Sociobiology

Sociobiology is the application of evolutionary theory to the study of social behavior (e.g., sexual or parental behavior) across animal taxa, including humans. Central to the field is the assertion that individuals and their behaviors are subject to natural selection. Therefore, just as evolution leads to useful physical traits [Page 792]emerging within and across species (e.g., camouflage, large brains), it also leads to the evolution of advantageous behaviors (e.g., seasonal migration, social learning). And because behaviors have evolved over time in a manner similar to physical traits, they are similarly inherited. Accordingly, behaviors that increase an individual’s ability to survive and reproduce (i.e., maximize fitness) become more common in a population over time.

In the first overview of the field, E. O. Wilson presented Sociobiology: The ...