#101 Todd Shackelford: Evolution and Family Conflict, Sperm Competition, Stepparenting
Dr. Todd Shackelford is a Distinguished Professor and Chair of Psychology at the University of Oakland, as well as the Co-Director of the Evolutionary Psychology Lab there. He is the editor in chief of the academic journals Evolutionary Psychology and Evolutionary Psychological Science. He is a fellow of the American Psychological Association and the Association for Psychological Science.
In this episode, we talk about family relationships and dynamics from an evolutionary perspective. We focus on conflict between couples, the role of jealousy and some mate retention tactics, including sperm competition for men. We address how monogamy might have evolved. Then, we move on to parent-offspring competition and sibling competition, and how the first might potentiate the second. We also talk a bit about religiosity, and how it might get transmitted between parents and their children. And we end up discussing the possible relationship between kin selection and reciprocal altruism.
Time Links:
Why is there conflict in families, and between couples?
The role of jealousy, and mate retention tactics
About infidelity in men and women
How monogamy might have evolved
Sperm competition
Parent-offspring conflict, and sibling conflict
The problems with stepparenting
Do parents transmit religiosity to their children?
Kin selection and reciprocal altruism
Follow Dr. Shackelford’s work!
Follow Dr. Shackelford’s work:
Website: https://www.toddkshackelford.com/
Edited books: https://tinyurl.com/y9c253df