Parental Investment theory
ANTH/SOC 333: Women Across Cultures
Kimberly Porter Martin, Ph.D.
Some Parental Investment
Theory (PIT) Definitions
• Parental investment – biological,
economic, social and emotional support
for offspring.
• Differential reproduction – variability in the
number of offspring produced by
individuals.
• Reproductive potential – the maximum
number of offspring possible for an
individual.
• Reproductive success – production of
offspring that survive and reproduce.
Logical Connections from PIT
• Human males only have to make a minimal
parental investment to obtain reproductive success
(a few sperm)
• Female humans must make an enormous parental
investment to obtain reproductive success (+/- 5
years)
• Male humans have reproductive potential limited
only by the number of partners
• Females have limited reproductive potential
because of the investment needed from mothers
• Males and females will have significantly different
mate selection strategies because of differential
parental investment.
Some PIT Assumptions
• Human mate choice is influenced by
inherited characteristics
• Inherited characteristics will reflect the
most successful mating strategies over
time
• Human mate choice is influenced by both
conscious and unconscious factors
• Culture is the learned set of strategies that
help individuals maximize their
reproductive success.