The General Focus of Sociobiology, Essay Example

The focus of sociobiology is “the scientific study that examines evolutionary explanations for social behaviors within species” (Park, 2008).  Evolutionary Psychology and Behavioral Psychology are both synonyms for sociobiology.  In other words, the issue revolves around how much of one’s behavior is genetic and how much is due to one’s culture.

It is generally agreed that “the behavior of non-culture bearing species is programmed in their genes in a complex stimulus-response reactions” (ibid.).  Examples of this would be beaver dam building and nest building. A form of altruism also exists in non-humans as evidenced in some mammalians where a member will stand guard (be a sentinel)—often at increased risk to himself– while others forage. This desirable altruistic behavior is thought to be passed on through kin selection which promotes, “the passing of one’s genes by aiding the survival or reproduction of one’s close kin” (ibid.). This can be accounted for by Darwin’s process of natural selection; and sociobiology, evolutionary psychology, and behavioral psychology have suggested that this is also the case for humans.  Certain behaviors that arose “conferred a  reproductive advantage to those possessing them…because these behaviors had a genetic basis, they developed through the mechanism of natural selection” (ibid.)

This theory became controversial when Edward O. Wilson of Harvard in 1975 published Sociobiology because in it “he proposed extending the theory to explain human social behavior and psychological patterns” (Sociobiology). Opponents claimed that this was a form of genetic determination that did not consider “the complexity of human behavior and the impact of the environment on human development” (ibid.).

References

Park, M. A.  (2008).  Introducing anthropology:  An integrated approach. (4^th ed.).  New York:  McGraw-Hill.

Sociobiology.  Retrieved on October 23, 2012, from http://www.reference.com/.browse/Sociobiology.