According to a study, a man’s fidelity depends on the availability of women.
“When women are rare, men respond by desiring long-term committed relationships with a single partner,” University of Utah anthropologist and study lead author Ryan Schacht told AFP.
“When women are hard to find, the best strategy is to find one and stick with her.”
According to the study, men would settle down than chase skirts when the competition for women is high due to women being few to avoid losing out totally.
The research is based on a 16-month study of members of the 13,000-strong Makushi tribal community of hunters, fishermen and farmers in southwest Guyana.
“Men, when women were abundant, were the cads we often expect them to be. They had many sexual partners, and yet still wanted more!” continues Schacht.
But this changed in areas where men were in the majority.
“As the sex ratio became more male-biased, men’s interest in short-term relationships waned,” said Schacht.
The findings, published in the journal Royal Society Open Science.
Phil