Mate Selection — A Selection for a Handicap.

Zahavi, A. (1975). Mate Selection — A Selection for a Handicap. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 53(1), 205-214.

Type

Journal article

Intellectual base

Primary research

Year

1975

DOI

10.1016/0022-5193(75)90111-3

Link

https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-5193(75)90111-3

Cited from

economics_finance

Cited by

4 citations across 4 artifacts.

Primes

• Goodhart's Law
  • And in evolutionary and ecological selection on proxies, indicator traits inflate past the construct in runaway sexual selection and parasitic signal manipulation.
• Information Asymmetry
  • A peacock's tail, a gazelle's stotting, or aposematic coloration all transmit (or attempt to transmit) a privately held fact — mate quality, vigor, toxicity — across the gap to a receiver who cannot directly verify it.
• Signal Devaluation
  • Costly-signalling constraints in biology, supply caps in some professional examinations, and quota-based grade reform are the respective realisations of these escape routes.
• Signaling
  • argues that costly displays — peacock tails, stag antlers, bird song complexity — function as honest signals of genetic fitness because only fit individuals can afford the cost.

Verification

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