Population and psychology: New approaches to the determinants of fertility

Abstract

The central focus of the paper is the attempt by demographers, sociologists, economists and psychologists to understand fertility behaviour in developing and developed nations. Historically, demographers have dominated the field, particularly as psychologists in earlier research indicated little support for the influence of social-psychological variables upon fertility behaviour, and economic models remained untested. However, non-demographers retained an interest in population research and psychologists in the mid-1970's attempted again large scale studies of the social and psychological determinants of fertility. Two such psychological approaches were the value of children studies, and the use of expectancy models, especially the behavioural intention and subjective expected utility frameworks. Together these psychological approaches indicate a significant contribution by psychologists to the understanding of the determinants of human fertility.