Sociobiology
Field explaining social behavior through evolutionary biology and genetics.
Last updated
Evolutionary principles are used by the biological field of sociobiology to account for social behavior.[1]
Quick Facts
- Field
- Biology, evolutionary theory
- Key contributors
- E. O. Wilson
- John Paul Scott
- Stuart A. Altmann
- Major publication
- Sociobiology: The New Synthesis (1975)
- Related disciplines
- Evolutionary anthropology
- human behavioral ecology
- evolutionary psychology
- sociology
Facts from the source article.
Key facts and history
Scott organized annual paper sessions on "Animal Behavior and Sociobiology" at joint meetings of scientific societies.[2] Within the Ecological Society of America, a "Section of Animal Behavior and Sociobiology" was established in 1956.[3] Through his PhD student Stuart A. Altmann, E. O. Wilson first encountered this developing sociobiology in 1956.[4] In 1965, Altmann was employed as a "sociobiologist" at the Yerkes Regional Primate Research Center.[4]
Mathematical models of social behavior from W. D. Hamilton, Robert Trivers, John Maynard Smith, and George R. Price were utilized by Wilson's sociobiology.[4] Widespread recognition for "sociobiology" arrived only after E. O. Wilson's 1975 book Sociobiology: The New Synthesis was published.[5] Scientific controversy quickly surrounded the field.[5]
What the research sources say
Edward H. Hagen writes that sociobiology is "one of the scientific triumphs of the twentieth century".[6] Hagen adds that "Sociobiology is now part of the core research and curriculum of virtually all biology departments".[6] Sociobiological research on nonhuman organisms has increased dramatically in top scientific journals such as Nature and Science.[6] Scott's Animal Behavior (1958) was an important early textbook in the field.[2]
Scott and Fuller's classic Genetics and the Social Behavior of the Dog was published in 1965.[2]
References
- Wikipedia, "Sociobiology" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Wilson, "Sociobiology: The New Synthesis", Harvard University Press, 2000-03-24, p. 397–437; Nielsen, "Sociobiology and Sociology", Annual Review of Sociology, 1994, p. 267–303; de Sousa, "The sociology of sociobiology", International Studies in the Philosophy of Science, 1990-01-01, p. 271–283 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- "The Life of J.P. Scott", Bowling Green State University. facts only, no text reused. bgsu.edu
- Wikipedia, "Sociobiology" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The Life of J.P. Scott", Bowling Green State University (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Sociobiology" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Dobzhansky, "Are Naturalists Old-Fashioned?", The American Naturalist, September 1966, p. 541–550 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Sociobiology" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Wilson, "Rethinking The Theoretical Foundation of Sociobiology", The Quarterly Review of Biology, 2007, p. 327–348 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Sociobiology" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Hagen, "The Handbook of Evolutionary Psychology", John Wiley & Sons, 2005, p. 145–173; Hagen, "The Handbook of Evolutionary Psychology", John Wiley & Sons, 2005, p. 145–173; Hagen, "The Handbook of Evolutionary Psychology", John Wiley & Sons, 2005, p. 145–173; Hagen, "The Handbook of Evolutionary Psychology", John Wiley & Sons, 2005, p. 145–173 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Sociobiology (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
Also in the Codexery
More in Animal Biology And Behavior
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Sociobiology (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Word definitions: the , each quoted from its Wikipedia article.
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