Dissertation Research: Long-Term Mate Choice among the Shuar of Ecuador

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The choice of a long-term romantic partner is an issue of central importance in the lives of most people; and must have been an adaptive challenge to our evolutionary ancestors, for whom cooperative parenting was probably necessary to raise several offspring simultaneously. The ability to choose a partner with whom one is able to interact pleasurably and productively has far-reaching and critical consequences, yet we know little about the psychological mechanisms that underlie this vital decision-making process. This dissertation research by a cultural anthropologist combines ethnographic and experimental psychological methods in order to address some of the current gaps in our understanding of the factors that contribute to the selection of romantic partners. The study will be carried out among the Shuar, a lowland Ecuadorian population for whom the mating environment more closely matches that in which our mating psychology most likely evolved: in a subsistence pattern of hunting and horticulture, living in small communities of few families, and for whom the combined efforts of husband and wife are essential for successfully raising offspring. Ethnographic interviews will enrich our understanding of relationship processes and variables in a community very different from the usual study populations, and structured rating tasks will shed light on the variables that make up the elusive quality of "compatibility" between romantic partners. By systematically studying the processes through which people negotiate the beginning of a romantic relationship, it may be possible to enhance long-term outcomes in terms of relationship satisfaction and quality. At a period in our nation's history when romantic partnerships and the families that are built upon them are increasingly fragile and short-lived, new knowledge on this aspect of human nature will have important broader impacts for society at large as well as for policy makers.