PAIR BOND

In biology, a 'pair bond' is the strong affinity that develops in some species between the male and female in a breeding pair. Pair-bonding, from 1940, is a term frequently used in sociobiology and evolutionary psychology circles and is typically meant to imply either a life-long monogamous relationship or a stage of mating interaction in socially monogamous species. It is sometimes used in reference to human relationships.
Pair bonding is also sometimes seen between individuals of the same sex, as demonstrated by behavior similar to that of male-female pair-bonded individuals. ^[1]

Contents

Varieties

Examples

References

See also

External links

Varieties

According to evolutionary psychologists David Barash and Judith Lipton, from their 2001 book ''The Myth of Monogamy'', there are several varieties of pair bonds:

★ ''Short-term pair-bond:'' a transient mating or associations

★ ''Long-term pair-bond:'' bonded for a significant portion of the life cycle of that pair

★ ''Life-long pair-bond:'' mated for the life of that pair

★ ''Social pair-bond:'' attachments for territorial or social reasons, as in cuckold situations

★ ''Clandestine pair-bond:'' quick extra-pair copulations

★ ''Dynamic pair-bond'': e.g. gibbon mating systems being analogous to "swingers"

Examples

When discussing the social life of the bank swallow, Lipton and Barash state:

References

★ Barash, D. & Lipton, J. (2001). ''The Myth of Monogamy – Fidelity and Infidelity in Animals and People''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. ISBN 0-8050-7136-9
1. Central Park Zoo's gay penguins ignite debate, ''San Francisco Chronicle, February 7, 2004

See also

★ Human bonding

★ Monogamy

★ Affectional bond

★ Animal sexuality

External links

★ The neurobiology of pair bonding, from ''Nature''