Breakdown: Evolutionary Flashcards
How is relationship breakdown explained by evolutionary psychologists?
in terms of factors that would have threatened reproductive success in the EEA, evolved mechanisms will be different for men and women = different behaviour
What are the 3 possible causes of relationship breakdown?
infidelity, infertility, lack of economic support
Why would infidelity be a cause of relationship breakdown?
Men unsure if child is theirs, if husband produces children with other women will be less available to care for young
Why would infertility be a cause of relationship breakdown?
Cannot pass on genes, women may then be unable to find men again because blamed for infertility
Why would lack of economic support be a cause of relationship breakdown?
Unable to keep young alive, women more affected as have to care for young so need someone to provide for them
Which study can be used as general support for the evolutionary explanation?
Betzig 1989: marital breakdown, Human Resources Area Files, Standard Cross Cultural Sample (representative) of 160 divorce societies, main reasons 1:infidelity 2:infertility 4:economics
Who is infidelity expected to be more of a reason for relationship breakdown?
men, infidelity is threat to men’s reproductive success, could raise a child that isn’t his own: cuckoldry, female doesn’t lose chance to have a child, women more upset by emotional aspect
What were the other findings of Betzig’s cross cultural study which supports infidelity as a reason for relationship breakdown?
adultery by either = 28%, females 61%, males 2%, suggests there is a double standard - adultery by men seen as more acceptable
What are the official statistics for divorce and infidelity?
government: men are twice as likely to cite infidelity as a reason for divorce even though men are twice as likely to commit adultery
Are divorce statistics a valid source of evidence for testing the evolutionary theory of relationship breakdown?
not all relationships are marriages, may lie as a reason for divorce, divorce not always possible (money), categories for divorce may not cover all possibilities
What is the evidence for sex differences in response to types of infidelity?
Buss: questionnaires, men upset by sex, women upset by emotional. Buunk 2002: sex differences present across US, Netherlands and Germany, magnitude of differences varies (higher in US)
What is the evidence that lack of children (and infertility?) leads to divorce?
Fisher 1989: 31yrs from 45 countries, modal number of children at divorce = 0 in 62%. UN study: 45 societies, divorce 39% no children, 26% when single child, 19% when 2 children
What are the limitations of the evidence for infertility leading to divorce?
May be that children keep parents together as less willing to divorce, assumption there was infertility, start of breakdown may be recognised preventing idea of having children
What is the evidence of lack of economic support causing divorce?
lack of housing, food, etc. was major factor in predicting female divorce of men in 20% of societies, in US divorce rate 50% higher among women who earn more than husbands, drop in level of resources linked with increase divorce citation by females
What is an alternative for the US divorce finding?
women who earn more may work more so spend less time with husbands = divorce, women who earn more may be the only ones able to afford divorce
