Using your sociological knowledge of how people adapt to a changing environment and your knowledge of demographics, why would fertility rates eventually decline in response to lower mortality rates?
A) Developed countries are the first to experience lower mortality rates, and these are the countries most concerned about population growth.
B) An explosion in population growth scares the average person and so they have fewer children.
C) As fewer people die young, couples have smaller families because more of their children will live to be adults.
D) Population growth leads many governments to enact extreme measures to limit fertility rates.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

As mortality rates decline, parents become increasingly confident that their offspring will survive to adulthood. As a result, they are less likely to have additional children to compensate for those who may die at a young age. This leads to a decline in fertility rates over time. Option A is incorrect, as developing countries often experience high mortality rates and have higher overall fertility rates. Option B is incorrect, as there is no evidence to suggest that an explosion in population growth scares people into having fewer children. Option D is incorrect, as extreme measures such as government-mandated sterilization or one-child policies are not the primary reason for declining fertility rates.

Using Your Sociological Knowledge of How People Adapt to a Changing