Trivers-Willard Hypothesis
Version 1.0.0 · Updated 2026-07-31
CORE DEFINITION
When maternal condition is good (resources abundant), she tends to have sons (because strong males have extremely high reproductive returns); when maternal condition is poor, she tends to have daughters (because female reproductive returns are stable, at least able to produce a few offspring).
SCAFFOLDING EFFECT
Reduce cognitive load
Risk preference adjustment. It explains why, when resources are abundant, businesses and individuals tend to favor high-risk, high-reward investments (having sons); when resources are scarce, they tend to adopt conservative, guaranteed strategies (having daughters).
Anchor fast decisions
Parents prefer to invest in one sex when resources are abundant and the other sex when resources are scarce, to maximize their own fitness. The mechanism is the asymmetry between parental condition and offspring sex returns.
MINIMUM ACTION
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Source support: Explicit
- en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trivers%E2%80%93Willard_hypothesisverified
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