The Limits to Low Fertility

A Biosocial Approach

Bibliographic Data

ID4898341
AuthorsCaroline Foster (0000-0001-8278-8564, Nuffield Foundation, corresponding author)
Year2000
Volume26
Issue2
Pages209-234
Publication date2000-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePopulation and Development Review (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0098-7921 • E-ISSN: 1728-4457
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/j.1728-4457.2000.00209.x
OpenAlexW2015226734
LanguageEN
Citations received43
References cited70

In light of 30 years of below-replacement fertility in many industrialized societies, demographers are asking whether fertility could drop even further, or whether there is a "floor" below which it will not fall. A key unanswered question is whether there may be a variable biological component to fertility motivation which ensures that we continue to reproduce. Drawing on evidence from evolutionary biology, ethology, quantitative genetics, developmental psychobiology, and psychology, the article argues that our evolved biological predisposition is toward nurturing behaviors, rather than having children per se. Humans have the unique ability to be aware of such biological predispositions and translate them into conscious, but nevertheless biologically based, fertility motivation. It is likely that we have already reached the limits to low fertility since this "need to nurture," in conjunction with normative pressures, ensures that the majority of women will want to bear at least one child. A sketch for a biosocial model of fertility motivation is outlined

Biology · Biosocial theory · Developmental psychology · Epistemology · Ethology · Evolutionary biology · Fertility · Human fertility · Nature versus nurture · Normative · Personality · Population · Sketch · Sociology · Computer Science · Demography · Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior · Family Dynamics and Relationships · Genetics · Psychology · Reproductive Health and Technologies · Social Psychology

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