Evolutionary: Parental Investment

Question 1

What is parental investment?

Answer 1

investing time, effort or money into an infant to increase chance of offspring’s survival and then reproduction, may be at expense of other offspring’s survival

Question 2

What would be expected genetically of parental investment?

Answer 2

Investment increases chances of getting genes into later generations so genes for investment would spread throughout species

Question 3

What is the extent to which a person invests in another is a consequence of what 3 things?

Answer 3

Whether they are genetically related (expect less input from step parents), the extent to which they are genetically related (parents 50%, g parents 25%), the certainty of genetic relationships

Question 4

What biological fact about fertilisation leads to higher maternal than paternal certainty?

Answer 4

Female actually gives birth and only female can breastfeed

Question 5

What are the different consequences of infidelity for men and women?

Answer 5

Women: still their children but if male leaves then no investment from him. Men: more offspring so more genes but unsure if kids his if female is infidel

Question 6

What cross species comparison provides support for parental investment theory?

Answer 6

seahorses: female inserts eggs in male, fertilised and hatch, males invest more, have more certainty, reverse of usual pattern proves certainty drives investment

Question 7

What is a cross cultural comparison that provides support for the parental investment theory?

Answer 7

Geary 1998: fathers spend less time interacting with and caring for children than do mothers in all cultures studies, pattern universal = part of human nature

Question 8

How does comparison of investment by relatives provide support for the parental investment theory?

Answer 8

Euler and Weitzel 1996: German adults rate biological grandparents on their care up to age 7, MoMo, MoFa, FaMo, FaFa (% of uncertainty 0,1,1,2)

Question 9

What research also shows that maternal relatives invest more than paternal relatives?

Answer 9

Gaulin 1997: investment score, maternal aunt = 4.75, paternal uncle = 3.28 (maternal = greater certainty of relatedness)

Question 10

What is the evidence from step parents that doesn’t support the parental investment theory?

Answer 10

Anderson 1999: no difference of money between men paying for own child’s college and for new partner’s child - may invest more in step child to prove good provider