3. Monogamy – Is it natural?
◦ Studies have shown that Homo Sapiens are socially monogamous (meaning that we live together with one partner),
but we are sexually polygamous (meaning that we like to have multiple sexual partners).
◦ Homo Sapiens are sexually polygamous, since it will ensure the survival of the species by allowing a male individual
to have children with several different females, creating a larger genetic variety. This in turn will increase the chances
of more individuals developing favourable traits.
◦ Monogamy is a strategy which humans have developed over time in order to decrease the amount of conflicts over
partners, which is both time- and energy-consuming. Another theory that has emerged is that polygamy wouldn’t be
favourable in a larger society, since having multiple partners would leave a large portion of the population without a
mate, leading to conflicts and increased crime-rates. Lastly, a monogamous life style could also be better for the
development of a child, since the presence of both parents have a more positive impact on the child itself, but
could also make each parent’s work in raising the child easier.
◦ Men tend to be less monogamous than women, since having multiple partners would help the men spread their
genes.
◦ According to scientific investigations of skeletons of Neanderthals, it can be seen that Neanderthals were more
promiscuous than Homo Sapiens, since the ration between their index and ring fingers are smaller. This could
indicate that Neanderthals were exposed to larger amounts of the male hormone testosterone in the womb, causing
them to become more polygynous than Homo Sapiens.
4. Social life
◦ Our social life today differs a lot from that of the early humans.
◦ Thousands of years ago, Homo Sapiens were most of the time surrounded by their group in a small hunter-
gatherer community, where each individual played a role in the survival of the whole collective, cooperating with
different tasks during the day to satisfy their most basic needs.
◦ The early humans spent time socialising together as a flock while eating or resting together, but also as a way to
share information and stay safe from predators.
◦ Today we meet more people every day than our ancestors met during an entire lifetime, and due to the internet, we
have an even broader social network and can communicate with people all over the world.
◦ This change in our social life is mostly due to our change in lifestyle; with our industries, we establish contacts in
many different countries in order to make trade more efficient, our communities are larger than ever before due to
our long life spans and improved technology, and we are constantly bombarded with new impressions and
influences from different cultures.
◦ We may not be as tight-knit to a specific group of individuals today, but our social life has indeed become much
broader.
6. Biological attraction
◦ Humans selecting their partners is called sexual selection, a term established by Charles Darwin.
◦ Attraction is largely based upon looks, since certain traits signal health, which is important for producing the
strongest offspring.
◦ One of these traits is bilateral symmetry, which is when a person’s face and body look the same on both
sides. This symmetry signals that no parts of that individual’s body have been disfigured because of defects
or diseases.
◦ Humans give out chemical signals, called pheromones, which can give the partner a hint of an individual’s
genetic profile.
◦ People are attracted to individuals who are genetically similar to themselves, except for the gene responsible
for the immune system, since a variation in that particular gene will cause the offspring to have a stronger
immune system, which is beneficial for its survival.
7. Psychological attraction
◦ Attraction has been a fundamental part of our reptilian brains for millions of years.
◦ There are four different types of attraction: Logic, emotional, status, and health.
◦ Status and health attraction are present in the parts of the brain which are responsible for feeding and
reproduction.
◦ Emotional attraction is when we form a personal bond to an individual, in our mammalian brain, and fall in
love.
◦ The logical attraction is when our brains figure out the best mating strategies to ensure survival.
9. How does empathy favour a species?
◦ Compassion, especially among mothers, will help the parents to take care of their offspring. Having
compassion will make the parent strive to keep their young ones alive rather than, for example, eating them
to favour themselves. This will ensure the survival of the species.
◦ As the life expectancy among humans increased, the need for a society to take care of, not only the children,
but also of the elderly, so as the population grows, the need to take care of the members of society increases,
which would support the development of empathy.
◦ In a human society, it is also important for people to work together to ensure the survival of the community.
◦ However, it can be argued that the development of agriculture and the modern, industrial society has
decreased compassion in humans, since there is more focus on the individual rather than the collective, which
might raise the competitive spirit between individuals, since humans today have to deal with higher amounts
of pressure in order to reach a higher position instead of cooperating.
10. Sources
◦ http://www.livescience.com/49690-humans-naturally-monogamous-promiscuous.html
February 3, 2015
◦ http://scitechdaily.com/scientists-agree-that-classifying-humans-as-monogamous-or-polygamous-is-difficult/
October 15, 2012
◦ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/beverley-golden/is-monogamy-natural_b_867760.html
August 1, 2011 Beverley Golden – The Myth of Monogamy Authors: Psychologist and zoologist David P. Barash and
psychiatrist Judith Eve Lipton
◦ http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/11/101103081915.htm
November 5, 2010
◦ http://humanorigins.si.edu/human-characteristics/social
February 10, 2016
◦ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIzxFQFsKzg
◦ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KvTDsOpQkA
◦ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fH-azxAhU-I
