'Human behavioral ecology' (HBE) or 'human evolutionary ecology' applies the principles of
evolutionary theory and
optimization to the study of
human behavioral and
cultural diversity. HBE examines the
adaptive design of
traits,
behaviors, and
life histories of humans in an
ecological context. HBE overlaps with
evolutionary psychology, human or
cultural ecology, and
decision theory. One aim of modern human behavioural ecology is to determine how ecological and
social factors influence and shape behavioral flexibility within and between human
populations. Among other things, HBE attempts to explain variation in human behavior as adaptive solutions to the competing life-history demands of growth, development,
reproduction, parental care, and mate acquisition.
Evolutionary theory
Human behavioral ecology rests upon a foundation of evolutionary theory. This includes aspects of both general evolutionary theory and established middle-level evolutionary theories, as well. Aspects of general evolutionary theory include:
★ '
Natural selection', the process by which individual
organisms with favorable
traits are more likely to survive and
reproduce.
★ '
Sexual selection', the
theory that competition for mates between individuals of the same sex results in differential mating and reproduction.
★ '
Kin selection', the changes in
gene frequency across generations that are driven at least in part by interactions between related individuals, and
★ '
Inclusive fitness', the sum of an individual's own reproductive success, (natural and sexual selection), plus the effects the individual's actions have on the reproductive success of that individual's kin, (kin selection).
Middle-level evolutionary theories used in HBE include:
★ The theory of '
parental investment', which predicts that the sex making the largest investment in
lactation, nurturing and protecting
offspring will be more discriminating in mating and that the sex that invests less in offspring will compete for access to the higher investing sex.
★ '
Parent-offspring conflict', which predicts that because the genetic interests of parents and offspring are not identical, offspring will be selected to manipulate their parents in order to ensure higher investment, and that, conversely, parents will be selected to manipulate their offspring.
★ The theory of '
reciprocal altruism', a form of
altruism in which one organism provides a benefit to another in the expectation of future
reciprocation.
★ The '
Trivers-Willard hypothesis', which proposes that parents should invest more in the sex that gives them the greatest reproductive payoff (grandchildren) with increasing or marginal investment.
★ '
r/K selection theory', which, in
ecology, relates to the selection of traits in organisms that allow success in particular environments.
r-selected species, (in unstable or unpredictable environments), produce many offspring, each of which is unlikely to survive to adulthood, while
K-selected species, (in stable or predictable environments), invest more heavily in fewer offspring, each of which has a better chance of surviving to adulthood.
★ '
Evolutionary game theory', the application of
population genetics-inspired models of change in gene frequency in populations to
game theory.
★ '
Evolutionary stable strategy', which refers to a
strategy, which if adopted by a population, cannot be invaded by any competing alternative strategy.
Basic principles of HBE
Ecological selectionism
Ecological selectionism refers to the assumption that humans are highly flexible in their behaviors. Furthermore, it assumes that various ecological forces select for various behaviors that optimize humans' inclusive fitness in their given ecological context.
The piecemeal approach
The piecemeal approach refers to taking a
reductionist approach as opposed to a
holistic approach in studying human socioecological behavior. Human behavioral ecologists assume that by taking complex social phenomenon, (e.g., marriage patterns, foraging behaviors, etc.), and then breaking them down into sets of components involving decisions and constraints that they are in a better position to create models and make predictions involving human behavior. An example would be examining marriage systems by examining the ecological context, mate preferences, the distribution of particular characteristics within the population, and so forth.
Conditional strategies
Human behavioral ecologists assume that what might be the most adaptive strategy in one environment might not be the most adaptive strategy in another environment. Conditional strategies, therefore, can be represented in the following statement:
★ In environmental context X, engage in adaptive strategy A.
★ In environmental context Y, engage in adaptive strategy B.
The phenotypic gambit
The phenotypic gambit refers to the assumption that humans possess a high amount of
phenotypic plasticity. Human behavioral ecologists attempt to control for culture, genetic variation, human cognition, and
human phylogeny. It's not that human behavioral ecologists think that these concepts are irrelevant. It's simply that the primary focus of HBE is to discover correlations between variations of ecological contexts and variations of human behavior.
Modeling
Theoretical models that human behavioral ecologists employ include, but are not limited to:
★ '
Optimal foraging theory', which states that organisms focus on consuming the most energy while expending the least amount of energy.
★ '
Life history theory', which postulates that many of the
physiological traits and behaviors of individuals may be best understood in relation to the key maturational and reproductive characteristics that define the life course.
★ '
Sex allocation theory', which predicts that parents should bias their reproductive investments toward the offspring sex generating the greatest fitness return.
★ The '
polygyny threshold model', which suggests that
polygyny is driven by female choice of mates who control more resources relative to other potential mates in the population.
See also
★
Behavioral ecology
★
Dual inheritance theory
★
Evolutionary developmental psychology
★
Evolutionary educational psychology
★
Evolutionary psychology
★
Foraging,
Autonomous foraging
★
List of publications on evolution and human behavior
★
Mating system
Further reading
★
Behavioral Ecology Blog
★
The Human Behavioral Ecology Bibliography - Maintained by
Kermyt G. Anderson
★ Borgerhoff Mulder, M. (2003).
Human Behavioural Ecology. Nature Encyclopedia of Life Sciences.
★ Hames, R. (2001).
Human Behavioral Ecology. ''International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences''. Elsevier Science Ltd.
★ Smith, Eric Alden (1999).
Three Styles in the Evolutionary Analysis of Human Behavior in Lee Cronk, Napoleon Chagnon and William Irons
'Adaptation and Human Behavior: An Anthropological Perspective', 27-48, New York: Aldine de Gruyter.
★ Winterhalder, Bruce & Smith, Eric Alden (2000).
Analysing Adaptive Strategies: Human Behavioral Ecology at Twenty-Five. ''Evolutionary Anthropology: Issues, News, and Reviews'', Volume 9, Issue 2.
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