Why do we look after children - Essay Example

Through their research they have show that humans, like primates, share many similar patterns and evolutionary traits with respect to parenting as a means to increase survival. Are we really that different? See Figures 2 and 3 in the appendix at the rear of the paper. Geary and Flinn (2001) assert that “at a social and behavioural level these characteristics function to allow individuals to gain access to and control of the associated resources, such as food, mates, and territory” (pp. 6-7).

The main impetus that holds us from achieving this is largely dependent upon the behaviours exhibited by others of the same species. This complex nature which we call social behaviour is nothing more than the evolutionary process we, as humans, have undergone as a means to achieve this. The only difference is the complexity of the social competencies that a species possesses. As an example, both gorillas and chimpanzees social competencies have evolved so that a great portion of their sustainability lies in their ability to protect their young from other males within their respective species Regardless of the complexity of social competences, humans, as with primates, share one common goal and strategy.

“The ultimate function of parental behaviour is, however, the same: to provide a social context that enables the acquisition of sociocompetitive competencies” (Geary and Flinn, 2001, p. 7). As we have evolved we have adapted to this by means of developing social groupings and ties that assist us in ensuring survival through a cooperative effort to gain the needed resources to assure our sustainability. Figure 4 in the appendices displays what Geary and Flinn demonstrate as the unique characteristics of man as we have evolved.

In the following pages we will examine the question ‘why we look after children?’ through examination of the various factors, both psychologically and biologically, that have enabled us to survive as a species, perpetuate our