Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 24, 2026

Assessing Differences in Sperm Competitive Ability in Drosophila
Published on: August 22, 2013
Sex-Linked Behavior: Evolution, Stability, and Variability
Cordelia Fine1, John Dupré2, Daphna Joel3
1History and Philosophy of Science Program, School of Historical and Philosophical Studies, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
Abstract:
Common understanding of human sex-linked behaviors is that proximal mechanisms of genetic and hormonal sex, ultimately shaped by the differential reproductive challenges of ancestral males and females, act on the brain to transfer sex-linked predispositions across generations. Here, we extend the debate on the role of nature and nurture in the development of traits in the lifetime of an individual, to their role in the cross-generation transfer of traits. Advances in evolutionary theory that posit the environment as a source of trans-generational stability, and new understanding of sex effects on the brain, suggest that the cross-generation stability of sex-linked patterns of behavior are sometimes better explained in terms of inherited socioenvironmental conditions, with biological sex fostering intrageneration variability.
Related Concept Videos
Criticisms of the Evolutionary Perspective
Evolutionary psychology provides one explanation for these findings, suggesting...
Sex-linked Disorders
The Y Chromosome Determines Maleness
Evolution
Around 300 million years ago, the two sex chromosomes diverged from two identical autosomal chromosomes. Over time, the Y chromosome has lost most of its genes, shrinking in size....
X-linked Traits
Evolutionary Psychology
Natural Selection and Mating Preferences
Females, due to their biological roles in conception, pregnancy, and nursing,...

