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Duration of Childhood

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Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science

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Synonyms

Developmental stage; Immaturity

Introduction

The period of immaturity is known to be more protracted in humans than in other primates. This text sets out to compare the various developmental stages of the immaturity period in mammals in order to more specifically explore the adaptive value of each stage for human beings, with special emphasis on childhood.

The Four Stages of the Immaturity Period in Human Beings

Most mammal species progress from infancy to adulthood without any intervening stages (Bogin 1990). The infancy stage ends when breastfeeding stops (Bogin 1997). Highly social mammals, such as wolves, wild dogs, lions, elephants, and the primates, delay puberty with a period of juvenile growth between infancy and adulthood (Bogin 1997). Juveniles are defined as “prepubertal individuals that are no longer dependent on their parents for survival” (Pereira and Altmann 1985). Presumably, adolescence later emerged, by natural selection, among the apes. Adolescence is a...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada

    Daniel Paquette

  2. Université du Québec à Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada

    Marc Bigras

Authors
  1. Daniel Paquette
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  2. Marc Bigras
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Correspondence to Daniel Paquette .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Todd K. Shackelford

  2. Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Viviana A. Weekes-Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. University of South Carolina - Beaufort, Bluffton, SC, USA

    Carey Fitzgerald

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Paquette, D., Bigras, M. (2018). Duration of Childhood. In: Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_2384-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_2384-1

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6

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