Bogus speculation reinforces gender stereotypes in psychiatry

Daddy is logical and cold. Mommy is emotional. Too much of daddy makes you autistic. Too much of mommy makes you manic depressive.
Here’s an excerpt:
“Dr. Crespi and Dr. Badcock propose that an evolutionary tug of war between genes from the father’s sperm and the mother’s egg can, in effect, tip brain development in one of two ways. A strong bias toward the father pushes a developing brain along the autistic spectrum, toward a fascination with objects, patterns, mechanical systems, at the expense of social development. A bias toward the mother moves the growing brain along what the researchers call the psychotic spectrum, toward hypersensitivity to mood, their own and others’. This, according to the theory, increases a child’s risk of developing schizophrenia later on, as well as mood problems like bipolar disorder and depression.”
How scienced-based is this, exactly? We are informed that it’s from “two scientists, drawing on **their own powers of observation** and **a creative reading** of recent genetic findings”.
(emphasis mine, of course)
Source:
In a Novel Theory of Mental Disorders, Parents’ Genes Are in Competition
by Benedict Carey
New York Times
November 10, 2008
The whole thing:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/11/health/research/11brain.html?_r=2&ref=science&oref=slogin&oref=slogin