Understanding the Westermarck Effect and Its Impact on the Sexual Health of Children
Does morality have a biological basis?
As a parent and a healthcare practitioner, I have been fascinated by the intricate ways our early life experiences shape our future relationships biologically and psychologically. One particularly intriguing phenomenon is the Westermarck effect, named after Finnish anthropologist, sociologist, and philosopher, Edvard Westermarck.
His psychological effect explains why people who grow up together during early childhood often lack sexual attraction to one another. It is a concept that has profound implications for family dynamics, societal norms, and even our understanding of human evolution, as he explained as an anthropologist during his lectures at Helsinki University in 1920s.
Scientists believe that the Westermarck effect is the result of a process called reverse sexual imprinting. Essentially, when children grow up in close proximity, their brains are wired to view each other as family, reducing the likelihood of later sexual attraction.
