101
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Morawski J. Epistemological Dizziness in the Psychology Laboratory: Lively Subjects, Anxious Experimenters, and Experimental Relations, 1950-1970. ISIS; AN INTERNATIONAL REVIEW DEVOTED TO THE HISTORY OF SCIENCE AND ITS CULTURAL INFLUENCES 2015; 106:567-597. [PMID: 26685518 DOI: 10.1086/683411] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Since the demise of introspective techniques in the early twentieth century, experimental psychology has largely assumed an administrative arrangement between experimenters and subjects wherein subjects respond to experimenters' instructions and experimenters meticulously constrain that relationship through experimental controls. During the postwar era this standard arrangement came to be questioned, initiating reflections that resonated with Cold War anxieties about the nature of the subjects and the experimenters alike. Albeit relatively short lived, these interrogations of laboratory relationships gave rise to unconventional testimonies and critiques of experimental method and epistemology. Researchers voiced serious concerns about the honesty and normality of subjects, the politics of the laboratory, and their own experimental conduct. Their reflective commentaries record the intimacy of subject and experimenter relations and the plentiful cultural materials that constituted the experimental situation, revealing the permeable boundaries between laboratory and everyday life.
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102
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Grandparental effects on fertility vary by lineage in the United Kingdom. HUMAN NATURE-AN INTERDISCIPLINARY BIOSOCIAL PERSPECTIVE 2015; 25:269-84. [PMID: 24838742 DOI: 10.1007/s12110-014-9200-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Grandparental presence is known to correlate with the number of grandchildren born, and this effect may vary according to grandparental sex and lineage. However, existing studies of grandparental effects on fertility mostly concern traditional subsistence societies, while evidence from contemporary developed societies is both scarce and mixed. Here, we explore how grandparents affect the transition to second and subsequent children in the contemporary United Kingdom. The longitudinal Millennium Cohort Study (n = 10,295 families) was used to study the association between grandparental investment and parents' probability of having a new child within 4.5 years. Results show that contact with paternal grandparents is associated with higher probability of parents having a second child. In contrast, contact with maternal grandparents is associated with lower probability of having a third or subsequent child. Kin may have opposite effects on fertility even in contemporary societies, which may explain the lack of consistent effects of grandparental investment on fertility in previous studies.
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103
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Frey R, Mata R, Hertwig R. The role of cognitive abilities in decisions from experience: Age differences emerge as a function of choice set size. Cognition 2015; 142:60-80. [PMID: 26022497 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2015.05.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2015] [Revised: 05/04/2015] [Accepted: 05/05/2015] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
People seldom enjoy access to summarized information about risky options before making a decision. Instead, they may search for information and learn about environmental contingencies-thus making decisions from experience. Aging is associated with notable deficits in learning and memory-but do these translate into poorer decisions from experience? We report three studies that used a sampling paradigm to investigate younger (M=24 years) and older (M=71 years) adults' decisions from experience. In Study 1 (N=121) participants made 12 decisions between pairs of payoff distributions in the lab. Study 2 (N=70) implemented the same paradigm using portable devices, collecting 84 decisions per individual over a week. Study 3 (N=84) extended the sampling paradigm by asking participants to make 12 decisions between two, four, and eight payoff distributions (in the lab). Overall, the behavioral results suggest that younger and older adults are relatively similar in how they search and what they choose when facing two payoff distributions (Studies 1 and 2). With an increasing number of payoff distributions, however, age differences emerged (Study 3). A modeling analysis on the level of individual participants showed that a simple delta-learning rule model best described the learning processes of most participants. To the extent that ongoing updating processes unfold relatively automatically and effortlessly, older adults may be liberated from the detrimental consequences of cognitive aging in the case of decisions from experience with few decision options. We discuss implications for research on decisions from experience and choice performance over the lifespan.
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Affiliation(s)
- Renato Frey
- University of Basel, Department of Psychology, Cognitive and Decision Sciences, Missionsstrasse 64A, CH-4055 Basel, Switzerland; Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Center for Adaptive Rationality, Lentzeallee 94, DE-14195 Berlin, Germany.
