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10. The Role of Ontogeny in Understanding Human Demographic Behaviour
- Paula Sheppard(author)
- David A. Coall(author)
Chapter of: Human Evolutionary Demography(pp. 233–250)
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Title | 10. The Role of Ontogeny in Understanding Human Demographic Behaviour |
---|---|
Contributor | Paula Sheppard(author) |
David A. Coall(author) | |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.11647/obp.0251.10 |
Landing page | https://www.openbookpublishers.com/books/10.11647/obp.0251/chapters/10.11647/obp.0251.10 |
License | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
Copyright | Paula Sheppard; David A. Coall; |
Publisher | Open Book Publishers |
Published on | 2024-06-14 |
Long abstract | Ontogeny, the development of an organism from conception to maturity, is one of Tinbergen’s two proximate explanations for understanding why we do the things we do. As well as genetic inheritance, the developmental environment, which parents make a large contribution to, is crucial for shaping a child’s life. It shapes not only their physical and psychological development but also influences the adult child’s reproductive strategy and ultimately their life expectancy. Demographers care about fertility and mortality which, when understood within an evolutionary framework, are two entwined processes that influence, and are in turn influenced by, the individual’s developmental trajectory. Here, we provide a summary of how development operates throughout life; from the womb, through childhood, adolescence and puberty, the reproductive years through to menopause and death. We take a life-history approach with a focus on how developmental influences during early life have long-reaching consequences for mortality and fertility. We illustrate each section with theoretical advances, empirical examples, and evaluation of the current literature. We hope to demonstrate that thinking about human demographic behavior in light of ontogeny can be revealing and provide a useful theoretical basis for demographic research. |
Page range | pp. 233–250 |
Print length | 18 pages |
Language | English (Original) |
Contributors
Paula Sheppard
(author)Lecturer at University of Oxford
Paula Sheppard is an evolutionary anthropologist with research interests in families and reproductive decision-making, as well as more broadly, life-history theory and evolutionary public health. She is currently a lecturer at the University of Oxford.
David A. Coall
(author)David Coall is an evolutionary anthropologist. His research focuses on applying evolutionary theory to understanding inter-generational influences on health and behaviour within families. He specifically explores the impact the childhood environment has on subsequent growth, development and reproduction and the roles grandparents play in families and its health consequences.
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