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NEW! Evolutionary Tidbit of the Month
In seemingly unrelated languages from every corner of the globe, the word corresponding to "mother" contains a sound like /ma/, as in "amma," "mama," or "ima." Father words tend to have the /pa/ or /ba/ sound, like "appa," "abba," "baba," or "papa." A discarded hypothesis held that the words for "mother" and "father" had remained largely unchanged from a proto-language from which all modern languages evolved.
The currently favored explanation is that these are the first sounds infants are able to make, with /m/ being slightly easier (and thus developing sooner) than /p/ or /b/, explaining why the primary caretaker (usually the mother) tends to be referred to by words which sound like "mama" in languages all the world over.
Childhood, Risky Play, and Overprotective Parents
On a recent visit to New Hampshire, my brother’s family took me and my near-3-year-old son on a trip to Story Land. As the name implies, this amusement park was designed for young children and the rides, while thrilling to … Continue reading
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Creating a Whine
Overview: Whines are perceived as annoying vocalizations, and they are supreme at distracting listeners. Their use in attachment relationships just might have a surprising origin. The sound of a crying newborn can evoke many responses in a listener – most … Continue reading
Posted in Evolution and Psychology, Rosemarie Sokol Chang
Tagged Evolutionary Psychology, parenting, whine
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Tantrums, Enough Un-said!
If my son isn’t possessed by a tiny caveperson, what makes him lose his cool so rapidly and monstrously? Continue reading
Is you is, or is you ain’t a cuddler?
People tend to assume that psychologists, as scientists, are bias free in their research – however, if you go a little deeper you can see the biases each researcher holds, and how that affects what s/he studies. Continue reading
Natural Born Mothers?
Maternal Instinct is still very much in the U.S. vernacular, but if mothering is so inborn, why does it seem to require so much instruction to do it well?
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Posted in Evolution and Psychology, Mating and Sexuality, Rosemarie Sokol Chang
Tagged evolution, maternal instinct, mother
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Challenges To and Hope for Evolutionary Theory: The 4th Annual Conference of the NorthEastern Evolutionary Psychology Society
NEEPS 2010, Return to New Paltz. What a whirlwind weekend! How amazing to return to where it all started, just four years ago, and see how far we’ve come. We topped the previous conferences in total numbers of attendees, the … Continue reading
Are You Going to Eat the Placenta? And Other New Age Questions a Modern 1st World Mother Must Endure
It seems a pregnant women is a magnet for unsolicited advice – most often tips for parenting, but even tips regarding how she should give birth. In my own experience, these tips came only from males or childless females, but … Continue reading
An Ethological Look into Elmo’s World
Why do children love Elmo, while parents dread the day their kids learn about this furry red monster? An ethological explanation can add insight into this decades old question. Continue reading
Posted in Evolution and Psychology, Rosemarie Sokol Chang
Tagged Elmo, Ethology, Evolutionary Psychology
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Is Daycare An Evolutionarily Novel Concept?
I am embarking on a new phase of raising my 1-year-old son: daycare. As a work-from-home mom, I am only looking for a very part time option to give Enso a chance to interact with other kids, and give me … Continue reading
Back to the Roots, or Pass the Ketchup Please?
As happens with modern behaviors, the presumed ancestral human diet has been lifted up as a utopian ideal by which to live. The Paleo Diet (also Evolution Diet, NeanderThin) offers a way to return to our roots and reduce the … Continue reading
