Symbiosis in Parent-Offspring Interactions

Abstract

As part of the preparation of the materials for this volume, the contributors attended a conference designed to explore the basic concept of symbiosis and its applicability to the study of parents and their offspring. Each participant was asked to focus not on the parental behavior of various species, but on parent and offspring as a symbiotic unit. The presentations were informal and the discussions intense. The chapters that follow were written many months after the conference and reflect the authors' efforts to integrate the comments and criticisms of their colleagues. Out of this amalgam, the present volume was shaped. We wish to thank the National Institute of Mental Health for supporting the conference (Grant MH 36276) and the University of Chicago for hosting it. The editors would also like to acknowledge the contributions of Dr. M. Lewis and Dr. J. Reinisch, who provided additional perspectives on the discussions held at the meeting. Special thanks are due Gary Schwartz for his thoughtful assistance throughout the course of this project. Lu Ann Homza has provided invaluable secretarial help. Leonard A. Rosenblum Howard Moltz vii Contents 1. A Conceptual Framework for the Study of Parent-Young Symbiosis Howard Moltz and Leonard A. Rosenblum 2. Reciprocity and Resource Exchange: A Symbiotic Model of Parent-Offspring Relations 7 Jeffrey R. A lberts and David J. Gubemick 3. The Coordinate Roles of Mother and Young in Establishing and Maintaining Pheromonal Symbiosis in the Rat 45 Howard Moltz and Theresa M.