Inbreeding, Incest, and the Incest Taboo PDF Download

Author: Arthur P. Wolf
Publisher: Stanford University Press
ISBN: 0804751412
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 240

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Book Description
Why is incest widely prohibited? Why does the scope of the prohibition vary from society to society? Why does incest occur despite the prohibition? What are the consequences? To reexamine these questions, this book brings together contributions from the fields of genetics, behavioral biology, primatology, biological and social anthropology, philosophy, and psychiatry.

Author: Arthur P. Wolf
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780804724265
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 561

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Book Description
In 1891, the anthropologist Edward Westermarck proposed that early childhood association inhibits sexual attraction and that this aversion was manifested in custom and law as the basis of the universal incest taboo. Then, in 1910, in the essays later published as Totem and Taboo, Sigmund Freud challenged the "Westermarck hypothesis" on the ground that "the earliest sexual excitations of youthful human beings are invariably of an incestuous character." The incest taboo only existed, Freud argued, because of this natural propensity. Freud's challenge carried the day and became the standard view throughout the social and biological sciences. Consequently, the question was: why do all societies repress this natural inclination? Biologists argued that the incest taboo protected us from dangers of inbreeding; sociologists argued that it was necessary to prevent sexual rivalry that would destroy the family; and anthropologists saw the real purpose of the taboo as forcing families to exchange women in marriage. The book uses a wide range of research - from studies of nonhuman primates to reports of incestuous child abuse - from African divorce practices to animal behavior - to demonstrate that Westermarck was right and Freud wrong. It shows that there is a critical period in human development - approximately the first thirty months of life - during which association permanently inhibits sexual attraction. It concludes that the incest taboo is unnecessary and cannot be explained in functional terms, and that encouraging early association between father and daughter is probably the best way of preventing sexual abuse.

Author: Sarah Goode
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 113525804X
Category : Family & Relationships
Languages : en
Pages : 234

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Book Description
The groundbreaking book explores the subject of paedophilia, seeking a new understanding of it in order to better prevent child sexual abuse and making use of case studies and primary interview-data.

Author: Anne Bolin
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000360393
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 570

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Book Description
This groundbreaking second edition of Human Sexuality continues its broad and interdisciplinary goal of providing readers with a comprehensive overview on sexuality as a core part of our individual identities and social lives. Edited by anthropological experts on the subject, this unique textbook integrates evolutionary and cultural aspects to provide a fully interdisciplinary approach to human sexuality that is rare in this area of scholarship. Fully updated throughout in line with developments in the field, this second edition includes fresh material exploring new sexual identities, sexual violence and consent, Internet pornography, conversion therapy, polyamory, and much more. In addition to providing a rich array of photographs, illustrations, tables, and a glossary of terms, this textbook explores: pregnancy and childbirth as a bio-cultural experience life-course issues related to gender identity, sexual orientations, behaviors, and lifestyles socioeconomic, political, historical, and ecological influences on sexual behavior early childhood sexuality, puberty, and adolescence birth control, fertility, conception, and sexual differentiation HIV infection, AIDS, AIDS globalization, and sex work. Utilizing viewpoints across cultural and national boundaries and taking into account the evolution of human anatomy, sexual behavior, attitudes, and beliefs across the globe, Human Sexuality, Second Edition, remains an essential text for educators and students who wish to understand human sexuality in all of its richness and complexity.

Author: Irenaus Eibl-Eibesfeldt
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351514458
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 865

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Book Description
With the discovery of conditioned reflexes by I. P. Pavlov, the possibilities for experimenting, following the example set by the classical, exact sciences, were made available to the behavioral sciences. Many psychologists hoped that the component parts of behavior had also been found from which the entire, multifaceted cosmos of behavior could then be constructed. An experimentally oriented psychology subsequently developed including the influential school of behaviorism.This first text on human ethology presents itself as a unified work, even though not every area could be treated with equal depth. For example, a branch of ethology has developed in the past decade which places particular emphasis on ecology and population genetics. This field, known as sociobiology, has enriched discussion beyond the boundaries of behavioral biology through its stimulating, and often provocative, theses.After vigorous debates between behaviorists, anthropologists, and sociologists, we have entered a period of exchange of thoughts and a mutual approach, which in many instances has led to cooperative projects of researchers from different disciplines. This work offers a biological point of view for discussion and includes data from the author's cross-cultural work and research from the staff of his institute. It confirms, above all else, the astonishing unity of mankind and paints a basically positive picture of how we are moved by the same passions, jealousies, friendliness, and active curiosity.The need to understand ourselves has never been as great as it is today. An ideologically torn humanity struggles for its survival. Our species, does not know how it should compensate its workers, and it experiments with various economic systems, constitutions, and forms of government. It struggles for freedom and stumbles into newer conflicts. Population growth is apparently completely out of hand, and at the same time many resources are being depleted. We must consider our existence rati

Author: Catherine A. Salmon
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0195320514
Category : Family & Relationships
Languages : en
Pages : 377

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Book Description
Kinship ties-the close relationships found within the family-have been a central focus of evolutionary biological analyses of social behavior ever since biologist William Hamilton extended the concept of Darwinian fitness to include an individual's actions benefiting not only his own offspring, but also collateral kin. Evolutionary biologists consider organisms not only reproductive strategists, but also nepotistic strategists. If a person's genes are just as likely to be reproduced in her sister as in her daughter, then we should expect the evolution of sororal investment in the same way as one expects maternal investment. This concept has revolutionized biologists' understanding of social interaction and developmental psychologists' understanding of the family. However, kinship ties have largely been ignored in other areas of psychology, particularly social psychology.Family Relationships brings together leading theorists and researchers from evolutionary psychology and related disciplines to illustrate the ways in which an evolutionary perspective can inform our study and understanding of family relationships. The contributors argue that family psychology is relationship specific: the relationship between mother and daughter is different from that between father and daughter or that between brother and sister or sister and sister. In other words, humans have evolved specialized mechanisms for processing information and motivating behavior that deal with the distinct demands of being a mate, father, mother, sibling, child, or grandparent. Such an evolutionary perspective on family dynamics provides a unique insight into human behavior.This volume will be an indispensable resource for psychologists, sociologists, and anthropologists, as well scholars of family, marriage, and animal behavior.

Author: MOST
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 1483296660
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 230

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Book Description
Incest: A Biosocial View

Author: Ken Yasukawa
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN:
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 1165

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Book Description
Discover why animals do what they do, based on their genes, physiologies, cultures, traditions, survival and mating advantages, and evolutionary histories—and find out how studying behavior in the animal world helps us understand human behavior. The three volumes of Animal Behavior: How and Why Animals Do the Things They Do cover the breadth of the field, addressing causation, development, function, and evolution in a wide range of animals, from invertebrates to humans. Inspired by Nobel laureate Nikolaas Tinbergen's work, the first two volumes follow Tinbergen's four classic questions of animal behavior, while the third volume supplies integrated examples of Tinbergen's investigative process applied in specific cases. Written in an engaging, accessible manner ideal for college students as well as general audiences, this evidence-based collection provides a fascinating tour of animal behaviorists' findings, such as how animal communication can be truthful or deceitful, the deadly serious business behind clashes in the "battle of the sexes," and how documentation of animal behavior can lead to a deeper understanding of human behavior. Each chapter provides both historical background and information about current developments in animal behavior knowledge.

Author: Todd K. Shackelford
Publisher: SAGE
ISBN: 152973746X
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 767

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Book Description
Evolutionary psychology is an important and rapidly expanding area in the life, social, and behavioral sciences, and this Handbook represents the most comprehensive and up-to-date reference text in the field today. Chapters in this Handbook address theory and research that integrates evolutionary psychology with other life, social, and behavioral sciences, as well as with the humanities. The SAGE Handbook of Evolutionary Psychology is an essential resource for researchers, graduate students, and advanced undergraduate students in all areas of psychology, and in related disciplines across the life, social, and behavioral sciences. Part 1: Integration within Psychology Part 2: Integration with other Life, Social, and Behavioral Sciences Part 3: Integration with the Humanities

Author: John L. Hoogland
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226351181
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 571

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Book Description
In The Black-Tailed Prairie Dog, John L. Hoogland draws on sixteen years of research at Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota, in the United States to provide this account of prairie dog social behavior. Through comparisons with more than 300 other animal species, he offers new insights into basic theory in behavioral ecology and sociobiology. Hoogland documents interactions within and among families of prairie dogs to examine the advantages and disadvantages of coloniality. By addressing such topics as male and female reproductive success, inbreeding, kin recognition, and infanticide, Hoogland offers a broad view of conflict and cooperation. Among his surprising findings is that prairie dog females sometimes suckle, and at other times kill, the offspring of close kin. Enhanced by more than 100 photographs, this book illuminates the social organization of a burrowing mammal and raises fundamental questions about current theory. As the most detailed long-term study of any social rodent, The Black-Tailed Prairie Dog will interest not only mammalogists and other vertebrate biologists, but also students of behavioral and evolutionary ecology.