236
Views
10
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Original Articles

Is perceived childlessness a cue for stereotyping? Evolutionary aspects of a social phenomenon

Pages 33-46 | Published online: 23 Aug 2010

References

  • Alcock , J. 2001 . Animal behavior: An evolutionary approach , Sunderland , MA : Sinauer Associates .
  • Amador , J. , Charles , T. , Tait , J. and Helm , H. W. 2005 . Sex and generational differences in desired characteristics in mate selection . Psychol. Rep. , 96 : 19 – 25 .
  • Ambady , N. and Rosenthal , R. 1992 . Thin slices of expressive behavior as predictors of interpersonal consequences: A meta‐analysis . Psychol. Bull. , 111 : 256 – 274 .
  • Bates , J. , Marvinnen , D. , Kelly , T. , Dodge , K. , Bennett , T. and Pettit , G. 1994 . Child‐care history and kindergarten adjustment . Dev. Psychol. , 30 : 690 – 700 .
  • Belsky , J. and Eggebeen , D. 1991 . Early and extensive maternal employment and young children's socio‐emotional development: Children of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth . J. Marr. Fam. , 53 : 1083 – 1110 .
  • Betzig , L. 1989 . Causes of conjugal dissolution: a cross‐cultural study . Curr. Anthropol. , 30 : 654 – 676 .
  • Biernat , M. , Vescio , T. K. , Theno , S. A. and Crandall , C. S. Values and prejudice: Toward understanding the impact of American values on outgroup attitudes . The psychology of values: The Ontario Symposium 8 . Erlbaum, Mahwah , NJ . Edited by: Seligman , C. , Olson , J.M. and Zanna , M.P. pp. 153 – 189 .
  • Black , M. M. , Dubowitz , H. and Starr , R. H. 1999 . African American fathers in low income, urban families: development, behavior, and home environment of their three‐year‐old children . Child Dev. , 70 : 967 – 978 .
  • Botwin , M. D. , Buss , D. M. and Shackelford , T. K. 1997 . Personality and mate preferences: five factors in mate selection and marital satisfaction . J. Personal. , 65 : 107 – 136 .
  • Bramlett , M. D. and Blumberg , S. J. 2007 . Family structure and children's physical and mental health . Health Aff. (Millwood) , 26 : 549 – 558 .
  • Burns , P. G. 2005 . Reducing infant mortality rates using the perinatal periods of risk model . Public Health Nurs. , 22 : 2 – 7 .
  • Buss , D. M. 1989 . Sex difference in human mate preferences: Evolutionary hypotheses tested in 37 cultures . Behav. Brain Sci. , 12 : 1 – 49 .
  • Buss , D. M. 1991 . Mate selection for good parenting skills . Behav. Brain Sci. , 14 : 520 – 521 .
  • Buss , D. M. 1992 . Do women have evolved preferences for men with resources? . Ethol. Sociobiol. , 12 : 401 – 108 .
  • Buss , D. M. 1999 . Evolutionary Psychology. The new science of the mind , Boston : Allyn and Bacon .
  • Buss , D. M. , Larsen , R. J. , Westen , D. and Semmelroth , J. 1992 . Sex differences in jealousy: Evolution, physiology, and psychology . Psych. Sci. , 3 : 251 – 255 .
  • Calhoun , L. G. and Selby , J. W. 1980 . Voluntary childlessness, involuntary childlessness, and having children: A study of social perceptions . Fam. Relat. , 29 : 181 – 183 .
  • Callan , V. J. 1985 . Perceptions of parents, the voluntarily and involuntarily childless: A multidimensional scaling analysis . J. Marr. Fam. , 47 : 1045 – 1050 .
  • Callan , V. J. 1983 . Perceptions of parenthood and childlessness: A comparison of mothers and voluntarily childless wives . Pop. Environ. , 6 : 179 – 189 .
  • Campbell , E. 1983 . Becoming voluntarily childless: an exploratory study in a Scottish city . Sox. Biol. , 30 : 307 – 317 .
  • Christiansen , S. L. and Palkovitz , R. 2001 . Why the “good provider” role still matters: Providing as a form of paternal involvement . J. Fam. Iss. , 22 : 84 – 106 .
  • Correll , S. J. and Benard , S. Getting a job: is there a motherhood penalty? . Paper presented at the American Sociological Association . Philadelphia , PA .
  • Cosmides , L. and Tooby , J. 1994 . “ Origins of domain specificity: The evolution of functional organization ” . In Mapping the mind: Domain specificity in cognition and culture , Edited by: Hirschfeld , L. and Gelman , S. 85 – 116 . New York : Cambridge University Press .
  • Crawford , M. T. , Sherman , S. J. and Hamilton , D. L. 2002 . Perceived entitativity, stereotype formation, and the interchangeability of group members . J. Personal. Soc. Psych. , 83 : 1076 – 1094 .
  • Cunningham , W. A. , Johnson , M. K. , Gatenby , J. C. and Gore , J.C. 2003 . Neural components of social evaluation . J. Person. Soc. Psychol. , 85 : 639 – 649 .
  • Daly , M. and Wilson , M. 2001 . An assessment of some proposed exceptions to the phenomena of nepotistic discrimination against stepchildren . Ann. Zool. Fennici , 38 : 287 – 296 .
  • Davis , K. 1986 . Replacement fertility in industrial societies: Causes, consequences, policies . Pop. Dev. Rev. , 12 : 48 – 65 .
  • East , L. , Jackson , D. and O'Brien , L. 2006 . Father absence and adolescent development: a review of the literature . J. Child. Health Care , 10 : 283 – 295 .
  • Eby , L. T. , Allen , T. D. , Noble , C. L. and Lockwood , A. L. 2004 . Perceptions of singles and single parents: A laboratory experiment . J. Appl. Soc. Psychol. , 34 : 1329 – 1352 .
  • Etaugh , C. K. and Czachorski , H. 1981 . Evaluating competence: Effects of sex, marital status, and parental status . Psych. Women Quart. , 6 : 196 – 203 .
  • Figueredo , A. J. , Sefcek , J. A. and Jones , D. N. 2006 . The ideal romantic partner personality . Pers. Ind. Diff. , 41 : 431 – 441 .
  • Fleming , A. , Corter , C. , Stallings , J. and Steiner , M. 2002 . Testosterone and prolactin are associated with emotional responses to infant cries in new fathers . Horm. Behav. , 42 : 399 – 413 .
  • Fuegen , K. , Biernat , M. , Haines , E. and Deaux , K. 2004 . Mothers and fathers in the workplace: How gender and parental status influence judgments of job‐related competence . J. Soc. Iss. , 60 : 737 – 754 .
  • Ganong , L. H. , Coleman , M. and Mapes , D. 1990 . A meta‐analytic review of family structure stereotypes . J. Marr. Fam. , 52 : 287 – 297 .
  • Geary , D. C. 2000 . Evolution and proximate expression of human paternal investment . Psychol. Bull. , 126 : 55 – 77 .
  • Gray , P. B. , Yang , C. F. and Pope , H. G. 2006 . Fathers have lower salivary testosterone levels than unmarried men and married non‐fathers in Beijing, China . Proc. Biol. Sci. , 273 : 333 – 339 .
  • Greenbaum , H. 1973 . Marriage, family and parenthood . Am. J. Psych. , 130 : 1262 – 1265 .
  • Greitemeyer , T. , Hengmith , S. and Fischer , P. 2005 . Sex differences in the willingness to betray and switch romantic partners . Swiss J. Psychol. , 64 : 265 – 272 .
  • Gustavus , S. O. and Henley , J. R. 1971 . Correlates of voluntary childlessness in a select population . Soc. Biol. , 18 : 277 – 284 .
  • Hamilton , W. D. 1963 . The evolution of altruistic behavior . Am. Nat. , 97 : 354 – 356 .
  • Heath , K. M. and Hadley , C. 1998 . Dichotomous male reproductive strategies in a polygynous human society: Mating versus parental effort . Curr. Anthropol. , 39 : 369 – 374 .
  • Heywood , J. S. 1989 . Sexual selection by the handicap mechanism . Evolution , 43 : 1387 – 1397 .
  • Hill , S. E. and Reeve , H. K. 2005 . Low fertility in humans as the evolutionary outcome of snowballing resource games . Behav. Ecol. , 16 : 398 – 402 .
  • Hird , M. J. and Abshoff , K. 2000 . Women without children: A contradiction in terms? . Canad. J. Comp. Fam. Stud. , 31 : 347 – 366 .
  • Hoelzer , G. A. 1989 . The good parent process of sexual selection . Animal Behav. , 38 : 1067 – 1078 .
  • Howard , J. A. , Blumstein , P. and Schwartz , P. 1987 . Social or evolutionary theories: Some observations on preferences in human mate selection . J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. , 53 : 194 – 200 .