| | - Rui Mata
- University of Basel, Department of Psychology, Cognitive and Decision Sciences, Missionsstrasse 64A, CH-4055 Basel, Switzerland; Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Center for Adaptive Rationality, Lentzeallee 94, DE-14195 Berlin, Germany
| | - Ralph Hertwig
- Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Center for Adaptive Rationality, Lentzeallee 94, DE-14195 Berlin, Germany
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104
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von Rueden CR, Lukaszewski AW, Gurven M. Adaptive personality calibration in a human society: effects of embodied capital on prosocial traits. Behav Ecol 2015. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arv051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
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105
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Pilatti A, Cupani M, Pautassi RM. Personality and Alcohol Expectancies Discriminate Alcohol Consumption Patterns in Female College Students. Alcohol Alcohol 2015; 50:385-92. [PMID: 25827776 DOI: 10.1093/alcalc/agv025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2014] [Accepted: 03/03/2015] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
AIMS To characterize patterns of alcohol use in a sample of Argentinean female college students according to personality traits and alcohol expectancies. METHODS Data from 298 female college students (M age = 18.27 years; SD = 1.37 years) from the city of Cordoba, Argentina were analysed using multinomial regression. RESULTS Three drinking categories were identified, abstainers, moderate drinkers and regular drinkers with heavy episodic drinking, and these were differentiated by three personality traits [extraversion, disinhibition (DIS) and experience seeking (ES)] and three alcohol expectancies dimensions (sociability, risk/aggression and negative mood). Regular drinkers with heavy episodic drinking and moderate drinkers had, compared to abstainers, higher scores in extroversion and alcohol expectancies for social facilitation, and lower scores in alcohol expectancies for risk and aggression. Regular drinkers with heavy episodic drinking exhibited, compared to moderate drinkers, higher scores in ES, DIS, extroversion, alcohol expectancies for social facilitation and negative mood alcohol expectancies; as well as lower scores in risk and aggression alcohol expectancies. CONCLUSION College women in Argentina with problematic alcohol drinking can be distinguished from those drinking moderately.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angelina Pilatti
- Grupo Vinculado, Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios sobre Cultura y Sociedad (CIECS), CONICET. Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba
| | - Marcos Cupani
- Grupo Vinculado, Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios sobre Cultura y Sociedad (CIECS), CONICET. Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba
| | - Ricardo Marcos Pautassi
- Instituto de Investigación Médica M. y M. Ferreyra, (INIMEC-CONICET-UNC, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba), Córdoba, Argentina
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106
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Snopkowski K, Sear R. Grandparental help in Indonesia is directed preferentially towards needier descendants: a potential confounder when exploring grandparental influences on child health. Soc Sci Med 2015; 128:105-14. [PMID: 25603472 DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2015.01.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
A considerable body of evidence has now demonstrated positive correlations between grandparental presence and child health outcomes. It is typically assumed that such correlations exist because grandparental investment in their grandchildren improves child health and wellbeing. However, less is known about how grandparents allocate help to adult children and grandchildren, particularly in lower income contexts. Here we use detailed quantitative data from the longitudinal Indonesia Family Life Survey (data collected in 1993, 1997, 2000, 2007; n = 16,250) to examine grandparental help in a society transitioning both demographically and economically. We test the hypothesis that grandparents direct help preferentially towards those adult children and grandchildren most in need of help. This hypothesis was supported for help provided by married grandparents and single grandmothers, who tended to: provide more help to their adult children when this generation had young children themselves, provide financial help if their adult children were poorer, and provide more household help if their adult daughters worked outside the home. One unexpected result was that help from maternal and paternal grandparents is positively correlated; if one set of grandparents is helping the other set is more likely to help, counter to our predictions. These results provide support for the hypothesis that grandparents preferentially invest in some descendants over others, where married grandparents and single grandmothers tend to invest in those adult children and grandchildren with the most need. Investigating the effect of grandparents on child health outcomes may therefore be confounded by grandparent's preferential investment in needier descendants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristin Snopkowski
- Department of Anthropology, Boise State University, 1910 University Drive, Boise, ID 83725, USA.
| | - Rebecca Sear
- Department of Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, UK
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107
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Tanskanen AO, Danielsbacka M, Rotkirch A. Multi-partner fertility is associated with lower grandparental investment from in-laws in Finland. ADVANCES IN LIFE COURSE RESEARCH 2014; 22:41-48. [PMID: 26047690 DOI: 10.1016/j.alcr.2014.04.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2013] [Revised: 04/12/2014] [Accepted: 04/14/2014] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Divorce and remarriage influence family relations, yet few studies explore changes in grandparenting due to family recomposition. We study variations in grandparental investment when the parents have children from several unions. Using nationally representative data of younger adults from the Generational Transmissions in Finland survey conducted in 2012 (sample n = 760 parents), we compare the grandchild care that parents report having received from their parents and parents-in-law. Results show that multipartner fertility is not associated with the amount of grandparental investment a parent receives from his or her own parents, but is associated with the investment received from mother's parents-in-law. Mother's parents-in-law are less likely to invest in grandchild sets which include step-grandchildren, compared to grandchildren living with their original parents. Fully biological grandchildren are 31% more likely to receive grandparental care compared to grandchild sets including step grandchildren. Thus the reduction in grandparental investment associated with step-grandchildren may also affect children from the new union.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Anna Rotkirch
- Väestöliitto (The Finnish Family Federation), Population Research Institute, Finland
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108
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Diener E, Kanazawa S, Suh EM, Oishi S. Why People Are in a Generally Good Mood. PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY REVIEW 2014; 19:235-56. [PMID: 25253069 DOI: 10.1177/1088868314544467] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Evidence shows that people feel mild positive moods when no strong emotional events are occurring, a phenomenon known as positive mood offset. We offer an evolutionary explanation of this characteristic, showing that it improves fertility, fecundity, and health, and abets other characteristics that were critical to reproductive success. We review research showing that positive mood offset is virtually universal in the nations of the world, even among people who live in extremely difficult circumstances. Positive moods increase the likelihood of the types of adaptive behaviors that likely characterized our Paleolithic ancestors, such as creativity, planning, mating, and sociality. Because of the ubiquity and apparent advantages of positive moods, it is a reasonable hypothesis that humans were selected for positivity offset in our evolutionary past. We outline additional evidence that is needed to help confirm that positive mood offset is an evolutionary adaptation in humans and we explore the research questions that the hypothesis generates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ed Diener
- The Gallup Organization, Omaha, NE, USA University of Virginia, Charlottesville, USA The University of Utah, Salt Lake City, USA
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109
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Burkart JM, Finkenwirth C. Marmosets as model species in neuroscience and evolutionary anthropology. Neurosci Res 2014; 93:8-19. [PMID: 25242577 DOI: 10.1016/j.neures.2014.09.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2014] [Revised: 08/27/2014] [Accepted: 08/27/2014] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Marmosets are increasingly used as model species by both neuroscientists and evolutionary anthropologists, but with a different rationale for doing so. Whereas neuroscientists stress that marmosets share many cognitive traits with humans due to common descent, anthropologists stress those traits shared with marmosets - and callitrichid monkeys in general - due to convergent evolution, as a consequence of the cooperative breeding system that characterizes both humans and callitrichids. Similarities in socio-cognitive abilities due to convergence, rather than homology, raise the question whether these similarities also extend to the proximate regulatory mechanisms, which is particularly relevant for neuroscientific investigations. In this review, we first provide an overview of the convergent adaptations to cooperative breeding at the psychological and cognitive level in primates, which bear important implications for our understanding of human cognitive evolution. In the second part, we zoom in on two of these convergent adaptations, proactive prosociality and social learning, and compare their proximate regulation in marmosets and humans with regard to oxytocin and cognitive top down regulation. Our analysis suggests considerable similarity in these regulatory mechanisms presumably because the convergent traits emerged due to small motivational changes that define how pre-existing cognitive mechanisms are quantitatively combined. This finding reconciles the prima facie contradictory rationale for using marmosets as high priority model species in neuroscience and anthropology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Judith M Burkart
- Anthropological Institute and Museum, University of Zurich - Irchel, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland.
