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Amotz Zahavi

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  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science

Synonyms

The handicap principle

Definition

Exploring costly traits as signals.

Introduction

Amotz Zahavi was a pioneer in evolutionary theory, who proposed the famous handicap principle. In 2016, Zahavi was awarded a lifetime achievement award by Tel Aviv University for his work and contribution to the department of Zoology. Prior to this, he was awarded the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel prize by the Israeli Ministry of Education for his contribution to the environment. He was also awarded the Fryssen Foundation’s International Prize for his work on social communication (Amotz Zahavi n.d.).

Prior to work conducted by Amotz Zahavi, costly behaviors (those which appear to be fitness reducing and costly to perform) appeared to be counterintuitive to Darwinian selection. Zahavi, by proposing the handicap principle, sought to further explain the adaptive benefits of costly behaviors and why they are central to both natural and sexual selection. Zahavi revolutionized the way...

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References

  • Bhogal, M. S., Galbraith, N., & Manktelow, K. (2016). Sexual selection and the evolution of altruism: Males are more altruistic towards attractive females. Letters on Evolutionary Behavioral Science, 7(1), 10–13.

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  • Bhogal, M. S., Galbraith, N., & Manktelow, K. (in press). A research note on the influence of relationship type and sex on preferences for altruistic and cooperative mates. Psychological Reports.

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  • Farrelly, D., Lazarus, J., & Roberts, G. (2007). Altruists attract. Evolutionary Psychology, 5(2), 313–329.

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  • Miller, G. F. (2007). Sexual selection for moral virtues. Quarterly Review of Biology, 82, 97–125.

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  • Miller, G. F. (2009). Spent: Sex, evolution and the secrets of consumerism. London: William Hienemann.

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  • Zahavi, A. (1975). Mate selection-a selection for a handicap. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 53, 205–214.

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  • Zahavi, A. (1995). Altruism as a handicap-the limitations of kin selection and reciprocity. Journal of Avian Biology, 26, 1–3.

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  • Zahavi, A. (2003). Indirect selection and individual selection in sociobiology: My personal views on theories of social behavior. Animal Behavior, 65, 859–863.

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  • Zahavi, A. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved 24 Sept 2018, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amotz_Zahavi

  • Zahavi, A., & Zahavi, A. (1997). The handicap principle: A missing part of Darwin’s puzzle. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Institute of Human Sciences, Faculty of Education, Health and Wellbeing, University of Wolverhampton, Wolverhampton, UK

    Manpal Singh Bhogal

Authors
  1. Manpal Singh Bhogal
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Manpal Singh Bhogal .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

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

    Todd K. Shackelford

  2. Rochester, MI, USA

    Viviana A. Weekes-Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA

    Kevin Kniffin

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Bhogal, M.S. (2019). Amotz Zahavi. In: Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_3486-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_3486-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6

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