In the case of the Israeli kibbutzim (collective farms), children were reared somewhat communally in peer groups - groups based on age, not biological relation. A study of the marriage patterns of these children later in life revealed that out of the nearly 3,000 marriages that occurred across the kibbutz system, only fourteen were between children from the same peer group. Of those fourteen, none had been reared together during the first six years of life. This result provides evidence not only that the Westermarck effect is demonstrable, but that it operates during the critical period from birth to the age of six (Shepher, 1983).
When close proximity during this critical period does not occur - for example, where a brother and sister are brought up separately, never meeting one another - they may find one another highly sexually attractive when they meet as adults. This phenomenon is known as genetic sexual attraction. This observation is consistent with the theory that the Westermarck effect evolved because it suppressed inbreeding. This attraction may also be seen with cousin couples.
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