Robert Trivers

Robert L. Trivers ( /ˈtrɪvərz/; born February 19, 1943) is an American evolutionary biologist and sociobiologist and Professor of Anthropology and Biological Sciences at Rutgers University. Trivers is most noted for proposing the theories of reciprocal altruism (1971), parental investment (1972), facultative sex ratio determination (1973), and parent-offspring conflict (1974). Other areas in which he has made influential contributions include an adaptive view of self-deception (first described in 1976) and intragenomic conflict. A 1961 graduate of Phillips Academy, Andover, Trivers went to Harvard University to study mathematics, but went on to study American history in preparation to become a lawyer. He received his bachelor's degree...