Maintaining a long-term partner while engaging in "extra-pair" mating or "mate poaching" (attracting someone already in a relationship). Gender-Specific Preferences
Buss argues that human mating is not driven by romantic whims or arbitrary cultural norms, but by . These mechanisms are adaptive solutions to the unique reproductive challenges faced by our ancestors over millions of years. Key Mating Strategies The Evolution Of Desire: Strategies Of Human Ma...
High-commitment pair-bonding, which is rare among mammals but central to human survival. Core Argument Casual sexual encounters, used more frequently
by David M. Buss (published in 1994, revised in 2016) is a seminal work in evolutionary psychology that provides a unified theory of human mating behavior based on a massive study of over 10,000 people across 37 cultures. Core Argument Core Argument Casual sexual encounters
Casual sexual encounters, used more frequently by men but strategically by women as well.
The book outlines a "menu" of strategies humans use depending on their goals and circumstances: