Paternity Confusion

Synonyms

Cuckoldry; Paternal uncertainty

Definition

The uncertainty faced by males related to whether or not an offspring is his own. An adaptive hurdle that puts males at risk of raising offspring that do not share his genes.

Introduction

Males and females differ when it comes to parental investment (Trivers 1972). Given that females pay high costs to create one offspring, they tend to be more selective as to which mates they choose and typically pursue long-term mating strategies. Males, on the other hand, do not have to pay the costs of gestation and childbirth, and the cost of producing one offspring is only the time spent impregnating a female. As a result, males tend to be less selective as to whom they mate with, often pursuing short-term mating strategies. When a male does decide to stay and invest on a child, however, he is voluntarily sacrificing time and resources that could be otherwise spent searching for additional mating opportunities. By increasing parental investment,...