Differential K-selection versus ecological determinants of race differences in sexual behavior

Abstract

Rushton and Bogaert's (1987, 1988) differential K selection interpretation of racial differences in sexual development, morphology, behavior, and fertility was contrasted with an ecological interpretation. The reliability of racial differences on some variables was questioned in light of methodological limitations in the original research, and cross-cultural evidence for intraracial variability in development and performance. Cross-species comparisons suggested problems with the r K selection construct, and indicated that sexuality was not inversely related to intelligence. Analyses of 1960–1985 U.S. fertility data revealed that differences in black versus white birth rates were strongly associated with differences in infant mortality rates. As black infant mortality rates declined, black birth rates also declined at rates parallel to that of whites. Such findings suggest that the sexual behavior of blacks and whites may be equally responsive to their ecologies, rather than a function of genetic differences in K-selection reproductive strategies.