Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science pp 1–3Cite as

Helping and Reproductive Value of the Recipient

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:

  • 55 Accesses

Synonyms

Altruism; Indirect benefits of helping; Kin altruism; Reproductive limitations; Reproductive value; Residual reproductive value

Definition

Considerable evidence support the basic assumption of Hamilton’s inclusive fitness theory showing that individuals behave altruistically towards kin (see Burnstein 2005. for a review). However, there are several factors, which affect the probability of behaving altruistically toward kin, like reproductive value of the recipient. The “evolutionary logic” behind this bias corresponds with the variability of an individual’s potential to reproduce offspring. The reproductive value of an individual is determined through its current and future reproduction, i.e., its expected summarized contribution to the next generation of the population. Future reproduction (or residual reproductive value) represents the investment of the individual of its own growth and survivorship. It is suggested that higher investment in current reproduction reduces...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

References

  • Bereczkei, T. (2001). Maternal trade-off in treating high-risk children. Evolution and Human Behavior, 22, 197–212.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Burnstein, E. (2005). Altruism and genetic relatedness. In D. M. Buss (Ed.), The handbook of evolutionary psychology (pp. 528–551). Hoboken: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burnstein, E., Crandall, C., & Kitayama, S. (1994). Some neo-Darwinian decision rules for altruism: Weighting cues for inclusive fitness as a function of the biological importance of the decision. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67, 773–789.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fisher, R. A. (1930). The genetical theory of natural selection. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Fitzgerald, C. J., & Colarelli, S. M. (2009). Altruism and reproductive limitations. Evolutionary Psychology, 7(2), 234–252.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nettle, D. (2002). Height and reproductive success in a cohort of British men. Human Nature, 13, 473–491.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zahavi, A., & Zahavi, A. (1997). The handicap principle: A missing part of Darwin’s puzzle. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Pecs, Pecs, Hungary

    Bela Birkas

Authors
  1. Bela Birkas
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Bela Birkas .

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

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

About this entry

Cite this entry

Birkas, B. (2016). Helping and Reproductive Value of the Recipient. 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_3752-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_3752-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation