Chapter 14 Ecological Constraints on Mating Tactics

Mating tactics do not exist in a vacuum. Rather, they develop within specific environmental contexts. Such contextual influences can be conceptualized as a series of concentric circles around the individual, as in Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) ecological model of behavioral development, that are hierarchically nested within each other like a set of Russian dolls. Bronfenbrenner placed behavioral development within an ecological perspective by combining principles from sociology and developmental psychology. Within Bronfenbrenner’s theoretical framework, relationships between individuals and their environments are viewed as mutually shaping, in that they systematically interact with one another. He proposed four interlocking systems that purportedly shape early individual development: (1) the micro-system, which includes the individual’s interactions with family and community (e.g., home, neighborhood); (2) the meso-system, which includes interrelationships among the various social setting...