sociobiologists
Evolution-meets-behavior researchers
Sociobiologists are scientists who study the biological basis of social behavior in animals and humans.
The field examines how evolutionary pressures shape behaviors like aggression, mating, cooperation, and altruism: Sociobiologists argue that certain human behaviors have genetic roots.
The discipline has sparked controversy when applied to human societies, with critics charging it reduces complex social phenomena to genetic determinism.
Biologist of social insects
- HamiltonFirst Treasury secretary
- DawkinsBritish evolutionary biologist
- selfish geneReplicator maximizing its transmission
- nature versus nurtureDebate over innate versus acquired traits
genetic predisposition · adaptive behavior · cost-benefit analysis · game theory · reductionism · neo-Darwinism
Actions of living creatures
- field observationWatching subjects in place
- natural selectionDifferential reproductive success
- ethologyStudy of animal conduct
- heritabilityGenetic share of variation
insect colonies · empirical data · hypothesis testing · peer review · publications · grant funding
People's actions and reactions
- dominanceSuperior influence over others
- territorialityDefense of claimed space
- cooperationJoint action toward shared aims
- competitionStruggle for supremacy
Heredity alone shapes traits
- human natureInborn behavioral tendencies shared universally
- blank slateUnmarked starting point
- ethical concernsDoubts about rightness
- feminist critiqueExamination through gendered lens
E.O. Wilson
Biologist of social insects
- HamiltonFirst Treasury secretary
- DawkinsBritish evolutionary biologist
- selfish geneReplicator maximizing its transmission
nature versus nurture · genetic predisposition · adaptive behavior · cost-benefit analysis · game theory · reductionism · neo-Darwinism
animal behavior
Actions of living creatures
- field observationWatching subjects in place
- natural selectionDifferential reproductive success
- ethologyStudy of animal conduct
insect colonies · heritability · empirical data · hypothesis testing · peer review · publications · grant funding
human behavior
People's actions and reactions
- dominanceSuperior influence over others
- territorialityDefense of claimed space
- cooperationJoint action toward shared aims
competition · communication systems · sexual selection · family dynamics
genetic determinism
Heredity alone shapes traits
- human natureInborn behavioral tendencies shared universally
- blank slateUnmarked starting point
- ethical concernsDoubts about rightness