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Extra-Pair Copulation in Men

Extra-pair copulation in men has been explained as being partly due to parental investment. It is argued that copulation poses more of a risk of future investment for women, as they have the potential of becoming pregnant, requiring a large parental investment of nine months and then further rearing of the offspring. For men on the other hand, they can copulate and leave the woman, causing them to have a smaller risk parental investment in any possible offspring. It has been suggested that due to having such low parental investment, it is evolutionarily adaptive for men to copulate with as many women as possible as it will allow them to spread their genes with little risk of future investment. This may therefore lead to more extra-pair copulation in men as they can copulate with other women without the consequences of having rear new offspring.

Extra-Pair Copulation in Men

Extra-pair copulation in men has been explained as being partly due to parental investment[citation needed]. Research has suggested[citation needed]that copulation poses more of a risk to future investment for women, as they have the potential of becoming pregnant, and consequently requiring a large parental investment of the gestation period, and then further rearing of the offspring. Contrastingly, men are able to copulate and then abandon their mate as there is no risk of pregnancy for themselves, meaning there is a smaller risk of parental investment in any possible offspring.[7] It has been suggested that[citation needed], due to having such low parental investment, it is evolutionarily adaptive for men to copulate with as many women as possible as it will allow them to spread their genes with little risk of future investment. This may, therefore, lead to more extra-pair copulation in men, as they are able to copulate with other women without the consequences of having to rear new offspring.[8]

Various other factors can increase the probability of EPC in males. Firstly, males with low levels of fluctuating asymmetry are more likely to have EPCs. This may be due to the fact that signals of low fluctuating asymmetry suggest that the males have "good genes", making females for likely to copulate with them as it will enhance the genes of their offspring, even if they do not expect long term commitment from the male. Psychosocial stress early on in life, including behaviours such as physical violence and substance abuse, can predict EPC in later life. This has been explained as being due to Life History Theory, which argues that individuals who are reared in environments where resources are scarce and life expectancy is low are more likely to engage in reproductive behaviours earlier in life in order to ensure the proliferation of their genes. Individuals reared in these environments are said to have short life histories. With respect to Life History Theory, these finding have been explained by suggesting that males who experienced psychosocial stress early in life have short life histories, therefore making them more likely to try and reproduce as much as possible by engaging in ECP to avoid gene extinction.

However, men may also choose not to have EPCs for multiple reasons. One reason may be that a long-term, monogamous relationships can help form environments that will aid the successful rearing of offspring as the male is present to help raise their offspring, leading to an increased probability of the male's genes surviving to the next generation. A second reason that ECP may be avoided my a male is that it can be costly to them; their EPC may be discovered, leading to the dissolution of the long-term relationship with their partner and, in some cases, lead to their partner assaulting or even killing them. However, spousal homicide is more likely to be committed by males rather than females.