SENSUAL ATTACHMENT AND INCEST AVOIDANCE IN HUMAN EVOLUTION AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

The authors take issue with the critique of psychoanalysis and the depiction of human sexuality and incest avoidance in evolutionary psychology. Drawing on human neurobiology and evolutionary anthropology, they show that human beings have an evolved disposition toward pair-bonding and evolved capacities for self-regulation of sexual and aggressive impulses. The realization that these characteristics are not only important but also interrelated leads to a reassessment of the Oedipus complex, a new model of incest avoidance in humans, and a fresh perspective on the relation between reproductive behaviour and environmental conditions.