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Intrasexual Rivalry Among Women

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Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science

Synonyms

Intrasexual competition; Intrasexual selection; Within-sex competition; Within-sex selection

Definition

Intrasexual rivalry is a driving force behind sexual selection. Women’s intrasexual rivalry surrounds competition over reproductive opportunities and resources.

Introduction

Humans are among the less than 5 % of mammals that engage in biparental care. Men who invest resources toward mates and offspring are compelled to be more selective in their mate choice. Because men vary widely in their investment and in their overall value as a mate, women can benefit their reproductive fitness by outcompeting intrasexual rivals for the best mates. Yet because women must also remain alive to rear offspring, adaptations for same-sex rivalry are characteristically different in many ways from male competitive adaptations. Women are less likely to rely on violent and physically risky strategies. More surreptitious forms of competition by means of verbal derogation and indirect aggression...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nipissing University, North Bay, Canada

    Steven Arnocky

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  1. Steven Arnocky
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Correspondence to Steven Arnocky .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Oakland Univ Dept of Psycholgy, Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Viviana Weekes-Shackelford

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

    Todd K. Shackelford

  3. Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Viviana A. Weekes-Shackelford

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Arnocky, S. (2016). Intrasexual Rivalry Among Women. In: Weekes-Shackelford, V., Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_1424-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_1424-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6

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