  • Huddy , L. and Capelos , T. 2002 . “ Gender stereotyping and candidate evaluation: Good news and bad news for women politicians ” . In The social psychology of politics , Edited by: Ottati , V.C. and Tindale , R.S. 29 – 54 . New York : Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers .
  • Hurlburt , M. S. , Leslie , L. K. , Landsverk , J. , Barth , R. P. , Burns , B. J. , Gibbons , R. D. , Slymen , D. J. and Zhang , J. 2004 . Contextual predictors of mental health service use among children open to child welfare . Arch. Gen. Psych. , 61 : 1217 – 1224 .
  • Iwasa , Y. and Pomiankowski , A. 1999 . Good parent and good genes models of handicap evolution . J. Theoret. Biol. , 200 : 97 – 109 .
  • Kaplan , H. , Lancaster , J. , Tucker , W. T. and Anderson , K. G. 2002 . An evolutionary approach to below replacement fertility . Am. J. Hum. Biol. , 14 : 233 – 256 .
  • Kaplan , H. S. , Hill , K. , Lancaster , J. and Hurtado , A. M. 2000 . A theory of human life history evolution: Diet, intelligence, and longevity . Evol. Anthropol. , 9 : 156 – 185 .
  • Kemkes , A. 2006 . Does the sex of firstborn children influence subsequent fertility behavior? Evidence from family reconstitution . J. Fam. Hist. , 31 : 144 – 162 .
  • Kohler , H.‐P. , Billari , F. C. and Ortega , J. A. 2002 . The emergence of lowest‐low fertility in Europe during the 1990s . Pop. Dev. Rev. , 28 : 641 – 680 .
  • Kokko , H. 1998 . Should advertising parental care be honest? . Proc. Roy. Soc. London , 265 : 1871 – 1878 .
  • La Cerra , M. M. 1995 . Evolved mate preferences in women: Psychological adaptations for assessing a man's willingness to invest in offspring , Santa Barbara : University of California . Doctoral dissertation,
  • Lamastro , V. 2001 . Childless by choice? Attributions and attitudes concerning family size . Soc. Behav. Personal. , 29 : 231 – 243 .
  • Lampard , R. and Peggs , K. 1999 . Repartnering: the relevance of parenthood and gender to cohabitation and remarriage among formerly married . Br. J. Soc. , 50 : 443 – 465 .
  • Lampman , C. and Dowling‐Guyer , S. 1995 . Attitudes toward voluntary and involuntary childlessness . Basic Appl. Soc. Psych. , 17 : 213 – 222 .
  • Luszyk , D. 2001 . Geschlechtsunterschiede in Partnerwahlpräferenzen. Ein Beitrag zur Diskussion zwischen Evolutionsbiologie und Sozioökonomie . Z. Sozialpsych. , 32 : 95 – 106 .
  • Maher , J and Dever , M. 2004 . What matters to women: beyond reproductive stereotypes . People Place , 12 : 10 – 17 .
  • Mathes , E. W. 2005 . Men's desire for children carrying their genes and sexual jealousy: A test of paternity uncertainty as an explanation of male sexual jealousy . Psych. Rep. , 96 : 791 – 798 .
  • May , E. T. 1995 . Barren in the promised land: Childless Americans and the pursuit of happiness , Cambridge , MA : Harvard University Press .
  • Miall , C. E. 1986 . The stigma of involuntary childlessness . Soc. Problems , 33 : 268 – 282 .
  • Miller , A. R. 2005 . “ The effects of motherhood timing on career path ” . Working paper. http//www.Virginia.edu/economics/papers/miller/fertilitytiming‐miller.pdf.
  • Minton , J. , Shell , J. and Solomon , L. Z. 2005 . Values of fathers for themselves and their newborns . Psych. Rep. , 96 : 323 – 333 .
  • Motherwell , L. and Prudent , S. 1998 . Childlessness and group psychotherapy: Psychological and sociological perspectives . Group , 22 : 145 – 157 .
  • Mueller , K. A. and Yoder , J. D. 1997 . Gendered norms for family size, employment and occupation: Are there personal costs for violating them? . Sex Roles , 36 : 207 – 220 .
  • Neuberg , S. L. , Smith , D. M and Asher , T. 2000 . “ Why people stigmatize: Toward a biocultural framework ” . In The social psychology of stigma , Edited by: Heatherton , T. , Kleck , R. , Hull , J. G. and Hebl , M. 31 – 61 . New York : Guilford .
