Premium
The sexual competition hypothesis for eating disorders
Author(s) -
Abed Riadh T.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
british journal of medical psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.102
H-Index - 62
eISSN - 2044-8341
pISSN - 0007-1129
DOI - 10.1111/j.2044-8341.1998.tb01007.x
Subject(s) - physical attractiveness , psychology , causation , attractiveness , eating disorders , proximate and ultimate causation , sexual attraction , competition (biology) , sexual selection , developmental psychology , explanatory power , social psychology , sexual behavior , clinical psychology , ecology , biology , evolutionary biology , epistemology , philosophy , psychoanalysis
A hypothesis is presented for eating disorders, based on Darwinian theory, that contends that these syndromes together with the phenomenon of the pursuit of thinness are manifestations of female intra‐sexual competition. It is suggested that eating disorders originate in the human female's psychological adaptation of concern about physical attractiveness which is an important component of female ‘mate attraction’ and ‘mate retention’ strategies. It is argued that present‐day environment of Western countries presents a range of conditions which have led to the overactivation or the disruption of the archaic female sexual strategy of maximizing ‘mate value’. The present hypothesis deals with the ultimate level of causation and is therefore compatible with a range of theories of proximate causation. Although the present hypothesis is not directly testable, it makes predictions that are testable and refutable. Finally it is suggested that the sexual competition hypothesis has more explanatory power than existing evolutionary theories of eating disorders.