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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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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