The adaptive functions of jealousy

• Main Authors: YONG, Jose C., LI, Norman P.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2018
• Subjects: Jealousy; Evolutionary psychology; Adaptations; Function; Sex differences; Mating; Psychology; Social Psychology
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/2798; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/soss_research/article/4055/viewcontent/Yong_Li2018_Chapter_TheAdaptiveFunctionsOfJealousy.pdf
• Institution: Singapore Management University

Jealousy is a troublesome emotional experience for those afflicted by its onset. The grip of the “green-eyed monster” has been known to cause misery and produce some drastic coping behaviors ranging from paranoid stalking to violent aggression. But rather than a product of civilized culture gone wrong or a mental disorder as some thinkers have claimed jealousy to be, the current chapter proposes from an evolutionary perspective that jealousy plays an important role in our lives by serving a critical adaptive function for humans—the vigilance over and protection of relationships that are valuable to us.