| | - Christa Finkenwirth
- Anthropological Institute and Museum, University of Zurich - Irchel, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland
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110
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Lê-Scherban F, Diez Roux AV, Li Y, Morgenstern H. Associations of grandparental schooling with adult grandchildren's health status, smoking, and obesity. Am J Epidemiol 2014; 180:469-81. [PMID: 25106617 DOI: 10.1093/aje/kwu154] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite persistent schooling-related health disparities in the United States, little is known about the multigenerational effects of schooling on adult health. As expected lifespans increase, direct influences of grandparental schooling on grandchildren's health may become increasingly important. We used multigenerational data spanning 41 years from a national sample of US families to investigate associations of grandparents' educational attainment with global health status, smoking, and obesity in their grandchildren who were aged 25-55 years in 2009. We estimated total effects of grandparental schooling and, by using marginal structural models, we estimated controlled direct effects that were independent of parents' and participants' schooling. Among whites, lower levels of grandparental schooling were monotonically associated with poor health status, current smoking, and obesity in adult grandchildren. There was also evidence suggesting direct effects, which was stronger for poor health status among participants whose highest-educated grandparent lived in the same state. Among blacks, the only association suggesting a total or direct effect of grandparental schooling was for smoking. Despite the relative imprecision of our estimates and possible residual bias, these results suggest that higher levels of grandparental schooling may benefit the health of grandchildren in adulthood, especially among whites. Furthermore, part of those apparent effects, especially for obesity, may not be mediated by parents' and grandchildren's schooling.
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111
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Christiansen SG. The association between grandparenthood and mortality. Soc Sci Med 2014; 118:89-96. [PMID: 25108695 DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.07.061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2014] [Revised: 06/28/2014] [Accepted: 07/28/2014] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Few studies have so far enquired into the relationship between being a grandparent and health and mortality outcomes, and the majority of these have looked exclusively at grandparents who take over parenting responsibility for their grandchildren. This study aims to fill this gap in the knowledge of how family structure is linked to mortality by focusing on whether being a grandparent in itself is associated with mortality. Norwegian parents in the age groups 40-73 are analysed using register data that encompass the entire population. The analysis is based on discrete-time hazard models, estimated for the years 1980-2008. I find a mortality disadvantage of being a grandfather, which is particularly strong for those who become grandfathers at an early age. Controlling for characteristics of the middle generation such as sex, education and marital status does not remove the association. For men the mortality disadvantage is not influenced by the number of grandchildren or the number of sets of grandchildren. For women there is significantly higher mortality only for those who become grandmothers in their thirties or forties, who are married or who have many children. Becoming a grandmother after age 50 is associated with significantly lower mortality. At least part of these associations are likely due to selection effects, however they may also to some extent be caused by the individuals' relationship with grandchildren, and children who have become parents themselves.
