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Related Concept Videos

Competition02:34

Competition

25.3K
When organisms require the same limited resources within an environment, they may have to compete for them. Competition is a net-negative interaction. Even if two competing individuals or populations do not interact directly, the overall fitness of both competitors is lowered as a result of not having full access to the limited resource.
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Parental Care00:55

Parental Care

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Many animals exhibit parental care behavior, including feeding, grooming, and protecting young offspring. Parental care is universal in mammals and birds, which often have young that are born relatively helpless. Several species of insects and fish, as well as some amphibians, also care for their young.
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Natural Selection and Mating Preferences01:06

Natural Selection and Mating Preferences

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The principle of natural selection posits that organisms better adapted to their environment are more likely to survive and reproduce. This principle is closely intertwined with mating preferences, a key aspect of sexual selection, which evolutionary psychologists believe is driven by instincts to propagate one's genes. Such instincts significantly influence mating behaviors and preferences between genders.
Females, due to their biological roles in conception, pregnancy, and nursing,...
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Nondisjunction01:21

Nondisjunction

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Nondisjunction is the failure of homologous chromosomes or sister chromatids to separate correctly and move to the opposite poles of the cells. This produces daughter cells with abnormal chromosome numbers.  Nondisjunction is common during anaphase I or anaphase II of meiosis.  Mutations in synaptonemal complex proteins that attach homologous chromosomes increase the chances of nondisjunction in anaphase I of meiosis I. In contrast, mutations in topoisomerases and condensins that hold...
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Inclusive Fitness00:57

Inclusive Fitness

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Most altruistic behavior—in which one animal helps another at a cost to themselves—occurs between relatives. Scientists think these altruistic behaviors evolved because they increase the inclusive fitness of the animal providing help.
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Mate Choice01:20

Mate Choice

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Mate choice—the decision about whom to mate with—is a type of natural selection, since animals must reproduce to pass down their genes. Mate choice is also called intersexual selection because the behavior occurs between the sexes.
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Mar 12, 2026

A Common Marmoset Model of Mother-Infant Intervention for Breastfeeding Disorders in the Presence of Paternal Inhibition and Maternal Neglect
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A Common Marmoset Model of Mother-Infant Intervention for Breastfeeding Disorders in the Presence of Paternal Inhibition and Maternal Neglect

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Maternal Competition in Women.

Catherine Linney1, Laurel Korologou-Linden1, Anne Campbell2

  • 1Psychology Department, Durham University, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK.

Human Nature (Hawthorne, N.Y.)
|November 1, 2016
PubMed
Summary

Maternal competition, a new area of research, shows mothers compete through subtle bragging. This behavior, often leading to social exclusion, is linked to a mother's investment and single-parent status.

Keywords:
Maternal competitionMothersReproductive investmentReproductive successWomen

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Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary psychology
  • Sociology
  • Behavioral science

Background:

  • Maternal competition, a form of female-female competition, is underexplored.
  • Mothers' significant investment in offspring suggests potential for competition beyond mate selection.
  • Evolutionary theory and sociology predict maternal characteristics influence competitive behaviors.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate maternal competition between women.
  • To develop and validate a measure of maternal competitive behavior.
  • To identify predictors and consequences of maternal competitiveness.

Main Methods:

  • Survey research with two samples of primary school mothers (N=210, N=169).
  • Development of a novel Maternal Competitive Behavior Scale (MCQ) with covert and face-to-face subscales.
  • Confirmatory factor analysis and mediation analysis to examine predictors and relationships.

Main Results:

  • Maternal investment, single motherhood, fewer children, and older child age predicted competitiveness.
  • Single motherhood's effect was partially mediated by maternal investment.
  • Competitive distress correlated with perceived friend's distress, suggesting dyadic effects.
  • Nonspecific bragging was a common irritant, leading to social exclusion rather than direct hostility.

Conclusions:

  • Maternal competitiveness is influenced by investment, single motherhood, and child characteristics.
  • Social interdependence among mothers may foster egalitarianism, making overt competitiveness disruptive.
  • Competitive mothers face social repercussions, including conversational shunning and friendship rejection.