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Ecology of Pair-Bond Stability

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  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science

Synonyms

Environmental factors associated with marital harmony

Definition

The study of physical and social environmental factors influencing pair-bond stability and dissolution.

Introduction

Humans are a pair-bonding species, and this is reflected in our behavior and physiology (Quinlan 2008). While their form and duration varies, pair-bonds exist in all human societies—and there are very few, if any, exceptions to this rule. To understand the stability of pair-bonds, it is useful to look at the contexts under which they are unstable, to examine the factors that increase the probability of divorce or dissolution. These factors have been well studied by scholars in sociology, psychology, anthropology, medicine, and law. Despite this, the ecological factors driving pair-bond stability and divorce have received much less attention in humans as they have in studies of other pair-bonding organisms, such as birds.

This entry will provide a selective and brief account of (1) the behavioral...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia

    Geoff Kushnick

Authors
  1. Geoff Kushnick
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Correspondence to Geoff Kushnick .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Oakland Univ Dept of Psycholgy, Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Viviana Weekes-Shackelford

  2. Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Todd K. Shackelford

  3. Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Viviana A. Weekes-Shackelford

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© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

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Kushnick, G. (2016). Ecology of Pair-Bond Stability. In: Weekes-Shackelford, V., Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_111-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_111-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6

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