Parental Care I Overview of the Day Parental Care Who provides it and why Relatedness, offspring fitness, resources

Who Provides it and Why? zDo all species provide parental care? yHigher in species with internal gestation zBenefits of parental care ybetter chance of offspring surviving and reproducing zCosts of yresource monopolization yless mating opportunity

Some Questions zHow does parental care increase survival and reproduction of offspring in humans? yprotection, skill training, character development zThere is very little psychological research on parental care and motivation for parental care. Why do you think this is?

Who provides the most parental care, Mom or Dad? zMothers y4 times as much direct care y90% of single parents are mothers zMating vs. parenting effort yhigh status fathers: less time in parenting effort and more in mating effort

Theories of Maternal Care zPaternal uncertainty ymothers are more certain the baby is theirs zAbandonability ymales are more likely to leave first, leaving mothers no choice but to care for young zMating opportunity costs from parental care are higher for males

Some possible biological mechanisms zfosB gene yFemale mice with a fosB deficiency did not nurture their pups, and their pups died yfosB controls neuronal circuit in hypothalamus area of brain yWhat activates fosB? (smell of new pups?) zReductions in testosterone in new mothers and fathers

Postpartum depression zRelationships between PPD and: ylack of paternal care ysocial support yinfant health and development problems zPPD may inform mothers of a fitness cost zPPD may help mothers negotiate greater parental assistance from others

Parental Care and Relatedness zGenetic parents vs stepparents yGP: greater feelings of love ySP: greater liklihood of child abuse x40% greater risk of abuse when there is at least one stepparent x“evil” step mother in children’s literature ySP: times more infanticide

Healthcare zWearing car seat belts yBM, BF 74%; SF, BM 63%; BF, SM 52% zYearly medical checkup yBM, BF 61%; BF,SM 46% yBM dead, 35%

Paying for College zBF 5.5 times more likely; $15,000 more zLow parental uncertainty 13% less likely, $28,400 less zFather invests more in children of current mate

How do we determine genetic relatedness zVisual cues ymothers are more likely to say that baby looks like the father yindependent raters see no greater likeness yaccuracy of matching new babies to parents is low (possible reasons, issue of interracial marriages) zOlfactory cues (mothers can recognize sent of their new babies)

Parental care and offspring fitness zMore neglect and abuse of children with disabilities zBetter maternal care of “healthy” babies zLess infanticide as children get older zA conjecture: personality, attractiveness, and other characteristics that relate to fitness may affect parental care

Parental Care and Resources zMother’s age zMother’s marital status

Summary zParental Care zWho provides it and why zRelatedness zOffspring fitness zResources

For Next Time zLykken (2000) in reserve room zHarris, chapters 5-6, in reserve room zQuiz 3 on Thursday, October 12