Abstract
In this paper, we propose a new approach to couple formation and dynamics that abridges findings from sexual strategies theory and attachment theory to develop a framework where the sexual and emotional aspects of mating are considered in their strategic interaction. Our approach presents several testable implications, some of which find interesting correspondences in the existing literature. Our main result is that, according to our approach, there are six typical dynamic interaction patterns that are more or less conducive to the formation of a stable couple, and that set out an interesting typology for the analysis of real (as well as fictional, as we will see in the second part of the paper) mating behaviors and dynamics.
Highlights
The process of reproductive mating is a clear example of a complex socio-biological phenomenon, of paramount evolutionary importance
In its application to romantic relationships, couple formation and dynamics, attachment theory (AT) postulates that the nature of the links that are created through this sort of interactions is the same as that regulating care-giving relationships, and reflects the same basic behavioral patterns: secure, anxious-ambivalent, and avoidant [58]
We have tried to provide a conceptual synthesis of part of the vast literature on mating by developing a framework in which the sexual and emotional components act in a dynamic, complementary way in determining mating behavior
Summary
The process of reproductive mating is a clear example of a complex socio-biological phenomenon, of paramount evolutionary importance. Men can diversify their sexual activity and compete to win women’s consensus to intercourse; in the second, a child-bearing woman must win the consensus of the fecundating male to form a stable couple and to divert attention from other potentially fertile women It is the relationship between the two situations that creates a very complex strategic interaction with subtle tradeoffs, and in particular there is one between men’s genetic fitness and their willingness to cooperate with the woman in offspring rearing [7]. The formation of a stable couple which gives its offspring good prospects of survival and reproductive success depends upon two different kinds of compatibility: a sexual and genetic one (that provides both mates with enough incentives to sexual intercourse), and an emotional and relational one (that allows the couple to self-regulate into a psychologically rewarding and mutually sustainable family life).
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