Evolutionary Psychology, Reproduction and Gender Roles

Sociobiology Evolutionary Psychology

Biologists

Primatologists

Ethologists

Anthropologists

Psychologists

Linguists

Lots of Controversy

Fear of Social Darwinism

Arguments about human free will

Arguments about whether humans have instinctive (genetically programmed behavioral tendencies)

First attempts to apply the theories to humans

Edward O. Wilson

Sociobiology: The New Synthesis1975

Some Types of Evolutionary Psychology Theory

Systems Theory

Kin Selection/Inclusive Fitness Theory

Parental Investment TheoryAltruism Theory

Sociability Theory

Multilevel Evolutionary Theory

Kin Diagram Basics

=

male

female

marriage

siblings

= offspring

Kin Selection/Inclusive Fitness

• Individuals will tend to invest in others in proportion to their degree of relatedness.

• Degree of relatedness is calculated using the proportion of genes shared in common.

Kin Selection/Inclusive Fitness Theory

== = = =

1/2

= =1/2

1/2

1/2 1/2

Cousins Brother EGO Sister Cousins

1/2

1/21/2 FaSi FaBr Father Mother MoSi MoBr

Parent-Child ½ Grandparent-Grandchild ¼ (½ x ½)

Aunt/Uncle-Niece/Nephew ¼ (½ x ½) Cousin-Cousin 1/8 (½ x ½ x ½)

Males Females

Parental Investment TheoryRelative Contributions of Males and Females to Offspring

Gamete size and contribution to embryo

Minimum time investment to birth of a child

Minimum emotional investment to autonomous healthy child

Minimum economic investment to autonomous healthy child

1/200,000 of an egg

A few minutes

None

None

200,000 times larger

Nine months

5 to 7 years

5 to 7 years

Parental Investment TheoryMale vs. Female Mating Strategies

What characteristics are most sexy?

Males FemalesYouth, Beauty Power, Wealth

Very important. The female needs help with the large time, emotional and economic investments she must make to produce a healthy adult offspring. She would like her mate to stick around and help.

It varies. Commitment to a single female is one of many strategies for a male. The male can offer fidelity to a single female to help support their offspring. This is only one of the male options. At the other end of the spectrum is “free copulation” leaving females to care for offspring.

How important is exclusivity and

commitment?

Parental Investment TheoryHypotheses about The Range of Male Strategies

The Swinger: Males who attract lots of females who are willing to have sex with them are better off not making a commitment to a single female. They will hope that some of the women with whom they copulate will get pregnant, and that the women will find a way to support/raise the child, either alone, or with the help of another male. This way they have the potential for having large numbers of children in whom they will have invested very little.

The Nerd: Males who do not attract lots of females who are willing to have sex with them can offer commitment as an inducement for sex. They promise long term fidelity and support for the female and her offspring, allowing the female to have more children, or to raise more successful children because she has the time, emotional and economic investments of a male on whom she can count.

Parental Investment TheoryHypotheses about Female Strategies

Females will be attracted to wealthy, powerful males who can help them support and raise their children. This will be especially true in cultures where males control resources. They may tolerate such men having multiple wives or partners as long as they and their children are supported.

Females will be less exclusively monogamous when they have access to economic resources or earning power themselves. However, they will never be as promiscuous as the most promiscuous males.

The risk of pregnancy and the investment that follows conception for women will make them more careful about sexual partners, and more interested in commitment from partners than will ever be true for males.

Overview of TheoriesMarx

Conflict over resourcesEisenstein Add patriarchyVogel Add reproduction of

mode of productionWard Applies World Systems

theory that adds imposition of capitalism = gender stratification

EngelsCivilization = gender stratification

SacksSocial labor = social adulthood

RosaldoMaternally-based

division of labor

Weber Gender stratification behavior follows ideologySanday -Inner Oriented ( women sacred) vs Outer Oriented (women dangerous) societies.

Male dominance associated with technological complexity, migration, conflict and

dangerous situationsOrtner Women are nature, Men are

culture, culture must control nature

Freud/KittayWomb envy

Social Learning TheoryParental Investment

Male Vs Female contributions