  • Nichols , W. C. and Pace‐Nichols , M. A. 2000 . “ Childless married couples ” . In Handbook of family development and intervention , Edited by: Nichols , W. C. 171 – 188 . New York : John Wiley .
  • Park , K. 2002 . Stigma management among the voluntarily childless . Soc. Persp. , 45 : 21 – 45 .
  • Park , K. 2005 . Choosing childlessness: Weber's typology of action and motives of the voluntarily childless . Soc. Inq. , 75 : 372 – 402 .
  • Pohlman , E. 1970 . Childlessness, intentional and unintentional . J. Nerv. Ment. Disease , 151 : 2 – 12 .
  • Polit , D. F. 1978 . Stereotypes relating to family‐size status . J. Marr. Fam. , 40 : 105 – 114 .
  • Pruett , K. D. 1998 . Role of the father . Pediatrics , 102 : 1253 – 1261 .
  • Rowland , D. 1998 . Cross‐national trends in childlessness , Working Papers in Demography 73 Australian National University .
  • Schuiling , G. A. 2003 . The benefit and the doubt: why monogamy? . J. Psychosom. Obstet. Gynaecol. , 24 : 55 – 61 .
  • Sear , R. , Steele , F. , Mcgregor , I. A. and Mace , R. 2002 . The effects of kin on child mortality in rural Gambia . Demogr. , 39 : 43 – 63 .
  • Shackelford , T. K. , Schmitt , D. P. and Buss , D. M. 2005 . Universal dimensions of mate preferences . Personal. Indiv. Diff. , 39 : 447 – 458 .
  • Somers , M. D. 1993 . A comparison of voluntarily childfree adults and parents . J. Marr. Fam. , 55 : 643 – 650 .
  • Stasio , M. J. 2002 . Aspects of cognition in human mate selection , Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College . Doctoral dissertation,
  • Symons , D. 1979 . The Evolution of Human Sexuality , Oxford : Oxford University Press .
  • Tarkka , M.‐T. , Paunonen , M. and Laippala , P. 2000 . How first‐time mothers cope with child care while still in the maternity ward . Int. J. Nursing Prac , 6 : 97 – 104 .
  • Thornton , A. 1989 . Changing attitudes toward family issues in the United States . J. Marr. Fam. , 51 : 873 – 893 .
  • Thornton , A. and Young‐Demarco , L. 2001 . Four decades of trends in attitudes toward family issues in the United States: The 1960s through the 1990s . J. Marr. Fam. , 63 : 1009 – 1037 .
  • Tölke , A. and Diewald , M. 2002 . Berufsbiographische Unsicherheiten und der Übergang zur Elternschaft bei Männem , MPDIR Working Paper WP 2002–011 http://www.demogr.mpg.de/papers/working/wp‐2002–011.pdf
  • Tooby , J. and Cosmides , L. 1992 . “ The psychological foundations of culture ” . In The adapted mind , Edited by: Barkow , J. , Cosmides , L. and Tooby , J. 19 – 136 . New York : Oxford University Press .
  • Trivers , R. L. 1972 . “ Parental investment and sexual selection ” . In Sexual selection and the descent of man 1871–1971 , Edited by: Campbell , B. 136 – 179 . Chicago : Aldine Publishing .
  • Turke , P. W. 1989 . Evolution and the demand for children . Pop. Dev. Rev. , 15 : 61 – 90 .
  • Veevers , J. E. 1972 . “ The violation of fertility mores: Voluntary childlessness as deviant behavior ” . In Deviant behavior and societal reaction , Edited by: Grindstaff , C. and Whitehead , P. 571 – 592 . New York : Holt, Rinehart & Winston .
  • Veevers , J. E. 1980 . Childless by choice Butterworths , Toronto
  • Weston , R. and Qu , L. 2001 . Men's and women's reasons for not having children . Fam. Matters , 58 : 10 – 15 .
  • Williams , G. S. 1966 . Natural selection, the costs of reproduction and a refinement of Lack's principle . Am Naturalist , 100 : 687 – 690 .
  • Address correspondence to: Dr. Ariane Kemkes, Tholius Institute ‐ Research in Applied Demography, P.O. Box 25335, Scottsdale, AZ 85255; Tel: 480–254–7223; Fax: 480–585–8565. E‐mail: akemkes@ tholiusinstitute.com

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.