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Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science pp 1–14Cite as

Vigilance over Kin’s Romantic Relationships

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Synonyms

Conflict of mating; Kin interest in mating relationships; Vigilance of close kin Versus distant kin

Definition

The interest that parents and other family members demonstrate for an individual’s romantic relationships.

Introduction

Individuals have a strong interest in the mate choices of other individuals with whom they are genetically related (Apostolou 2014b; Trivers 1974). As a consequence, mate choice usually involves four parties: a woman and her family and a man and his family. This entry will examine the influence exercised by parents on their children’s mate choices across different cultural settings.

In more detail, the entry will start by examining the reasons why parents have a strong interest in influencing their children’s mating decisions. Subsequently, it will examine how such interest is manifested in preindustrial societies that base their subsistence on hunting and gathering and on agriculture and animal husbandry. Furthermore, it will examine how parental...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Nicosia, Nicosia, Cyprus

    Menelaos Apostolou

Authors
  1. Menelaos Apostolou
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Menelaos Apostolou .

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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Apostolou, M. (2016). Vigilance over Kin’s Romantic Relationships. 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_1137-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_1137-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6

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