Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Mosley, James L.
• Stan, Eileen A.

Titel

Human Sexual Dimorphism: Its Cost and Benefit

Ist Teil von

• Advances in Child Development and Behavior, 1984, Vol.18, p.147-185

Ort / Verlag

United States: Elsevier Science & Technology

Erscheinungsjahr

1984

Link zum Volltext

Quelle

MEDLINE

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• This chapter examines the behavioral impact of the biological systems related to human sexual dimorphism and examines the cost/benefit approach to human sexual dimorphism. It focuses on the contributions of early protein synthesis, male histoincompatibility, X chromosome inactivation, gonadal organogenesis, masculinization of the hypothalamo-pituitary axis, and a more slowly paced process of physical maturation to outcomes suggestive of a greater survival liability for the male of the species. The concept of male vulnerability has its genesis in the Darwinian view of natural selection. The contemporary interpretation of Darwin's view is that males are more variable than females and that this variability leads to more male geniuses and more male mental defectives. Such variability leads not only to a greater number of male mental defectives but also to a higher mortality rate among males.