Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

handicap principle

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.54 in modern English

Syllables
hand-i-cap prin-ci-ple
IPA
31
Scrabble Score
17
Letters
5
Syllables
10
Unique Chars

Meaning

name

A hypothesis attempting to explain how evolution may lead to "honest" or reliable signalling between animals which have an obvious motivation to bluff or deceive each other. It suggests that costly signals must be reliable, costing the signaller something that could not be afforded by an individual with less of a particular trait.

Inflected Forms

the handicap principle (canonical)

Questions

What does handicap principle mean?
A hypothesis attempting to explain how evolution may lead to "honest" or reliable signalling between animals which have an obvious motivation to bluff or deceive each other. It suggests that costly signals must be reliable, costing the signaller something that could not be afforded by an individual with less of a particular trait.

How to pronounce handicap principle

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