Whether monogamy is an innate human behavior remains contested, as researchers debate the extent to which human pair-bonding is driven by evolutionary neurobiology versus cultural flexibility and environmental adaptation.
The retrieved papers present two competing perspectives. Some evolutionary and neurobiological studies (e.g., [0], [9]) emphasize deep-seated evolutionary roots and neurochemical pathways for pair bonding shared with other mammals. However, anthropological, comparative primatological, and biosocial works (e.g., [2], [5], [6], [7]) emphasize immense cross-cultural variability, environmental contingency, and the heavy influence of cultural institutions and marriage customs on human mating systems. This tension between biological predispositions and cultural/behavioral plasticity means the claim is best classified as contested.