Examined Lives: Family Conflict (Session 36)

Family Conflict: How does genetic relatedness help explain family conflicts?

Parent–Offspring Conflict Theory (POCT) describes the evolutionary conflict arising from differences in optimal parental investment in an offspring from the standpoint of the parent and the child. POCT provides evolutionary insights into understanding conflicts between mothers and infants (e.g., weaning, temper tantrums); between parents, children and siblings; parent-child conflicts over mate choice, and helps uses the “big picture” about families by integrating biological and psychological domains of knowledge.

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Resources

• Robert Trivers original 1974 paper, "Parent-Offspring Conflict"
• 10-minute Yale lecture by Stephen Stearns

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