Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

westermarck effect

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.38 in modern English

Syllables
west-er-mar-ck- -ef-fect
IPA
36
Scrabble Score
17
Letters
7
Syllables
10
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A hypothetical psychological effect through which people who live in close domestic proximity during the first few years of their lives become desensitized to later sexual attraction. It is one explanation for the incest taboo.

Etymology

First hypothesized by Finnish anthropologist Edvard Westermarck (1862–1939) in his book The History of Human Marriage (1891).

Phrases

genetic sexual attraction

Frequently Paired Words

genetic sexual attraction

Questions

What does westermarck effect mean?
A hypothetical psychological effect through which people who live in close domestic proximity during the first few years of their lives become desensitized to later sexual attraction. It is one explanation for the incest taboo.
Where does westermarck effect come from?
First hypothesized by Finnish anthropologist Edvard Westermarck (1862–1939) in his book The History of Human Marriage (1891).

How to pronounce westermarck effect

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