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112
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The impact of grandparental investment on mothers’ fertility intentions in four European countries. DEMOGRAPHIC RESEARCH 2014. [DOI: 10.4054/demres.2014.31.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022] Open
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113
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Hodges-Simeon CR, Gurven M, Puts DA, Gaulin SJC. Vocal fundamental and formant frequencies are honest signals of threat potential in peripubertal males. Behav Ecol 2014; 25:984-988. [PMID: 25024638 DOI: 10.1093/beheco/aru081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2013] [Revised: 03/17/2014] [Accepted: 03/19/2014] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Fundamental and formant frequencies influence perceived pitch and are sexually dimorphic in humans. The information content of these acoustic parameters can illuminate the forces of sexual selection shaping vocal sex differences as well as the mechanisms that ensure signal reliability. We use multiple regression to examine the relationships between somatic (height, adiposity, and strength) and acoustic (fundamental frequency [F0], formant position [Pf], and fundamental frequency variation [F0-SD]) characteristics in a sample of peripubertal Bolivian Tsimane. Results indicate that among males-but not females-strength is the strongest predictor of F0 and Pf and that F0 and Pf are independent predictors of strength when height and adiposity are controlled. These findings suggest that listeners may attend to vocal frequencies because they signal honest, nonredundant information about male strength and threat potential, which are strongly related to physical maturity and which cannot be ascertained from visual or other indicators of height or adiposity alone.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Michael Gurven
- Department of Anthropology, University of California , Santa Barbara, CA 93106 , USA and
| | - David A Puts
- Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University , 218 Carpenter Building, University Park, PA 16802 , USA
| | - Steven J C Gaulin
- Department of Anthropology, University of California , Santa Barbara, CA 93106 , USA and
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114
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Sorokowska A, Sorokowski P, Hummel T. Cross-Cultural Administration of an Odor Discrimination Test. CHEMOSENS PERCEPT 2014; 7:85-90. [PMID: 24883170 PMCID: PMC4037584 DOI: 10.1007/s12078-014-9169-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2013] [Accepted: 04/01/2014] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
Olfactory sensitivity can be evaluated by various tests, with "Sniffin' Sticks" test (SST) being one of the most popular. SST consists of tests for odor threshold, discrimination, and identification. It seems relatively straightforward to administer threshold tests in different groups and societies and it has been shown that odor identification tests requires special adaptation before they can be administered to various populations. However, few studies have investigated the application of an odor discrimination task in various regions/cultures. In the present study, we compared the discrimination scores of 169 Polish people with the scores of 99 Tsimane', Bolivian Amerindians. The Tsimane' participants scored very low in the discrimination task, despite their general high olfactory sensitivity. This result suggests that when a discrimination task is chosen as the form of olfactory testing, some additional variables need to be controlled. We suggest three sources of low scores of our participants-their cognitive profile, the cultural background, i.e., little knowledge of the odors used in the discrimination test and problems associated with testing environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Agnieszka Sorokowska
- Institute of Psychology, University of Wroclaw, ul. Dawida 1, 50-527 Wroclaw, Poland
- TU Dresden, Medical Faculty Carl Gustav Carus, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Smell & Taste Clinic, Dresden, Germany
| | - Piotr Sorokowski
- Institute of Psychology, University of Wroclaw, ul. Dawida 1, 50-527 Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Thomas Hummel
- TU Dresden, Medical Faculty Carl Gustav Carus, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Smell & Taste Clinic, Dresden, Germany
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115
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Fomby P, Krueger PM, Wagner NM. Age at Childbearing over Two Generations and Grandchildren's Cognitive Achievement. RESEARCH IN SOCIAL STRATIFICATION AND MOBILITY 2014; 35:71-88. [PMID: 25767330 PMCID: PMC4354864 DOI: 10.1016/j.rssm.2013.09.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
We examine whether grandparents' and parents' ages at birth are associated with grandchildren's early cognitive achievement, and whether grandparents' or parents' socioeconomic status, health, and marital status mediate those associations. Our analysis is based on data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics and its Child Development Supplement. A grandparent's age at the birth of their own children is robustly and positively associated with grandchildren's verbal achievement, but not with grandchildren's applied mathematics achievement, after controlling for parents' age at the grandchild's birth. The associations are similar in magnitude for grandmothers and grandfathers. A variety of indicators of social class in the grandparent and parent generations did not mediate this age effect. However, many of those indicators of grandparents' social class were directly or indirectly related to grandchildren's achievement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paula Fomby
- Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, 426 Thompson Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48104
| | - Patrick M. Krueger
- Department of Health and Behavioral Sciences, University of Colorado Denver
| | - Nicole M. Wagner
- Department of Health and Behavioral Sciences, University of Colorado Denver
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116
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Coall DA, Hilbrand S, Hertwig R. Predictors of grandparental investment decisions in contemporary Europe: biological relatedness and beyond. PLoS One 2014; 9:e84082. [PMID: 24416193 PMCID: PMC3885520 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0084082] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2013] [Accepted: 11/11/2013] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Across human cultures, grandparents make a valued contribution to the health of their families and communities. Moreover, evidence is gathering that grandparents have a positive impact on the development of grandchildren in contemporary industrialized societies. A broad range of factors that influence the likelihood grandparents will invest in their grandchildren has been explored by disciplines as diverse as sociology, economics, psychology and evolutionary biology. To progress toward an encompassing framework, this study will include biological relatedness between grandparents and grandchildren, a factor central to some discipline's theoretical frameworks (e.g., evolutionary biology), next to a wide range of other factors in an analysis of grandparental investment in contemporary Europe. This study draws on data collected in the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe from 11 European countries that included 22,967 grandparent–child dyads. Grandparents reported biological relatedness, and grandparental investment was measured as the frequency of informal childcare. Biological and non-biological grandparents differed significantly in a variety of individual, familial and area-level characteristics. Furthermore, many other economic, sociological, and psychological factors also influenced grandparental investment. When they were controlled, biological grandparents, relative to non-biological grandparents, were more likely to invest heavily, looking after their grandchildren almost daily or weekly. Paradoxically, however, they were also more likely to invest nothing at all. We discuss the methodological and theoretical implications of these findings across disciplines.
