Wade C. Mackey

Some Indicators of Fathering Behaviors in the United States: A Crosscultural Examination of Adult Male-Child Interaction

It has been charged that American men are derelict in their paternal duties. This is an important assertion given that the family is the primary socialization agent and that father interaction and nurturing behavior could be just as important to the developing child as such behavior on the part of the mother. In this study, the adult male-child dyads offive countries (United States, Ireland, Spain, Japan, and Mexico) were examined at the proxemic level. It was found that American men (compared to American women) do not associate or interact with children much differently than men (compared to the respective women) in other countries. Of special interest were the findings that American men do associate with children in large numbers when the societal norms allow them access to the children and that American

An Alternate Standard for Evaluating American Fathers

Since the mid-1970s social scientists have given unprecedented attention to American fathers. As birth rates have declined and more women have entered the labor force, expectations for men to assume parenting duties and responsibilities have increased, and numerous studies have compared the parenting of men and women. The studies have generally shown that the parenting of fathers is deficient in comparison to that of mothers. In the study reported here a different standard, the parenting of fathers in other societies, is used to evaluate the performance of U.S. fathers. Viewed from a cross-cultural perspective, American fathers seem typical rather than deficient.

Human sex ratios as a function of the woman's psychodynamics—A preliminary study

Abstract The normative strategy for populations of sexually producing organisms is to invest equally in their male and female offsrpring. However, successful strategiesuals, within a population, may differ substantially from the groups overall trend of investing equally in sons and in daughters. Because producing equal numbers of sons and daughters is one means, ceteris paribus , of allocating equal investments to sons and to daughters, sex ratios were examined. The sex ratio of children from high-status, high-achievement adults in the United States are compared to those of the general population. Preliminary results do suggest that sex ratios at birth are patterned according to individual strategies. The data are consonant with predictions emanating from evolutionary theory with a proximate cause including the psychoemotional condition of the woman.

Reasons American Men Become Fathers: Men's Divulgences, Women's Perceptions

ABSTRACT Ninety American men were asked to indicate the order of importance of 10 reasons for becoming a father (either biological or social). One hundred thirty-six women were asked to predict the mens answers. For the men, psychological reasons and, to a lesser extent, social reasons were more powerful motivators than economic reasons were. The womens predictions were quite accurate. Age, parental status, and ethnicity did not affect either sexs answers.

A facet of the man-child bond: The teeter-totter effect

Abstract Evidence is presented for the candidacy of the adult male-child bond as a species-characteristic behavior. The evidence includes (a) catholicity of trait, (b) arbitrariness of trait, (c) adequate number of observations to allow intracultural norms to emerge, (d) substantial incidence of the traits occurrence, and (e) accurate predictability of facets of the trait. If the candidacy is successful, then the adult male-child bond is hypothesized to be a generalized or thematic behavior pattern that is canalized and biased by (autogenetic and active) processes within the motivation systems—the nervous system and the endocrine system. These systems, in turn, are under partial control of the genetic constellations which are characteristic of the species Homo sapiens .

A cross-cultural perspective on perceptions of paternalistic deficiencies in the United States: The myth of the derelict daddy

The image of the American father figure, as depicted by both the professional and the popular media, ranges from neutrality to one of a negative connotation: unavailable, aloof, inadequate, incompetent, fumbling. Empirical data from 18 cultures on adult-child proxemic interactions suggest that American fathers may be providing normative contact time and normative interaction with their children. The apparent inconsistency between the image and the behavior is examined. It is argued that the status-role complexes of “primary child caretaker” and of “soldier” are incompatible. Because males have been universally given the status of soldier, they cannot also be given the status of primary child caretaker. To prevent or reduce role conflict, the males are socialized to avoid internalizing the status of primary child caretaker. Once the symboling system is internalized, with the symbols of soldier and primary child caretaker discretely compartmentalized, then the actual behaviors can overlap considerably. The inconsistency of the image and the data is suggested to reflect a delicate societal charade which shields high levels of man-child interaction from social tampering.

A cross-cultural analysis of recruitment into all male groups: An ethological perspective

Empirical data were gathered on proxemic behaviors between adults and children in 10 cultures. The results were analyzed by gender composition of adult groups, by gender of child and by age of child. Across the 10 culture sample, the older boy-adult male dyad was uniquely over-represented compared to the five other combinations of adult groups and children. This asymmetry of association of the older boy-man dyad is discussed in reference to the asymmetrical division of labor by gender which was presumed extant during the development of the genus Homo . It is assumed that for pre-agrarian Homo , hunting was a male prerogative. Consequently, persistent and strong selective pressures would be generated upon men to develop male-male bonds and to recruit older boys into all male hunting groups. It is suggested that the “bonding” behaviors are mediated and canalized by the neural and hormonal systems which in turn are subtended by particular constellations of genetic material operating within a normative and generalized environment.

A Cross-Cultural Analysis of Adult-Child Proxemics in Relation to the Plowman-Protector Complex: A Preliminary Study1

Cross-cultural analyses have documented linkages between sub sistence economy, socialization pressure, and personality type. Here I extend the sequence to include proxemic behaviors between adults and children. Proxemic data were gathered from eleven cultures; prox emic relationships between men and children varied predictably with variations in other societal components. As the reliance upon the males superior strength in handling large animals increased and as the ethnic heterogeneity of a community increased, the less equal was his asso ciation patterns toward boys and girls. When the reliance of a com munity upon plowmen or herders was low and the community was ethnically homogeneous, the men associated with children with greater egalitarianism. The woman-child dyad was relatively independent both of the communitys reliance upon plowmen and of the level of ethnic homogeneity. However, the woman-child dyad was more likely to as sociate with another woman (rather than with a man) when the re liance upon plowmen/herders and the index of ethnic heterogeneity were both increased.

The Placenta: the Celibate Sibling

The human placenta is in a unique position in regard to sociobiological theory. The human placenta is unequivocally a manifestation of the human genotype; yet, its form and function are independent of sociocultural symbols and socialization tranditions. Consequently, predictions of the placental biogram generated by sociobiological theory—which are validated by empirical reality—would be without competing explanations from a socialisation-tradition ( tabula rasa ) paradigm. Sociobiological theory predicts that placental strategies would develop a placental metabolism and biogram which would minimize maternal deaths at the expense of fetal deaths. An empirical test supports the sociobiological theory.

Parameters of the Man-Child Bond

Two sets of data have presented themselves to be analyzed. One set suggests a behavioral commonality which in turn suggests a similar factor or cluster of factors causing the commonality. The second set reveals systematic change in how the variables predictably relate to each other.