122845
Description
Mind Map by harry_bygraves, updated more than 1 year ago
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Created by harry_bygraves
over 11 years ago
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Parental Investment
- Proprosed 'Parental Investment theory' each gender invests different amounts. This
means that each parent had different evolutionary pressures involved with having children
- Female (eggs) are fewer and more costly to produce than male (sperm). Meaning females
have already invested more. Number of children that can be had is fewer for females.
- Real life example; King of Israel reproted over 800 children. Highest is 69 for women
- Human unfants need a lot more parental care than other
animals, this is provided by the mother (breast-feeding)
- Symons (1979) found females give 9 months pregnancy, and several years of
postnatal care for a child. Whereas males potentially have to give a few seconds
of sex and a teaspoon of seamen. This means that females have to make a much
larger investment than males and as such they should be looking for the best
genes possible. It might make sense for a female to mate with a good looking but
uncaring male and then get a caring male to raise the child.
- In terms of parental investment bringing up someone elses child is a waste
of a males investment as he is helping the genes of a competing male to
survive. Buss and Miller found jealousy has evolved to prevent cuckoldry
- Baker and Bellis (1990) found 14% of children were not from their registered fathers. This is called cuckoldry and has been
associated with males who become suspicious of their partners using ‘mate retention strategies’ and feelings of jealousy.
- Daly and Wilson; found men reosrt to such mate retension strategies hen they
feel worried about their partner is sleeping with someone else
- Buss (1995) Also found there is a gender difference when it comes to
jealousy. Males are more jealous when they think their partner is sleeping with
someone else, as they do not want to suffer from cuckoldry. Females get more
jealous if they think their partner has fallen in love with someone else, and this
would make it more likely for the male to leave for a new partner
- There may be wide cultural variations in parental
investment and much of this research has been
conducted in western individualistic countries. It may be
possible that parental investment is very different in
collectivist cultures and researchers need to be careful
when applying the theories to other countries.
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