The Grandmother Hypothesis and Human Evolution

Hawkes, Kristen; O’Connell, James F.; Jones, Nicholas; Alvarez, Helen; Charnov, Eric L.

doi:10.4324/9781351329200-15

Cited by 63 publications

(61 citation statements)

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“…However, there is a need for additional research that considers different types of synthetic hormones (e.g., levonorgestrel vs. drospirenone) and different types of hormonal contraceptives (e.g., injectable vs. pill, monophasic vs. multiphasic) on women's mating psychology (e.g., mate preferences, sexual behavior), especially using a within-subject design. Correspondingly, although some have argued that menopause is accompanied by a shift away from matingoriented psychology (e.g., Hawkes, O'Connell, Jones, Alvarez, & Charnov, 1998) and a reduction in behaviors aimed at acquiring and securing a mate (e.g., Vukovic et al, 2009), the impact of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) on many mating and family-related behaviors has yet to be investigated. Given their increasing popularity among women and men (i.e., androgen replacement therapy), HRT is a fruitful area for additional investigation.…”

Section: Reproductive Behaviormentioning

confidence: 99%

Future Directions in Human Behavioral Endocrinology

Welling

Shackelford

2019

The Oxford Handbook of Evolutionary Psychology and Behavioral Endocrinology

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Research within behavioral endocrinology has produced substantial advances over the past few decades. Knowledge of the biological mechanisms involved in human behavior informs evolutionary perspectives on selection pressures in our ancestral past, which encourages the development of more complete theories and more refined research questions. Yet, despite these advances, many unanswered questions remain. This chapter outlines broad suggestions for future hormone research within the topics of development and survival, reproductive behavior, and social and affective behavior. It concludes with several general suggestions for the field, including more research using hormonal assays, longitudinal and experimental designs, exogenous hormone administration, and cross-cultural work. It also suggests that researchers continue to consider the function of other endocrine traits (e.g., carrier proteins) and measure or manipulate hormones in combination with assessing hormone receptor genes. Behavioral endocrinology is a field replete with important future research directions that will contribute important insights into the evolution of our own and other species.

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Section: Reproductive Behaviormentioning

confidence: 99%

Future Directions in Human Behavioral Endocrinology

Welling

Shackelford

2019

The Oxford Handbook of Evolutionary Psychology and Behavioral Endocrinology

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“…Evolutionary reasoning predicts emotional benefits to having and nurturing grandchildren given the direct influence of grandparenting on genetic fitness (Hilbrand, Coall, Gerstorf, & Hertwig, 2017). Humans are cooperative breeders (mothers rely on others for help raising children) and one of the most influential helpers is a grandmother, especially a maternal grandmother (Hawkes, O'Connell, Jones, Alvarez, & Charnov, 1998). Post-menopausal women gain more in terms of genetic legacy by helping their daughters to raise their grand-offspring than by continuing to reproduce themselvesthis explains the adaptive value of human menopause.…”

Section: Theory and Mechanismsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Becoming a first-time grandparent and subjective well-being. A fixed effects approach.

Sheppard¹,

Monden²

2018

Preprint

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Objective: In this study, we examine how individuals are affected by the change in status to grandparenthood for the first time.Background: Being a grandparent, especially an active and involved grandparent, is positively linked to the well-being of individuals with grandchildren, however little is known about how becoming a grandparent affects well-being.Method: We use longitudinal data from fifteen countries in Europe (Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe - SHARE) to analyse if becoming a grandparent is associated with three measures of subjective well-being. We use fixed effects models to account for unobserved heterogeneity.Results: We found evidence that becoming a first-time grandparent is associated with fewer depressive symptoms among women, although there was no effect on subjective life expectancy or life satisfaction. For men, we found no evidence for an impact on any outcome tested, although there is an association with increased subjective life expectancy conditional on employment status; only if men were employed when transitioning to grandparenthood. We also found no evidence that actively looking after the grandchild is important for either gender.Conclusion: These results suggest that, at least for women, it is the life transition itself that impacts on well-being, rather than active grandchild-care. More research is needed to verify these findings in other contexts, and over longer periods of time.

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“…Since the 1970ties several evolutionary scenarios of human menopause were proposed to explain the phenomenon of menopause. We can distinguish between the adaptive hypotheses such as the grandmother hypothesis or the good mother hypothesis and the so called by-product hypotheses [62,63].The byproduct hypothesis is based on the assumption the in our past women did not live long enough to experience menopause. Consequently menopause is nothing else than a by-product of increased life span and therefore a very recent phenomenon [62].…”

Section: Bone Loss and Physical Activity -A Human Life History Perspementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Therefore women did not suffer from menopause related bone loss or osteoporosis because they did not live long enough. On the other hand there is some evidence that menopause occurred first about 1.8 million years ago at the time when Homo erectus lived [62,63]. At this stage of hominid evolution growth patterns and encephalisation made a long dependency of offspring necessary and leads to life history patterns comparable to those of Homo sapiens [63].…”

Section: Bone Loss and Physical Activity -A Human Life History Perspementioning

confidence: 99%

Bone Loss and Physical Activity - A Bio Anthropological Perspective

Kirchengast¹

2016

J Osteopor Phys Act

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Increased life expectancy on the one hand and dramatically reduced physical activity in daily life on the other hand are characteristic features of postmodern life. Consequently Homo sapiens is increasingly confronted with the problems associated with accelerated bone loss, osteoporosis and osteoporosis related fractures. This is true of Industrialised countries as well as of threshold countries. A major risk factor of osteoporosis and low bone mass is physical inactivity. Up to now, bone loss and osteoporosis are mainly focused on from a clinical viewpoint. In the present review a bioanthropological perspective of the association between physical inactivity and osteoporosis is provided. The problem is discussed from the viewpoint of life history theory, but also from the viewpoint of evolutionary biology, especially evolutionary medicine and paleopathology.

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The Grandmother Hypothesis and Human Evolution

Cited by 63 publications

References 0 publications

Future Directions in Human Behavioral Endocrinology

Future Directions in Human Behavioral Endocrinology

Becoming a first-time grandparent and subjective well-being. A fixed effects approach.

Bone Loss and Physical Activity - A Bio Anthropological Perspective

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