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Affiliation(s)
- David A. Coall
- School of Medical Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, Western Australia
- School of Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia
- * E-mail:
| | - Sonja Hilbrand
- Department of Psychology, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Ralph Hertwig
- Center for Adaptive Rationality, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany
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117
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118
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Lansford JE. Parents’ Aggression Toward Children and Children’s Own Aggression. SCIENCE ACROSS CULTURES: THE HISTORY OF NON-WESTERN SCIENCE 2014. [DOI: 10.1007/978-94-007-7503-9_33] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
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119
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Brown P. The interactional context of language learning in Tzeltal. LANGUAGE IN INTERACTION 2014. [DOI: 10.1075/tilar.12.07bro] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
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120
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Osborne DL, Hames R. A life history perspective on skin cancer and the evolution of skin pigmentation. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2013; 153:1-8. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.22408] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Daniel L. Osborne
- Department of Anthropology; University of Nebraska-Lincoln; Lincoln NE
| | - Raymond Hames
- Department of Anthropology; University of Nebraska-Lincoln; Lincoln NE
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121
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122
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Pratikaki A, Kokkinaki T. Emotional Expressions in Grandparent-Infant Grandchild Interaction in the Course of the First Year of Life. EUROPE'S JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGY 2013. [DOI: 10.5964/ejop.v9i3.553] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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123
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Kolk M. Multigenerational transmission of family size in contemporary Sweden. Population Studies 2013; 68:111-29. [PMID: 23957693 DOI: 10.1080/00324728.2013.819112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
The study of the intergenerational transmission of fertility has a long history in demography, but until now research has focused primarily on parents' influence on their children's fertility patterns and has largely overlooked the possible influence of other kin. This study examines the transmission of fertility patterns from parents, grandparents, uncles, and aunts, using event history models to determine the risk of first, second, and third births. Swedish register data are used to study the 1970-82 birth cohorts. The findings indicate strong associations between the fertility of index persons and that of their parents, and also independent associations between the completed fertility of index persons and that of their grandparents and parents' siblings. The results suggest that, when examining background effects in fertility research, it is relevant to take a multigenerational perspective and to consider the characteristics of extended kin.
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124
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Abstract
Verwandtschaftsbeziehungen stellen neben Partner- und Kooperationsbeziehungen einen zentralen Kontext der individuellen und sozialen Entwicklung dar und sind in der Psychologie bislang nicht ausreichend gewürdigt worden. In Soziobiologie und Evolutionspsychologie wird Verwandtschaft primär unter dem Aspekt der inklusiven Fitness betrachtet und in Bezug auf das Altruismusproblem erörtert. Basierend auf deren Annahmen wird in diesem Beitrag Verwandtschaft als eine psychologische Kategorie verstanden, die durch den proximaten Mechanismus der Regulation emotionaler Nähe und den Verzicht auf die strikte Einhaltung der Reziprozitätsnorm konstruiert wird. Dadurch können auch Nichtverwandte als verwandtschaftsgleich oder wahlverwandt wahrgenommen werden. Es wird ein integratives Modell der psychologischen Verwandtschaft postuliert, das Verwandtschaft nicht nur in Abgrenzung zu anderen Beziehungen definiert, sondern ebenso als Ergebnis eines aktiven Prozess der sozialen Beziehungsgestaltung erklärt.
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125
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Abstract
Human menopause is an unsolved evolutionary puzzle, and relationships among the factors that produced it remain understood poorly. Classic theory, involving a one-sex (female) model of human demography, suggests that genes imparting deleterious effects on post-reproductive survival will accumulate. Thus, a 'death barrier' should emerge beyond the maximum age for female reproduction. Under this scenario, few women would experience menopause (decreased fertility with continued survival) because few would survive much longer than they reproduced. However, no death barrier is observed in human populations. Subsequent theoretical research has shown that two-sex models, including male fertility at older ages, avoid the death barrier. Here we use a stochastic, two-sex computational model implemented by computer simulation to show how male mating preference for younger females could lead to the accumulation of mutations deleterious to female fertility and thus produce a menopausal period. Our model requires neither the initial assumption of a decline in older female fertility nor the effects of inclusive fitness through which older, non-reproducing women assist in the reproductive efforts of younger women. Our model helps to explain why such effects, observed in many societies, may be insufficient factors in elucidating the origin of menopause.
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126
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Snyder JK, Fessler DMT. Reexamining individual differences in women's rape avoidance behaviors. ARCHIVES OF SEXUAL BEHAVIOR 2013; 42:543-551. [PMID: 22722957 DOI: 10.1007/s10508-012-9987-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2011] [Revised: 02/17/2012] [Accepted: 04/28/2012] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
A growing number of investigators explore evolutionary psychological hypotheses concerning the avoidance of rape using self-report measures of behavior. Among the most recent and most ambitious, is the work of McKibbin et al. (2011). McKibbin et al. presented evidence supporting their predictions that such behaviors would vary according to the individual's physical attractiveness, relationship status, and proximity to kin. In addition, McKibbin et al. predicted, but failed to find evidence, that age would exercise a similar influence. We question McKibbin et al.'s position on both theoretical and empirical grounds, arguing that (1) two of their predictions do not rule out alternative explanations, and (2) their key supporting findings may well be artifacts of their measurement instrument, the Rape Avoidance Inventory (RAI). Employing new empirical evidence derived from a broader sample of U.S. women, we simultaneously tested McKibbin et al.'s predictions and compared the RAI to alternative dependent measures. We found that McKibbin et al.'s substantive predictions were not supported, and suggest that there may be limits to the utility of the RAI beyond one specific demographic category.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeffrey K Snyder
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles, 341 Haines Hall, Box 951553, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1553, USA.
