Maternal Resemblance Comments and Stepfather Investment: A Byproduct of the Paternal Uncertainty Mechanism
Abstract
In a world where stepfamilies are increasingly common, uncovering what motivates stepfather investment is critical for children's well-being. While traditional theories that accompany these findings are mating effort, we propose a complementary explanation that stepfather investment is influenced by a misfiring of the resemblance detector. This psychological mechanism may have originally evolved to help putative biological fathers feel more certain the child was theirs. To test it, we conducted two experiments. In Experiment 1, a longitudinal survey will be used to trace stepfather investment changes caused by these remarks. In Experiment 2, we use fMRI to measure neural responses to resemblance comments from stepfathers, biological fathers, and non-parents. This research may have practical significance for stepfamilies and even holds relevance in foster care and adoption settings. We anticipate using convergent evidence to support our hypothesis and aim to offer new insights into stepfather-child dynamics.
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