Time: 12:00PM–1:00PM 

Location: Room 126, Halpern Centre

Darwin’s theory of sexual selection dominates evolutionary psychologist’s thinking on reproductive interactions. In this talk I will attempt to combine sexual selection theory with reciprocity theory to provide a more general treatment of mating interactions. I imagine a male and a female negotiating a price of a house - the amount the male (buyer) must pay to obtain sexual access (the house), with the female as the seller. The currency is parental investment - investment in the offspring of the current mating at the cost of investing in offspring from future matings. Although male gross cheating (ie. seduction and desertion) and female gross cheating (cuckoldry) can be selected, my emphasis is on co-operation with subtle cheating (continuing co-operation while attempting to give a little less than received). I hope that combining sexual selection and reciprocity theory provides a more complete model of human reproductive interactions.