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127
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128
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Tanskanen AO. The Association between Grandmaternal Investment and Early Years Overweight in the UK. EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY 2013. [DOI: 10.1177/147470491301100212] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Previous studies show that in many pre-modern and traditional populations the presence of a grandmother correlates with increased child survival rates, maybe as a result of improved child nutrition. Grandmaternal investment aimed at improving grandchildren's nutritional status in subsistence societies may have different outcomes in contemporary affluent societies. Using the British Millennium Cohort Study I investigate the association between maternal and paternal grandmothers' childcare and early years overweight in the UK. Results show that children who were cared for mainly by their grandmothers between the ages of 9 months and 3 years were more likely overweight at age 3 than children who were cared for by their parents. My results are in line with Pearce, Abbas, Ferguson, Graham, and Law (2010) , although they did not distinguish grandmothers by lineage. Grandmothers may influence children's nutritional status in contemporary societies, but as with many evolved behavioral strategies the outcome may be no longer beneficial.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antti O. Tanskanen
- Department of Social Research, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
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129
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Barrett HC, Broesch T, Scott RM, He Z, Baillargeon R, Wu D, Bolz M, Henrich J, Setoh P, Wang J, Laurence S. Early false-belief understanding in traditional non-Western societies. Proc Biol Sci 2013; 280:20122654. [PMID: 23363628 PMCID: PMC3574387 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2012.2654] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2012] [Accepted: 01/03/2013] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The psychological capacity to recognize that others may hold and act on false beliefs has been proposed to reflect an evolved, species-typical adaptation for social reasoning in humans; however, controversy surrounds the developmental timing and universality of this trait. Cross-cultural studies using elicited-response tasks indicate that the age at which children begin to understand false beliefs ranges from 4 to 7 years across societies, whereas studies using spontaneous-response tasks with Western children indicate that false-belief understanding emerges much earlier, consistent with the hypothesis that false-belief understanding is a psychological adaptation that is universally present in early childhood. To evaluate this hypothesis, we used three spontaneous-response tasks that have revealed early false-belief understanding in the West to test young children in three traditional, non-Western societies: Salar (China), Shuar/Colono (Ecuador) and Yasawan (Fiji). Results were comparable with those from the West, supporting the hypothesis that false-belief understanding reflects an adaptation that is universally present early in development.
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Affiliation(s)
- H Clark Barrett
- UCLA Department of Anthropology, 341 Haines Hall Box 951552, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
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130
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Fukukawa Y. Grandparental investment and reproductive success in modern Japanese society. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2013. [DOI: 10.1556/jep.11.2013.1.4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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131
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132
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Tanskanen AO, Danielsbacka M. Beneficial effects of grandparental involvement vary by lineage in the UK. PERSONALITY AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES 2012. [DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2012.07.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
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133
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Abstract
This study tests two evolutionary hypotheses on grandparental investments differentiated by the child's sex: the paternity uncertainty hypothesis and the Trivers–Willard hypothesis. Data are from two culturally different countries: the Dutch Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam (n=2375) and the Chinese Anhui Survey (n=4026). In the Netherlands, grandparental investments are biased towards daughters' children, which is in accordance with the paternity uncertainty hypothesis. But in China, grandparental investments are biased towards sons' children, which is in conflict with the paternity uncertainty hypothesis. This study found no support for the Trivers–Willard hypothesis. These results raise doubts over the relevance of paternity uncertainty as an explanation of a grandparental investment bias towards daughters' children that is often found in Western populations. The results suggest that discriminative grandparental investments are better understood as the outcome of cultural prescriptions and economic motives.
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134
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Alternatives to the grandmother hypothesis: a meta-analysis of the association between grandparental and grandchild survival in patrilineal populations. HUMAN NATURE-AN INTERDISCIPLINARY BIOSOCIAL PERSPECTIVE 2012; 22:201-22. [PMID: 22388808 DOI: 10.1007/s12110-011-9114-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
We conducted a meta-analysis of 17 studies that tested for an association between grandparental survival and grandchild survival in patrilineal populations. Using two different methodologies, we found that the survival of the maternal grandmother and grandfather, but not the paternal grandmother and grandfather, was associated with decreased grandoffspring mortality. These results are consistent with the findings of psychological studies in developed countries (Coall and Hertwig Behavioral and Brain Sciences 33:1-59, 2010). When tested against the predictions of five hypotheses (confidence of paternity; grandmothering, kin proximity, grandparental senescence, and local resource competition), our meta-analysis results are most in line with the local resource competition hypothesis. In patrilineal and predominantly patrilocal societies, the grandparents who are most likely to live with the grandchildren have a less beneficial association than those who do not. We consider the extent to which these results may be influenced by the methodological limitations of the source studies, including the use of retrospective designs and inadequate controls for confounding variables such as wealth.
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135
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Johow J, Voland E. Conditional grandmother effects on age at marriage, age at first birth, and completed fertility of daughters and daughters-in-law in historical Krummhörn. HUMAN NATURE (HAWTHORNE, N.Y.) 2012; 23:341-59. [PMID: 22814630 DOI: 10.1007/s12110-012-9147-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
Based on historical data pertaining to the Krummhörn population (eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Germany), we compared reproductive histories of mothers according to whether the maternal grandmother (MGM) or the paternal grandmother (PGM) or neither of them was resident in the parents' parish at the time of the mother's first birth. In contrast to effects of PGMs, we discovered conditional differences in the MGM's effects between landless people and wealthier, commercial farmers. Our data indicate that the presence of the MGM only lowers the woman's age at marriage (AAM) and her age at the birth of her first child (AFB) in the case of landless families. However, among commercial farmers, who can generally be characterized by a lower AAM and AFB, we found opposite tendencies for the MGM's effect leading to a relatively small delay in AAM and AFB. Moreover, we also analyzed differences in the completed fertility (i.e., children ever born: CEB). Results indicate that landless families in general do have fewer CEB compared with commercial farmers except for those families in which the MGM has been present. Emphasizing that the adaptiveness of investment decisions should depend on the interaction of genetic, lineage-specific (intrinsic) and ecologically imposed (extrinsic) constraints, we conclude that kin strategies consequently address different fitness components under different conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johannes Johow
- Zentrum für Philosophie und Grundlagen der Wissenschaft Universität Giessen, Germany
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136
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Danielsbacka M, Tanskanen AO. Adolescent grandchildren's perceptions of grandparents' involvement in UK: an interpretation from life course and evolutionary theory perspective. Eur J Ageing 2012; 9:329-341. [PMID: 28804432 DOI: 10.1007/s10433-012-0240-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
In this article, we study grandparental involvement from the viewpoint of evolutionary theory and sociological life course perception. We have used 'the Involved Grandparenting and Child Well-Being 2007' survey, which is the first nationally representative sample of British and Welsh adolescents aged 11-16 (n = 1,488). First, we explore with the descriptive statistics the amount of grandparental involvement reported by adolescents. The result follows the predicted pattern: maternal grandparent is reported to involve in a grandchild's life the most, second maternal grandfather, third paternal grandmother and the last paternal grandfather. Second, we focus more closely on separate grandparents and show with four linear regression models which factors are connected to each grandparent's involvement. Grandchild's age, grandparent's health, grandparent's labour force participation and distance between a grandparent and a grandchild were factors that have similar effects in relation to all grandparents. Marital status mattered only for grandfathers, whereas family structure of a grandchild has opposite effects in relation to maternal and paternal grandparents. Grandchild's sex, grandparent's age, the number of grandchildren and the number of living grandparents all mattered, but only with respect to some grandparents. The study shows that it is advantageous to merge sociological and evolutionary viewpoints when studying a grandparental involvement in a modern society.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mirkka Danielsbacka
- Department of Social Research, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 18, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Antti O Tanskanen
- Department of Social Research, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 18, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
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137
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Galván I, Ghanem G, Møller AP. Has removal of excess cysteine led to the evolution of pheomelanin? Bioessays 2012; 34:565-8. [DOI: 10.1002/bies.201200017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
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138
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139
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Daly M, Perry G. Has the Child Welfare Profession Discovered Nepotistic Biases? HUMAN NATURE-AN INTERDISCIPLINARY BIOSOCIAL PERSPECTIVE 2011; 22:350-69. [DOI: 10.1007/s12110-011-9116-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
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140
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Kramer KL. The evolution of human parental care and recruitment of juvenile help. Trends Ecol Evol 2011; 26:533-40. [PMID: 21784548 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2011.06.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2011] [Revised: 05/26/2011] [Accepted: 06/02/2011] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Provisioning of juveniles is a defining characteristic of human life history. Human children are also unusual in cooperating with their siblings, mothers and other adults in the exchange of resources and labor. This article highlights this distinctly human and twofold nature of juvenility within the context of life history evolution and cooperative breeding. Juveniles benefit from continued investment and from helping to support their siblings during a life stage when they cannot contribute to their own reproduction. Rather than juvenile dependence signifying a costly extension of parental care, juvenile provisioning and help are suggested to develop in tandem with the broader pattern of food sharing and division of labor that characterizes human subsistence and sociality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karen L Kramer
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
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141
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Abstract
In animals that breed cooperatively, adult individuals will sometimes delay reproduction to act as helpers at the nest who raise young that are not their genetic offspring. It has been proposed that humans are also a cooperatively breeding species because older daughters, grandmothers, and other kin and nonkin may provide significant childcare. Through a prospective cohort study of children's (n = 1,700) growth and survival in the Dogon of Mali, I show that cooperative breeding theory is a poor fit to the family dynamics of this population. Rather than helping each other, siblings competed for resources, producing a tradeoff between the number of maternal siblings and growth and survival. It did not take a village to raise a child; children fared the same in nuclear as in extended families. Of critical importance was the degree of polygyny, which created conflicts associated with asymmetries in genetic relatedness. The risk of death was higher and the rate of growth was slower in polygynous than monogamous families. The hazard of death for Dogon children was twofold higher if the resident paternal grandmother was alive rather than dead. This finding may reflect the frailty of elderly grandmothers who become net consumers rather than net producers in this resource-poor society. Mothers were of overwhelming importance for child survival and could not be substituted by any category of kin or nonkin. The idea of cooperative breeding taken from animal studies is a poor fit to the complexity and diversity of kin interactions in humans.
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142
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Kramer KL, Greaves RD. Postmarital Residence and Bilateral Kin Associations among Hunter-Gatherers. HUMAN NATURE-AN INTERDISCIPLINARY BIOSOCIAL PERSPECTIVE 2011; 22:41-63. [DOI: 10.1007/s12110-011-9115-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
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143
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Abstract
From changing diapers and minding the kids when school is out to providing support when they set fire to the carpet, grandparents can be invaluable to have around. What motivates grandparents to lend a hand? Several disciplines have offered answers. The most important accounts come from life-history theory and evolutionary psychology, sociology, and economics. These accounts exist side-by-side, but there is little theoretical integration among them. But regardless of whether grandparental investment is traced back to ancestral selection pressure or attributed to an individual grandparent’s values or norms, one important question is, What impact does it have in industrialized, low-fertility, low-mortality societies? We briefly review the initial evidence concerning the impact of grandparental investment in industrialized societies and conclude that in difficult circumstances, grandparents can provide the support that safeguards their grandchildren’s development. Additional cross-disciplinary research to examine the effects of intergenerational transfers in our evolutionarily unique environment of grandparenthood is needed.
