5. parenting kinship

Question 1

kibbutz social experiment

Answer 1

lived in communes
men and women occupied the same roles

failed
parents prefer to raise their own children

Question 2

why mothers provide more parental care

1. paternity uncertainty hypothesis

Answer 2

men are not 100% sure of genetic relatedness of offspring
- always some probability that another male has fertilised the female’s egg

Question 3

why mothers provide more parental care

2. mating opportunity cost hypothesis

Answer 3

• missed additional matings as a direct result of effort devoted to offspring
• sex ratio = moderator in parental investment
  china -> more men -> more long-term
  Iceland -> more women -> more casual

Question 4

parental care / investment as an adaptive challenge
-> parental favouritism hypothesis

Answer 4

• investment in offspring should favour some offspring over others
• parental love and resources are substantially less likely to be directed toward children that are not biologically related

selection will favor investment in offspring who are likely to provide higher reproductive return

Question 5

domain specific evolved psych mechanisms for parenting

1. estimating genetic relatedness of offspring
   sources + three predictions + stepparents

Answer 5

men have 2 sources
- partner’s fidelity when she conceived
- child’s resemblance to him -> feel emotionally closer -> fMRI showed greater cortical activity

3 predictions
- more resources to biological child
- invest less when uncertain
- invest more when mother is current partner

stepparents
- 50% feel parental
- less frequent more aggressive interactions
- bio children 5.5x more likely to get college money
- cinderella effect
- parental neglect more likely

Question 6

domain specific evolved psych mechanisms for parenting

2. ability of offspring to convert parental care into fitness

Answer 6

parental neglect and abuse of children with congential abnormalities

large fraction of seriously ill children are institutionalized

Question 7

domain specific evolved psych mechanisms for parenting

3. discriminating investments between the children
   -> Trivers-Willard hypothesis
   -> parent-offspring conflict

Answer 7

trivers-willard hypothesis
- good condition -> produce more sons -> son will have mating success
- poor condition -> invest in daughter

theory of parent-offspring conflict
- should want to allocate equally but each child wants more for themselves
- conflict over food, weaning, helping parents

Question 8

domain specific evolved psych mechanisms for parenting

4. alternative use of resources instead of investment in children
   -> kin altruism and infanticide

Answer 8

infanticide as an adaption in non-human animals
- humans: more likely the younger she is and unmarried
- happens to very young children

Question 9

parents hidden agenda for you
- parents protect their reproductive interests through

Answer 9

• socializing children in gender roles
• build alliances with other families through marriage
• boosting their social status
• not bringing shame to the family
• maintain family connection
• receiving care in old age

Question 10

three family conflicts

Answer 10

1. sibling conflict
   compete with each other for access to parental resources
2. parental-offspring conflict
   parents attempt to invest equally
   children desire more for themselves
3. mother-father conflict
   conflict over how uch to invest to offspring within the family