2008•Ghent University Academic Bibliography (Ghent University)Requires access
Sex differences in nepotism
Katinka Quintelier
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Abstract
Certain data suggest that women are more nepotistic than men (e.g. Neyer and Lang, 2003; Faulkner and Schaller, 2007). This is consistent with evolutionary theory: (1) Hamilton’s rule predicts that helping behavior is preferentially directed to more closely related individuals, when the benefit is higher or when the cost of helping is lower. (2) The theory of sexual selection predicts a sex difference in the pay-off in helping kin since men incur a cost of lost mating opportunities and men also face paternity uncertainty. Therefore, women will show more willingness to help kin than men. However, research on the proximate mediators of nepotism does not always find consistent sex differences in helping behavior towards kin. I will present data on sex differences in nepotism and interpret these data in light of inclusive fitness theory, sexual selection and hypotheses about the mental mediators of nepotism.