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Affiliation(s)
- David A. Coall
- University of Western Australia and Edith Cowan University
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144
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Gray PB, Escasa MJ. Book Review: That's what Friends are for. EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY 2011. [DOI: 10.1177/147470491100900210] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Peter B. Gray
- Department of Anthropology, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
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145
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Kachel AF, Premo LS, Hublin JJ. Grandmothering and natural selection. Proc Biol Sci 2011; 278:384-91. [PMID: 20739319 PMCID: PMC3013409 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2010.1247] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2010] [Accepted: 08/05/2010] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Humans are unique among primates in that women regularly outlive their reproductive period by decades. The grandmother hypothesis proposes that natural selection increased the length of the human post-menopausal period-and, thus, extended longevity-as a result of the inclusive fitness benefits of grandmothering. However, it has yet to be demonstrated that the inclusive fitness benefits associated with grandmothering are large enough to warrant this explanation. Here, we show that the inclusive fitness benefits are too small to affect the evolution of longevity under a wide range of conditions in simulated populations. This is due in large part to the relatively weak selection that applies to women near or beyond the end of their reproductive period. However, we find that grandmothers can facilitate the evolution of a shorter reproductive period when their help decreases the weaning age of their matrilineal grandchildren. Because selection favours a shorter reproductive period in the presence of shorter interbirth intervals, this finding holds true for any form of allocare that helps mothers resume cycling more quickly. We conclude that while grandmothering is unlikely to explain human-like longevity, allocare could have played an important role in shaping other unique aspects of human life history, such as a later age at first birth and a shorter female reproductive period.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Friederike Kachel
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.
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146
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Danielsbacka M, Tanskanen AO, Jokela M, Rotkirch A. Grandparental child care in Europe: evidence for preferential investment in more certain kin. EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY 2011; 9:3-24. [PMID: 22947949 PMCID: PMC10481010 DOI: 10.1177/147470491100900102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2010] [Accepted: 12/31/2010] [Indexed: 07/30/2024] Open
Abstract
Theories of kin selection and parental investment predict stronger investment in children and grandchildren by women and maternal kin. Due to paternity uncertainty, parental and grandparental investments along paternal lineages are based on less certain genetic relatedness with the children and grandchildren. Additionally, the hypothesis of preferential investment (Laham, Gonsalkorale, and von Hippel, 2005) predicts investment to vary according to available investment options. Two previous studies have tested this hypothesis with small samples and conflicting results. Using the second wave of the large and multinational Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), collected in 2006-07, we study the preferential investment hypothesis in contemporary Europe based on self-reported grandparental provision of child care. We predict that 1) maternal grandmothers provide most care for their grandchildren, followed by maternal grandfathers, paternal grandmothers and last by paternal grandfathers; 2) maternal grandfathers and paternal grandmothers provide equal amounts of care when the latter do not have grandchildren via a daughter; 3) women who have grandchildren via both a daughter and a son will look after the children of the daughter more; and 4) men who have grandchildren via both a daughter and a son will look after the children of the daughter more. Results support all four hypotheses and provide evidence for the continuing effects of paternity uncertainty in contemporary kin behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mirkka Danielsbacka
- Department of Philosophy, History, Culture and Art Studies, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
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147
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Sear R, Coall D. How much does family matter? Cooperative breeding and the demographic transition. POPULATION AND DEVELOPMENT REVIEW 2011; 37:81-112. [PMID: 21280366 DOI: 10.1111/j.1728-4457.2011.00379.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 133] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/02/2023]
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148
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Lansford JE, Bornstein MH, Dodge KA, Skinner AT, Putnick DL, Deater-Deckard K. Attributions and Attitudes of Mothers and Fathers in the United States. PARENTING, SCIENCE AND PRACTICE 2011; 11:199-213. [PMID: 21822402 PMCID: PMC3150111 DOI: 10.1080/15295192.2011.585567] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE.: The present study examined mean level similarities and differences as well as correlations between U.S. mothers' and fathers' attributions regarding successes and failures in caregiving situations and progressive versus authoritarian attitudes. DESIGN.: Interviews were conducted with both mothers and fathers in 139 European American, Latin American, and African American families. RESULTS.: Interactions between parent gender and ethnicity emerged for adult-controlled failure and perceived control over failure. Fathers reported higher adult-controlled failure and child-controlled failure attributions than did mothers, whereas mothers reported attitudes that were more progressive and modern than did fathers; these differences remained significant after controlling for parents' age, education, and possible social desirability bias. Ethnic differences emerged for five of the seven attributions and attitudes examined; four remained significant after controlling for parents' age, education, and possible social desirability bias. Medium effect sizes were found for concordance between parents in the same family for attributions regarding uncontrollable success, child-controlled failure, progressive attitudes, authoritarian attitudes, and modernity of attitudes after controlling for parents' age, education, and possible social desirability bias. CONCLUSIONS.: This work elucidates ways that parent gender and ethnicity relate to attributions regarding U.S. parents' successes and failures in caregiving situations and to their progressive versus authoritarian parenting attitudes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer E Lansford
- Center for Child and Family Policy, Duke University, Box 90545, Durham, NC 27708.
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