Uploaded March 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
How do bonds between fathers and offspring relate to bonds between romantic partners? What aspects of the father-infant attachment are uniquely human? These questions have been the subject of much research from historical, biological, and evolutionary perspectives.
We know that committed partnerships contribute to human happiness and well-being and that they also sustain the physical and mental health of its members. These positive effects of social bonds have been documented with regards to the adaptive psychological development of the partners’ offspring as well. Life span developmental research in humans shows a strong association between the relationships of children with their parents and the quality of these children’s marriage when they become adults. Still, despite the undisputable benefits of stable, enduring social relationships, very little is still known about the expression of father-infant bonds in humans and non-human primates. In fact, committed paternal care remains a paradox among mammals, humans included, because father uncertainty due to internal fertilization and female-biased investment in the young through pregnancy and lactation ought to discourage males from investing in putative offspring.
This livestreamed symposium is part of the Fathers and Fatherhood: From Molecules to Modern Families Conference taking place at Yale University from March 6-7. Learn more here:
yaleanthropolfathersconference.squarespace.com
Schedule:
9 - 10:30 AM Eastern - Welcome and Panel #1
Moderator: Linda Mayes (Director, Child Study Center, Yale)
Scientists: Carla Stover, Lauren O'Connell, and Lee Gettler
1 -2 PM Eastern - Panel #2
Moderator: Rushda Majeed
Scientists: Natasha Cabrera, Alison Bell, and James K. Rilling
3:30 - 4:30 PM Eastern - Panel #3
Moderator: Michael Feigelson
Scientists: Sarah B. Hrdy, Ruth Feldman, and Eduardo Fernandez-Duque
Extending gratitude to the program sponsors for their generous support. Special thanks to:
Yale Department of Anthropology
https://anthropology.yale.edu/
Council on Latin American & Iberian Studies of the Yale MacMillan Center
https://macmillan.yale.edu/latam
Yale Child Study Center and Yale Franke Program in Science and the Humanities
https://frankeprogram.yale.edu/
This program is broadcast live as part of an educational collaboration between Yale Anthropology and The Leakey Foundation.
How do bonds between fathers and offspring relate to bonds between romantic partners? What aspects of the father-infant attachment are uniquely human? These questions have been the subject of much research from historical, biological, and evolutionary perspectives.
We know that committed partnerships contribute to human happiness and well-being and that they also sustain the physical and mental health of its members. These positive effects of social bonds have been documented with regards to the adaptive psychological development of the partners’ offspring as well. Life span developmental research in humans shows a strong association between the relationships of children with their parents and the quality of these children’s marriage when they become adults. Still, despite the undisputable benefits of stable, enduring social relationships, very little is still known about the expression of father-infant bonds in humans and non-human primates. In fact, committed paternal care remains a paradox among mammals, humans included, because father uncertainty due to internal fertilization and female-biased investment in the young through pregnancy and lactation ought to discourage males from investing in putative offspring.
This livestreamed symposium is part of the Fathers and Fatherhood: From Molecules to Modern Families Conference taking place at Yale University from March 6-7. Learn more here:
yaleanthropolfathersconference.squarespace.com
Schedule:
9 - 10:30 AM Eastern - Welcome and Panel #1
Moderator: Linda Mayes (Director, Child Study Center, Yale)
Scientists: Carla Stover, Lauren O'Connell, and Lee Gettler
1 -2 PM Eastern - Panel #2
Moderator: Rushda Majeed
Scientists: Natasha Cabrera, Alison Bell, and James K. Rilling
3:30 - 4:30 PM Eastern - Panel #3
Moderator: Michael Feigelson
Scientists: Sarah B. Hrdy, Ruth Feldman, and Eduardo Fernandez-Duque
Extending gratitude to the program sponsors for their generous support. Special thanks to:
Yale Department of Anthropology
https://anthropology.yale.edu/
Council on Latin American & Iberian Studies of the Yale MacMillan Center
https://macmillan.yale.edu/latam
Yale Child Study Center and Yale Franke Program in Science and the Humanities
https://frankeprogram.yale.edu/
This program is broadcast live as part of an educational collaboration between Yale Anthropology and The Leakey Foundation.
