1. Parental Investment theory ANTH/SOC 333: Women Across Cultures Kimberly Porter Martin, Ph.D.

2. Some Parental Investment Theory (PIT) Definitions Parental investment – biological, economic, social and emotional support for offspring. Differential reproduction – variability in the number of offspring produced by individuals. Reproductive potential – the maximum number of offspring possible for an individual. Reproductive success – production of offspring that survive and reproduce.

3. Logical Connections from PIT Human males only have to make a minimal parental investment to obtain reproductive success (a few sperm) Female humans must make an enormous parental investment to obtain reproductive success (+/- 5 years) Male humans have reproductive potential limited only by the number of partners Females have limited reproductive potential because of the investment needed from mothers Males and females will have significantly different mate selection strategies because of differential parental investment.

4. Some PIT Assumptions Human mate choice is influenced by inherited characteristics Inherited characteristics will reflect the most successful mating strategies over time Human mate choice is influenced by both conscious and unconscious factors Culture is the learned set of strategies that help individuals maximize their reproductive success.