Evolutionary Perspectives on Parenting
Abstract
This chapter emphasizes the significance of parental behavior and household dynamics in shaping children's development and behavior. It underscores the advantages of adopting an evolutionary-developmental framework and explores essential considerations for integrating such a model into research. By applying Darwinian principles to parenting and development, researchers can unify proximate-level findings within an interconnected framework. This perspective reframes differences in parenting strategies, both within and between households, as adaptive responses shaped by natural selection to optimize survival and reproduction in diverse ecological contexts. The chapter begins by outlining the theoretical foundations of evolutionary developmental psychology, offering a concise overview of methodological approaches employed by developmentalists, and concludes by examining current research trends and future directions.