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Mate Poaching

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  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science

Synonyms

Mate-Stealing; Non-Independent Mate Choice

Definition

Mate poaching is engaging in premeditated behaviors to attract either short-term or long-term mates by luring them away from their already established relationship.

Introduction

Generally, mate poaching refers to behaviors whereby one attempts to romantically attract an individual away from an existing monogamous relationship. Mate poaching has been defined in two different ways in the literature, with the second definition serving as a clarification of the first definition. Schmitt and Buss (2001) originally defined mate poaching as the process of romantically attracting someone who is already in a relationship. However, Davies et al. (2007) pointed out that Schmitt and Buss’ (2001) definition allowed for an overestimation of the frequency of mate poaching, because it did not specify two important criteria that are necessary for mate poaching to have occurred. Davies et al. (2007) stipulated that the relationship must be...

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References

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Correspondence to Maryanne L. Fisher .

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Fisher, M.L., Wade, T.J. (2020). Mate Poaching. In: Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_1744-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_1744-1

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