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runaway selection

a theory of female mate selection proposing that certain male traits with little or no survival advantage are nonetheless so sexually attractive to females that they choose mates with these traits and thereby ensure male offspring with the same attractive traits. The theory attempts to explain the rapid (runaway) evolution of disadvantageous male traits in some species (e.g., the long, colorful, but cumbersome tails of peacocks). Compare good genes hypothesis. [proposed by Ronald Aylmer Fisher]

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Psychology term of the day

October 9th 2024

Renpenning syndrome

Renpenning syndrome

a condition that is inherited as an X-linked trait (see sex-linked) and almost exclusively affects males. It is characterized by eye defects, microcephaly, psychomotor retardation, short stature, small testes, and intellectual disability. [Hans Renpenning (1929–2006), Canadian physician]