Gender differences in attachment from an evolutionary perspective: what is Good for the goose may not be good for the gander

Autor(en)

Harald Euler

Abstrakt

Human gender differences tend to be largest in behaviors of high reproductive relevance, that is, sexual and parenting behavior. Such differences show up best in biologically meaningful configurations of specific behaviors rather than in coarse categories. Paternal involvement is thus expressed in aspects and optima which differ from those of maternal involvement. A case in point is sensitivity in its effect on secure attachment, with paternal behavior to be measured by a yardstick different from maternal behavior. Secure father-child attachment may be fostered by optimal levels of paternal activation/stimulation which are different from maternal optima. Paternal action preferences lead to preferences for rough play, which may be especially relevant to the socialization of male offspring. Moreover, fathers—unlike mothers—may perceive their paternal effort as mating effort. The study of father-child attachment—and especially its differences from mother-child attachment—can benefit from considering evolved sex differences in parental behavior.

Organisation(en)

Externe Organisation(en)

Universität Kassel

Journal

Attachment and Human Development

Band

22

Seiten

4-8

Anzahl der Seiten

5

ISSN

1461-6734

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1080/14616734.2019.1589055

Publikationsdatum

2020

Peer-reviewed

Ja

ÖFOS 2012

501005 Entwicklungspsychologie

Schlagwörter

ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete

Psychiatry and Mental health, Developmental and Educational Psychology

Link zum Portal

https://ucris.univie.ac.at/portal/de/publications/gender-differences-in-attachment-from-an-evolutionary-perspective-what-is-good-for-the-goose-may-not-be-good-for-the-gander(efef8a2f-51ac-41a2-88dd-632377910491).html