Costly signaling and fidelity

Not all dating advice is created equal. These articles examine popular guidance from relationship coaches, influencers, and self-help authors—separating evolutionary insight from pseudoscience and marketing.

  • Costly signaling and fidelity: 1950s marriage advice framed the husband’s moral code as something the wife must continuously maintain.

    Costly signaling and fidelity

    In 1953, Shailer Upton Lawton framed a husband’s moral code as mate insurance. A wife who invested heavily created the conditions for him to want a firm moral code and develop it himself. Without that ongoing investment, Lawton argued, husbands became vulnerable to any of the psychological reasons that lead…

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About the author

Andrew King

Author of Costly Signals: The Evolution of Dating Advice. PhD researcher with 500+ dating guides from the 1800s to today. Why do we take romantic advice from strangers? I have answers.

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