Multilevel Selection Theory and Major Evolutionary Transitions: Implications for Psychological Science

The concept of a group as comparable to a single organism has had a long and turbulent history. Currently, methodological individualism dominates in many areas of psychology and evolution, but natural selection is now known to operate at multiple levels of the biological hierarchy. When between-grou...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Current directions in psychological science : a journal of the American Psychological Society 2008-02, Vol.17 (1), p.6-9
Main Authors: Wilson, David Sloan, Van Vugt, Mark, O'Gorman, Rick
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Behavior
Biological altruism
Cognition
Cognitive psychology
Evolution
Evolutionary psychology
Group dynamics
Humans
Psychological research
Psychology
Social insects
Social psychology
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Summary:The concept of a group as comparable to a single organism has had a long and turbulent history. Currently, methodological individualism dominates in many areas of psychology and evolution, but natural selection is now known to operate at multiple levels of the biological hierarchy. When between-group selection dominates within-group selection, a major evolutionary transition occurs and the group becomes a new, higher-level organism. It is likely that human evolution represents a major transition, and this has wide-ranging implications for the psychological study of group behavior, cognition, and culture.
ISSN:0963-7214
1467-8721
DOI:10.1111/j.1467-8721.2008.00538.x