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Mate Retention

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  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science

Definition

Behavioral strategies designed to thwart a romantic partner’s infidelity or defection

Introduction

Humans have regularly and recurrently over evolutionary history formed long-term committed relationships as part of their sexual strategies, consequently facing the adaptive problem of successfully retaining a mate which they have selected and attracted. Thus, successful mate retention is a key human concern, and its importance is amplified to the degree that mate poachers attempt to lure one’s mate away, to the degree one is invested in and dependent on the relationship, and to the degree that one’s mate is tempted by the prospect of temporary infidelity or total defection.

Retaining a mate requires solving several adaptive problems, including: preventing a partner from leaving, diminishing a partner’s interest in other long-term or short-term relationships, and increasing a partner’s interest in the current relationship. As a consequence of the number and complexity of mate...

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References

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester, MI, USA

    Yael Sela

Authors
  1. Yael Sela
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Correspondence to Yael Sela .

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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Sela, Y. (2016). Mate Retention. 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_139-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_139-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6

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