Monogamy with a purpose

• Authors: Frans B M De Waal, Emory University; Sergey Gavrilets, University of Tennessee
• Journal Title: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
• Volume: Volume 110, Number 38
• Publisher: National Academy of Sciences | 2013-09-17, Pages 15167-15168
• Type of Work: Article | Post-print: After Peer Review
• Publisher DOI: http://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1315839110
• Subjects: Psychology, Behavioral

Abstract

Humans are fascinated by animal monogamy. In the 1960s, Konrad Lorenz idealized the lifelong pair-bonds of geese until one of his students pointed out some infidelities and suggested that geese may be “only human”, and Desmond Morris speculated about the advantages of the pair-bond for early humans. Even though many theories have since been proposed, human monogamous inclinations have also been questioned, including the pervasive idea that it all boils down to provisioning by fathers.