“Helpers-in-the-nest” An Evolutionary Role For Same-Sex Attraction? Association For Psychological Science

February 4th 2010

From an evolutionary perspective, same sex attraction doesn't make much sense. But a pair of psychologists writing in Psychological Science say the "kin selection hypothesis" may explain why the trait has persisted for eons without conferring any discernible reproductive advantage.

The new study suggests that homosexuality may convey an indirect benefit by enhancing the survival prospects of close relatives. Specifically, homosexual men might enhance their own genetic prospects by being "helpers in the nest." By acting altruistically toward nieces and nephews, homosexual men would perpetuate the family genes, including some of their own. Photo
----- Read more - An Evolutionary Role For Same-Sex Attraction? – Scientific Blogging

January 14, 2010 

An Adaptive Cognitive Dissociation Between Willingness to Help Kin and Nonkin in Samoan Fa’afafine – by Paul L. Vasey and Doug P. VanderLaan - University of Lethbridge

Paul L. Vasey, Department of Psychology, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, Alberta, T1K 3M4, Canada E-mail: paul.vasey@uleth.ca

Androphilia refers to sexual attraction and arousal to adult males, whereas gynephilia refers to sexual attraction and arousal to adult females. Previous research has demonstrated that Samoan male androphiles (known locally as fa’afafine) exhibit significantly higher altruistic tendencies toward nieces and nephews than do Samoan women and gynephilic men. The present study examined whether adaptive design features characterize the psychological mechanisms underlying fa’afafine’s elevated avuncular tendencies. The association between altruistic tendencies toward nieces and nephews and altruistic tendencies toward nonkin children was significantly weaker among fa’afafine than among Samoan women and gynephilic men. We argue that this cognitive dissociation would allow fa’afafine to allocate resources to nieces and nephews in a more economical, efficient, reliable, and precise manner. These findings are consistent with the kin selection hypothesis, which suggests that androphilic males have been selected over evolutionary time to act as “helpers-in-the-nest,” caring for nieces and nephews and thereby increasing their own indirect fitness.

Read more (pdf) - 'An Adaptive Cognitive Dissociation Between Willingness to Help Kin and Nonkin in Samoan Fa'afafine', Psychological Science, 2010; doi:10.1177/0956797609359623

Psychological Science OnlineFirst, published on January 14, 2010