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Dating

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Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science

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Synonyms

Courtship

Definition

To be actively pursuing a romantic relationship with another individual.

Introduction

Courtship has been documented in many species (Moore 2002) and is commonly referred to as dating in humans and leads to mateship in all cultures (Greer and Buss 1994). Adolescence is the time period in which humans become increasingly interested in forming romantic relationships (Connolly et al. 1999). In fact, most North American adolescents have had at least one romantic relationship by late adolescence (Carver et al. 2003). By the 12th grade, boys spend approximately 5 h each week with girls, and girls spend an average of 10 h each week with boys, with each sex spending between 5 and 8 additional hours each week thinking about or talking with same-sex friends about the opposite sex when they are not together (Furman 2002). Connolly et al. (1999) found evidence for a series of transitions in adolescent social groups, changing from same-sex peer groups to mixed-sex peer...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nipissing University, North Bay, ON, Canada

    Megan MacKinnon

Authors
  1. Megan MacKinnon
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Correspondence to Megan MacKinnon .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester, MI, USA

    Todd K Shackelford

  2. Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester, MI, USA

    Viviana A Weekes-Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester, MI, USA

    Tara DeLecce

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MacKinnon, M. (2021). Dating. In: Shackelford, T.K., Weekes-Shackelford, V.A. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-19650-3_203

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