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Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science pp 1–4Cite as

Opposition to Human Sperm Competition

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Definitions

Human sperm competition: The competition, inside a woman, between sperms from two or more different men for the “prize” of fertilizing any egg the woman might produce

Introduction

The potential evolutionary importance of sperm competition was first recognized for insects (Parker 1970), but within a little over a decade, the growing theoretical framework was being extended to a range of other animals, including humans (Smith 1984). Smith’s suggestion was seen as daring and thought-provoking, but triggered little opposition. However, when a series of papers by Baker and Bellis (see Baker and Bellis 1995) claimed evidence that sperm competition really had played a part in shaping human sexuality, resistance to the idea began to grow. Increasingly the view was expressed that even if sperm competition did occur occasionally in humans, its evolutionary significance was minimal. Some simply doubted that women behaved often enough in the way necessary for sperm competition to be a...

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References

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  • Baker, R. R., & Bellis, M. A. (1995). Human sperm competition: Copulation, masturbation and infidelity. London: Chapman and Hall.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Reader in Zoology (Retired), School of Biological Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK

    Robin Baker

Authors
  1. Robin Baker
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Correspondence to Robin Baker .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

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

    Todd K. Shackelford

  2. Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Viviana A. Weekes-Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. Department of Psychological Sciences, Kansas State University, 492 Bluemont Hall, Manhattan, KS, USA

    Gary L Brase

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© 2016 Springer International Publishing AG

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Baker, R. (2016). Opposition to Human Sperm Competition. In: Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_1958-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_1958-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6

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