Buss & Schmitt appear to rely on the connections established with other species in the animal kingdom to address much of the variance for understanding parental investment and the following process of mate selection. In this context, the human social system appears to be relatively obscured. The initial part of this article addresses many specifically human concerns. The emphasis on divorce and marriage appear to be social constructs that do not seem to be addressed in the connection between the animal, or mammal studies, and human social interaction. Buss & Schmitt do point to the fact that long-term mating may not be the standard for either human or animal interaction of mate selection. This insight does not seem to fit with the social awareness of mate interaction that apparently is not specific to a period of history in the developmental process of humankind.

Could it be that social constructs have developed in the process of mate selection that would promote parental involvement not as a function of biological factors? The factors that appear to drive this development could be based more on societal influences. For example, an agrarian based social condition may emphasize the connection of parental involvement more for family size, where children become members of a workforce, versus merely means to replicate a species. In a more industrialized society the apparent maternal connection may have been strengthened by the family structure. This strengthening would have necessitated the need for the male parent to provide a specific type of resource, namely money, for family survival. This pattern of family development and mate selection appears to be driven in large part by economic factors. The fairly recent development of a mixed workforce, post World War II, where men and women share the process of resource procurement, epitomizes the economic structure of societal factors and parental involvement in family structures.

Cultural concerns appear to be another area that can be developed based on the initial assumptions of parental involvement and mate selection. Sociological insight into diverse cultures and systems of mate selection can be utilized to understand the possible variance accounted for in the process of mate selection and the inputs from a cultural frame of reference. It appears that specific cultures have treated the process of mate selection and the following parental association area in differing ways. Some cultures have established requirements for possible mates such as the size of a partner's dowry. Other cultures emphasize the input of parental consent or "arranged marriages" in the process of mate selection. The evolutionary constraints of continued replication appear to be diminished in these situations. It may be possible that the cultural influences augment the evolutionary constructs. This remains to be an area of further inquiry.

Cultural domains also appear to have a strong influence on the parental involvement of both mother and father. Some cultures emphasize the maternal bond between mother and child, and actually exclude the father from specific duties of child care. Other cultures appear to have adopted a more balanced involvement between the mother and father in regard to child development. This area of involvement appears to be more of a continuum of possibilities versus a dichotomous all or nothing relationship. Cultural inputs may also be the connection to possible economic factors of the process of mating and parental investment.

The final area of examination involves the possible combination of societal and cultural domains in the specific analysis of religious or spiritual influences. The Judeo-Christian realm appears to emphasize the continuation of the species in the construct of a family and clan like system. The religious and spiritual connection between mates is encompassed in the structure of these religious components. Specifically, a design for the family is based on the interaction of people as brothers and sisters, and husbands and wives. This design is further developed in the process of rules and requirements for mating to occur. For example, certain religions require ceremonies and consent by "approved officials" prior to mating.

Other spiritual connections of mates may emphasize the bonds of the individuals without the replication of the species as the primary goal of association. Connections can be established that may not even resemble the primate mate selection process, where "soul mates" can bond across boundaries of time and space. This area appears to be a main contributor to the connection between individuals, without the specifics of parental investment as much as the investment in partners. This investment could possibly be attune more to understanding, versus the physical connection resulting in species replication.

Buss & Schmitt present a unique frame for understanding the process of mate selection and parental involvement. The lack of specifics into societal and cultural influences into this area is not an oversight in as much as the authors provide a base of understanding from an evolutionary platform. Instead, the stance that is presented should beg to the continuation of research and qualitative review of the processes that influence the human condition and the drives or goals of mate selection and parental investment as strategies for further understanding.