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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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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