The Oxford Handbook of Evolutionary Family Psychology

Relationships with family are important to our emotional health and can play a significant role in our social success. We need our families and yet frequently have a great difficulty understanding them. Hundreds of books have been published with the goal of improving understanding and relationships among family and relationships; few, if any, have done so with an evolutionary approach. The Oxford Handbook of Evolutionary Family Psychology focuses on the reasons underlying family behavior and how a greater understanding of these factors can help us to better understand our own family behaviors. Recognizing that a deeper understanding of human families can be found through an understanding of similar phenomena in other species, the volume demonstrates how an understanding of family ties can inform understanding of our relationships to non-kin.

Catherine Salmon is Associate Professor of Psychology at University of Redlands.
Todd K. Shackelford is Professor and Chair of Psychology at Oakland University.

Part One: Introduction
1. Towards an Evolutionary Psychology of the Family Catherine Salmon and Todd K. Shackelford
2. Evolutionary Anthropology of the Human Family Mark V. Flinn
3. The Evolutionary History of Pair-bonding and Parental Collaboration Bernard Chapais
4. The Evolution of Relationships in Non-human Families Douglas W. Mock
Part Two: Human Families
5. Parent-Child Relationships Marco Del Giudice and Jay Belsky
6. Parent-Offspring Conflict Catherine Salmon and James Malcolm
7. Step-parenting, Divorce, and Investment in Children Kermyt G. Anderson
8. Adoption: Forms, Functions, and Preferences Anthony A. Volk
9. An Evolutionary Perspective on Siblings: Rivals and Resources Thomas V. Pollet and Ashley D. Hoben
10. Trials and Tribulations of Childhood: An Evolutionary Perspective Virginia Periss and David F. Bjorklund
11. Family Violence: How Paternity Uncertainty Raises the Stakes Aaron T. Goetz and Gorge A. Romero
12. Grandparents and Extended Kin Harald A. Euler
Part Three: Animal Families
13. Kin Recognition Peter Hepper
14. Kin Selection and Cooperative Courtship in Birds Alan H. Krakauer and Emily H. DuVal
15. Primate Kin Preferences: Explaining Diversity Carol M. Berman
Part Four: Fictive Families
16. Pet Keeping: A Case Study in Maladaptive Behavior John Archer
17. Pets in the Family: An Evolutionary Perspective James A. Serpell and Elizabeth S. Paul
18. Fictive Kinship and Induced Altruism Hector N. Qirko
19. Passion and Compassion: Psychology of Kin Relations within and beyond the Family Justin H. Park and Joshua M. Ackerman
20. Cooperation and Conflict in the Light of Kin Recognition Systems Daniel Brian Krupp, Lisa M. DeBruine, and Benedict C. Jones
Part Five: Conclusions and Future Directions
21. Reflections on the Human Family David C. Geary, Drew H. Bailey, and Jonathan Oxford
22. Between Conflict and Cooperation: New Horizons in the Evolutionary Science of the Human Family Gregory Gorelik, Todd K. Shackelford, and Catherine Salmon