An evolutionary perspective on maladaptive traits and cultural conformity

Logan, Michael H.; Qirko, Hector N.

doi:10.1002/(sici)1520-6300(1996)8:5<615::aid-ajhb7>3.3.co;2-y

Cited by 3 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…Research into the evolutionary basis of human behavior has long puzzled over the existence of maladaptive behaviors (Glanville, 1987; Logan and Qirko, 1996). These are behaviors that persist via cultural transmission despite detrimental reproductive fitness effects, such as clubbing pregnant women to induce birth in Colombia (Reichel-Dolmatoff and Reichel-Dolmatoff, 2013), unhygenic neonatal care practices in Bangladesh (McConville, 1988), and folk medical practices like ingesting rhino horn (Ayling, 2013) or bloodletting (Wootton, 2007).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gene-culture co-inheritance of a behavioral trait

Aguilar

Akçay

2016

Preprint

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Human behavioral traits are complex phenotypes that result from both genetic and cultural transmission. But different inheritance systems need not favor the same phenotypic outcome. What happens when there are conflicting selection forces in the two domains? To address this question, we derive a Price equation that incorporates both cultural and genetic inheritance of a phenotype where the effects of genes and culture are additive. We then use this equation to investigate whether a genetically maladaptive phenotype can evolve under dual transmission. We examine the special case of altruism using an illustrative model, and show that cultural selection can overcome genetic selection when the variance in culture is sufficiently high with respect to genes. Finally, we show how our basic result can be extended to non-additive effects models.We discuss the implications of our results for understanding the evolution of maladaptive behaviors.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gene-culture co-inheritance of a behavioral trait

Aguilar

Akçay

2016

Preprint

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“…And like longevity, menopause [81] may have emerged because it favoured the transmission of adaptive cultural knowledge from older women to the young over the cost of ceased genetic reproduction [82]. Going further still, cultural evolution may sometimes cause outcomes that are maladaptive at the individual genetic level [83][84][85], such as reduced fertility [86,87], so long as they increase adaptive outcomes via cultural learning. Thus, there is significant evidence for culture-driven GCC.…”

Section: (I) Evidence For Gene-limited Gene-culture Coevolutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long-term gene–culture coevolution and the human evolutionary transition

Waring

Wood

2021

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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It has been suggested that the human species may be undergoing an evolutionary transition in individuality (ETI). But there is disagreement about how to apply the ETI framework to our species, and whether culture is implicated as either cause or consequence. Long-term gene–culture coevolution (GCC) is also poorly understood. Some have argued that culture steers human evolution, while others proposed that genes hold culture on a leash. We review the literature and evidence on long-term GCC in humans and find a set of common themes. First, culture appears to hold greater adaptive potential than genetic inheritance and is probably driving human evolution. The evolutionary impact of culture occurs mainly through culturally organized groups, which have come to dominate human affairs in recent millennia. Second, the role of culture appears to be growing, increasingly bypassing genetic evolution and weakening genetic adaptive potential. Taken together, these findings suggest that human long-term GCC is characterized by an evolutionary transition in inheritance (from genes to culture) which entails a transition in individuality (from genetic individual to cultural group). Thus, research on GCC should focus on the possibility of an ongoing transition in the human inheritance system.

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“…For example, the use of contraceptives has in some circumstances disassociated sexual behavior from its certainly evolved reproductive contexts (Kanazawa 2003). In some cases, maladaptive behaviors may become commonplace, particularly in environments dramatically different from those typical throughout human evolution (Logan and Qirko 1996). Because they are by definition indirect, cues also can be subject to error and manipulation (Flohr 1987).…”

Section: Altruism and Primary Groupsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Reuter 2004, 52-78). And, as both social learning (Bandura 1990;Victoroff 2005) and evolutionary (Boyd and Richerson 1985;Logan and Qirko 1996) theories suggest, observation and imitation of valued traits often lead to their adoption irrespective of their specific nature and even when they have maladaptive personal or social consequences.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Altruism in Suicide Terror Organizations

Qirko

2009

Zygon

Self Cite

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In recent years, much has been learned about the strategic and organizational contexts of suicide attacks. However, motivations of the agents who commit them remain difficult to explain. In part this is because standard models of social learning as well as Durkheimian notions of sacrificial behavior are inadequate in the face of the actions of human bombers. In addition, the importance of organizational structures and practices in reinforcing commitment on the part of suicide recruits is an under-explored factor in many analyses. This essay examines the potential applicability of evolutionary models of altruism to the understanding of commitment to suicide on the part of terrorist organizational recruits. Three evolutionary models of sacrificial behavior in nonhuman species and many categories of human behavior are explored cross-organizationally: reciprocity, inclusive fitness theory, and induced altruism. Reciprocal altruism is unlikely to be a major motivator in suicide attacks because the costs exhibited by attackers are too high to be adequately compensated. However, the role of evolved self-deception in perceptions of personal death, and thus of rewards in the afterlife, is potentially illuminating. Inclusive fitness theory can help explain the motivations of attackers because rewards to kin often are offered by organizations to suicide recruits. However, suicide bombers also often act out of revenge for the loss of or injury to relatives, and inclusive fitness theory generally, as well as more specific theoretical models of retaliatory aggression, may not adequately account for the bombers' actions. Predictions from induced altruism theory appear to be well supported because suicide terror organizations tend to be tightly structured around practices intended to maintain and reinforce commitment though the manipulation of kinship-recognition cues.

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An evolutionary perspective on maladaptive traits and cultural conformity

Cited by 3 publications

References 39 publications

Gene-culture co-inheritance of a behavioral trait

Gene-culture co-inheritance of a behavioral trait

Long-term gene–culture coevolution and the human evolutionary transition

Altruism in Suicide Terror Organizations

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