ScienceDaily (Apr. 9, 2012) ? Major life decisions such as marriage, divorce, abortion, having a child and attending university may be subconsciously influenced by how long people believe they will live, according to a Queen's University study.
"Life expectancy might be driving all of these major decisions," says Daniel Krupp, a post doctoral fellow in the Queen's math department who has a background in psychology and biology.
The longer someone expects to live, the more time they will invest in education. If life expectancy is short, someone may decide to get married and have children sooner, or stick with the partner they are currently with rather than seek a divorce.
It is impossible to know how long someone is going to live, but there are many life expectancy cues not consciously processed, affecting how many more years people expect to live. How healthy are they? Do they have a risky job? Are their grandparents still alive? Is there a history of disease in the family?
A branch of evolutionary theory known as life history theory predicts life expectancy to influence major life decisions in humans, as it does in the lives of other animals. Dr. Krupp's findings based on population data from Statistics Canada help to confirm this.
The study just been published online by the Archives of Sexual Behaviour.
Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:
Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:
Story Source:
The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Queen's University.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
- Daniel Brian Krupp. Marital, Reproductive, and Educational Behaviors Covary with Life Expectancy. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 2012; DOI: 10.1007/s10508-012-9949-z
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
los angeles news grammys 2011 mike leach mike leach billy graham scion fr s elf on a shelf
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.