sociobiology
Evolution meets behavior
Sociobiology is the study of social behavior in animals—including humans—through the lens of evolutionary biology.
The field examines how behaviors like cooperation, aggression, mating rituals, and parental care might be shaped by natural selection.
Sociobiology suggests altruism toward relatives increases the odds of shared genes surviving.
When applied to humans, the field has sparked controversy over how much biology determines social behavior versus culture and environment.
Differential reproductive success
- adaptationFitting to new conditions
- heritabilityGenetic share of variation
- gene flowAllele transfer between populations
- genetic driftRandom allele frequency change
mutation · fitness · phenotype · genotype · selfish gene · genetic determinism · behavioral genetics
Heredity alone shapes traits
- nature vs nurtureWhat shapes us more
- E.O. WilsonBiologist of social insects
- human natureInborn behavioral tendencies shared universally
- scientific racismPseudoscience justifying ethnic hierarchy
Prioritizing others' wellbeing
- aggressionHostile or attacking behavior
- matingReproductive pairing behavior
- parentingNurturing and guiding children
- dominanceSuperior influence over others
territoriality · courtship · foraging · grooming · reciprocity · cooperation · infanticide · pair bonding
Trait-driven reproductive advantage
- game theoryStudy of strategic interaction
- cost-benefit analysisSystematic comparison of advantages, disadvantages
- socialityInclination toward community
natural selection
Differential reproductive success
- adaptationFitting to new conditions
- heritabilityGenetic share of variation
- gene flowAllele transfer between populations
genetic drift · mutation · fitness · phenotype · genotype · selfish gene · genetic determinism · behavioral genetics
genetic determinism
Heredity alone shapes traits
- nature vs nurtureWhat shapes us more
- E.O. WilsonBiologist of social insects
- human natureInborn behavioral tendencies shared universally
altruism
Prioritizing others' wellbeing
- aggressionHostile or attacking behavior
- matingReproductive pairing behavior
- parentingNurturing and guiding children
dominance · territoriality · courtship · foraging · grooming · reciprocity · cooperation · infanticide · pair bonding · sexual selection
sexual selection
Trait-driven reproductive advantage
- game theoryStudy of strategic interaction
- cost-benefit analysisSystematic comparison of advantages, disadvantages
- socialityInclination toward community
ants
Social colony insects
meerkats · naked mole rats · chimpanzees · bonobos · lions · hyenas · dolphins · elephants · corvids · termites
- Sociobiologynatural selection, sexual selection, altruism, mating strategies, reproductive success
- biologycells, DNA, cell, gene, bacteriology
- animal behavioranimal behavior, instincts, learned behavior, conditioning, territorial behavior
- evolutionevolution, natural selection, mutation, adaptation, speciation
- zoologymammals, reptiles, amphibians, birds, insects
- hereditygenes, DNA, gene, chromosomes, genetics
sociobiologyenvironmentalism
Advocacy for nature protection
behaviorism · cultural anthropology · nurture · cultural relativism · structuralism
sociobiologyhermeneutics
Study of interpretation methods
phenomenology · poststructuralism · deconstruction · literary theory · gender studies
social, society, biology, sociable, biography, antisocial, socialize, biological, unsocial