Effects of Early Life on Fertility Motivations

• In Event: 30260 - Joint Roundtables: Section on Social Psychology and Section on Sociology of Emotions
  In Refereed Roundtable (90 minute): Table 3: Self and Identity

Abstract

Previous research has consistently shown an association between affective ties with parents and adults’ fertility preferences and outcomes. Theories about socialization and role learning suggest that early interactions with parents inform mental representations about parenthood, while attachment theory suggest that interactions relevant to such social learning have strong emotional valence. The cognitive process of preference formation involves retrieving relevant memories to assess the desirability of options. As such, early memories with parental figures – including both cognitive representations and associated affect – could be central to the formulation of fertility preferences. This paper examines whether early exposure to positively- vs. negatively-valenced parenting behaviors has an effect on adults’ preferences regarding having children. Analyses of nationally representative US data show that positively-valenced actions of the same-gender parent (though not the cross-gender parent) positively correlate with the child’s fertility outcomes. To test whether a causal process links memories of role models with fertility preferences, I conduct an online survey experiment. The experimental treatment was derived from computational analysis of 1000 original narratives of childhood memories about parents. Themes identified in this analysis inform gender-specific treatment prompts that are used to selectively prime positive or negative childhood memories. Experimental results find that selectively priming childhood memories alters how people remember their parents, but has no effect on preferences about parenthood, suggesting the absence of a direct cognitive link between autobiographical memories and preferences. The results invite investigation into alternative mechanisms, including environmental confounding, heritability of fertility behavior, and the path-dependence of life course processes.

Author

• Tamkinat Rauf, University of Wisconsin-Madison