Parental investment

Question 1

What is parental investment?

Answer 1

any investment by a parent in an offspring that increases the chance that the offspring will survive at the expense of the parent’s ability to invest in any other offspring

Question 2

Why do males have low parental investment?

Answer 2

they have low paternity confidence
they can produce a vast number of offspring in their lifetime so its not necessary for them to invest heavily in any one child
It makes reproductive sense for males to mate with as many females as possible, as this will enable more of their genes to be passed on

Question 3

Why do females have high parental investment

Answer 3

They’re 100% certain that the child is theirs and carry the child for 9 months. Most women can only have a maximum of 12 pregnancies in their lifetime
Women therefore must invest heavily in their offspring so that the few children they have will survive and pass on her genes
- it makes reproductive sense for a woman to be choosy and only mate with a male she can be sure will provide an dprotect her offspring

Question 4

How is parental investment consistent with anisogamy

Answer 4

differences in male and female sex cells; women must use their gametes wisely; men have many gametes so can be less choosy

Question 5

What is a strength and a limitation of parental investment

Answer 5

s: supported by research (C&H)

l: may not be relevant

Question 6

Evaluate supporting evidence from Clark and Hatfield as a strength of parental investment

Answer 6

P: Supported by Clark and Hatfield’s study

E: Sent an attractive female and male across a uni campus and approached other students with the question, “ I’ve noticed you around campus and you’re attractive would you go to bed with me tonight?” 75% of the males agreed whereas 0% of women agreed

E: Strength as findings suggest females are choosier than men when it comes to casual sex due to their higher parental investment whereas males are more laidback. Such behaviour has evolved because males have lower parental investment and lack paternity certainty

L: Adds further support and validity to the theory of parental investment.

Question 7

Evaluate irrelevance as a limitation of parental investment

Answer 7

P: may not be relevant to today’s society

E: due to changes in social attitudes it is now more acceptable for women to be sexually active and talk freely about sex. Women’s greater role in the workplace means they are no longer dependent on men. In addition to this access to contraception has had an impact on sexual behaviour.

E: limitations as findings of such research may not be relevant today and results lack temporal validity. Social and cultural climate should be considered