Despite their best intentions and vows of life long love, half of all married couples end up divorcing. (p.1)
Female preferences are one key to establishing competition among the males. [...] Female preferences, in short, determine many of the ground rules of the male contests. (p.9)
Divorce is a human universal that occurs in all known cultures. Our separation strategies involve a variety of psychological mechanisms. We have ways to assess whether the costs inflicted by a mate outweigh the benefits provided. We scrutinize other potential partners and evaluate whether they might offer more than our current mate. We gauge the likelihood of successfully attracting other desirable partners. We calculate the potential damage that might be caused to ourselves, our children, and our kin by the dissolution of the relationship. And we combine all this information into a decision to stay or leave. (p.11-12)
( David M. Buss - The Evolution of Desire )
