondarily, it importantly reflects trade-offs between quantity versus quality of offspring. The mating versus parental effort dimension does not appear to be central. As well, the fast-slow dimension between species does not involve variations in pair-bonding and biparental care. Therefore, in the following sections, we question that variation in sociosexual orientations should be construed along a fast-slow life history dimension. We present empirical evidence in humans, showing that female mating/sexual strategies may not regulate reproductive trade-offs as commonly assumed. Relatedly, we question that women's willingness to form concurrent or short-term relationships with multiple sexual partners reflects a strategy of increasing offspring quantity at the expense of quality, and that women's interest in committed, stable relationships reflects a strategy of favoring offspring quality over offspring quantity. Naturally, variation in women's mating strategies exist and require explanation. Women's contingent willingness to have sex outside of exclusive pair-bonds likely had fitness benefits ancestrally. Revised theoretical perspectives incorporating cost-benefit analysis and consideration of unique aspects of human life history are needed to guide research on variations in human mating strategies. Section snippets Psychosexual acceleration theory Evolutionary psychological analysis of human life histories begins with Draper and Harpending's (1982) proposal that early-life experiences related to parental pair-bond status provide children with information crucial to understanding the world they will inhabit as adults. In particular, father absence sensitizes children to developing reproductive strategies consistent with low expectations for enduring pair-bonds and reliable paternal investment. Later, Belsky, Steinberg, and Draper (1991) Life history theory As noted above, conceptualizations of fast and slow life history variation in humans derive from interspecific analyses of life history parameters that have led to identification of a fast-slow life history dimension. The life histories and life cycles of organisms vary tremendously. The lifespan of mammals, for instance, ranges from less than a year (Muller's giant sunda rat) to over 200 years (bowhead whale; Schiffman & Breen, 2015). Each of these organisms must grow, develop, and Fast-slow continua of life histories With this brief overview of life history theory as background, we now return to why life histories vary tremendously across species. Trade-offs implicated in fast-slow continua We presented three fundamental trade-offs that organisms make with respect to energy allocation decisions. Which of these are implicated in the fast-slow distinction? That is, which of these trade-offs do fast species make differently from slow species? Human male provisioning, pair-bonding, and female reproduction We now evaluate evidence pertaining to claims for fast-slow mating strategies in humans. To do so, we must first consider the life histories of humans as a species. Any individual differences in life history strategies will vary around the species' mean, and adaptive variation should be subject to similar constraints and trade-offs important to the evolution of the species' (e.g., humans') life history. The structure of variation across species putatively arises from the constraints of Female multiple mating does not directly promote offspring quantity Although male provisioning effectively increases the rate at which women can produce offspring, one can still ask whether female unrestricted sociosexuality also functions to increase offspring quantity. In some cultural settings, men offer relatively little direct contributions to female partners and their offspring. Instead, maternal kin groups are crucial to subsidization of female reproduction (Mattison et al., 2014). Even when men offer dietary contributions, maternal kin play key roles in Associations between pubertal timing and women's mating proclivities As evidence that women's unrestricted sociosexual orientations reflect a fast life history strategy, scholars pointed to the pertinence of associations between girls' age at menarche and adolescent sexual behavior (e.g., Baams, Dubas, Overbeek, & Van Aken, 2015; Ellis, 2004). It is unsurprising that girls who reach reproductive maturity sooner have their sexual debut earlier and, as a result, have more sexual partners. A further assumption is made that these girls' precocious adolescent sexual Summary and future directions Life history formulations in evolutionary psychology have emphasized that fast-slow trajectories centrally include variations in mating effort versus parental effort (e.g., Belsky, Steinberg, Houts, & Halpern-Felsher, 2010; Chisholm, 1999; Cabeza de Baca & Ellis, 2017; Szepsenwol & Simpson, 2019). In our view, these models have not offered compelling arguments for how proclivities to form concurrent or short-term sexual partnerships, as opposed to forming committed pair-bonds in service of Declaration of Competing Interest None. Acknowledgements The first author was partially funded by a National Science Foundation graduate research fellowship. References (115) * J.-B. Andre et al. Does extrinsic mortality accelerate the pace of life? A bare-bones approach Evolution and Human Behavior (2020) * L. Baams et al. Transitions in body and behavior: A meta-analytic study on the relationship between pubertal development and adolescent sexual behavior Journal of Adolescent Health (2015) * N. Barbaro et al. Genetic confounding of the relationship between father absence and age at menarche Evolution and Human Behavior (2017) * T. Cabeza de Baca et al. 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