Instructions

Please respond to one question from Section 1 AND to one question from Section 2.

Section 1 Biology, Gender, and Human Evolution

(50) Please respond to ONE of the following. Be as complete and concise as possible. Responses should be approximately 750 to 850 words long and will be evaluated on the basis of clarity, coherence, logic of argument, and evidence of familiarity with relevant course materials, as indicated in the Grading Criteria posted on the course D2L website.

1. Discuss the difficulties and advantages of using animal models to provide “biological” explanations for human behaviour, social roles, and gender differences.

2. Critically evaluate the male strength – male aggression hypotheses as “explanation” for human dimorphism and social roles.

3. Discuss the validity of the male bonding hypothesis that has been offered to explain the human sexual division of labour and the tendency for male domination in human societies.

4. Critically evaluate the female childbearing – maternal instinct hypotheses proposed to explain the evolution of human male-female physical and sociocultural differences.

5. Summarize the deficit father model and critically evaluate its usefulness in accounting for

(1) father-infant bonding practices among the Aka and mainstream North Americans, and

(2) aspects of each culture that support father-infant bonding practices in those cultures.

Relevant Readings: