I’m op and did not mean to really relate any of this to my own life other than to acknowledge that I’ve seen successful marriages. I mentioned Christianity because it specifically calls out a monogamous relationship with a man and woman. Other religions and the constitution do not. So I was referring to the dogma not specific groups of people. |
We all have some capacity however like IQ I think people have different levels of ability. |
Hmmm...how many couples do you know OP? Hundreds? Thousands? Tens of thousands? You infer that you know so much about so many - have seen so many successful marriages but NONE OF THEM were polygamous relationships? Hmmm...I find that hard to believe. Unless of course you don't know as many people as you think you do. That I firmly believe. |
| I didn't say that at all. I'm not commenting on whether OTHER relationships are healthy. I'm simply asking the percentage of humans that are capable of monogamous relationships and can not just stay in them but also grow as a couple and individually. It's not an either or comparison. I'm simply trying to get data on one type of relationship. |
| Furthermore entire countries and the state of Utah I'm told allow polygamy so obviously there are healthy polygamous relationships. But I'm not asking about those. Can you start your own thread on those? That is an interesting question as well, but just different. |
Ridiculous query. Anybody is capable of anything. People are capable of being incredibly loving. People are capable of being incredibly evil. So 100% of humans are capable of monogamous relationships but not everybody is interested. |
But science doesn't seem to back that up. There was a reference to monogamous animals still having 30% of their population as non-monogamous. There are entire societies that allow polygamy. Why? Obviously it is something that is also desirable. IQ for instance predicts success in certain areas of life. It's very possible that certain behavioral and environmental factors affect the ability for people to have monogamous and successful monogamous relationships. |
| Obviously everyone is capable, but is definitely more desirable and easier for some people. |
Very obtuse, and incorrect. Medical and clinical physicians in a position to determine capability and capacity have proved otherwise. You can supplement disabilities to raise the bar and normalize, in some cases. |
Gimmie a link to the research paper stating that some people cannot be monogamous even if they want to because they don't have the capability. Gimmie a link to the scientific study stating that some people cannot be monogamous even if they want to because they don't have the capability. Take your time. |
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OP here. found one with a quick google search. My question actually has a theory name. Life History Theory.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6985779/ Life history theory (LHT) is a framework for understanding individual variation in sexual, reproductive, parental, familial, and social behaviors across the lifespan [reviewed in Figueredo et al. (2006); see also Del Giudice et al., 2015]. It predicts that organisms vary adaptively in how they allocate limited time and resources toward growth and reproduction. This variation can be meaningfully divided into two predominant strategies: a slow life history, whereby individuals delay sexual development and reproduction (i.e., invest more in relatively fewer offspring) and a fast life history, in which individuals experience earlier sexual maturity and produce a greater quantity of offspring (i.e., invest less in relatively more offspring). Each strategy prepares an organism to extract value from its environment according to the physical and social challenges that it experiences throughout development. In relatively more stable environments (e.g., high socioseconomic status, low mortality rate), delayed and restricted reproduction allows resources to be channeled into a few offspring likely to survive. In unpredictable environments, accelerated reproduction hedges the risk of investing too deeply into a single child when that investment is unlikely to pay off. |
| My question is how would you ever truly know if your spouse has been faithful throughout the course of your marriage? |
OH...and I almost forgot - please break down some of the idiosyncrasies surrounding people presumably incapable of monogamy (serial cheaters, high sex drive freaks, etc) How is it that so many of them who never stay faithful in relationships magically *SWITCH UP* when they find their special someone and are capable of sustaining a monogamous relationship for years and years despite their infamous history? What's up with that? |
The question is more about whether people have a proclivity for a productive monogamous relationship based on their brain and environment. So if Person A gets married and has no trauma from past relationships related to monogamy and has a brain that favors monogamy, their likelihood of being able to maintain a positive relationship is higher than others who don't have that same brain and environment. |