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Human Behavioral Ecology
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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. One aim of
modern human behavioral 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.
HBE overlaps with evolutionary psychology, human or cultural ecology, and
decision theory. It is most prominent in disciplines such as anthropology and
psychology where human evolution is considered relevant for a holistic
understanding of human behavior or in economics where self-interest,
methodological individualism, and maximization are key elements in modeling
behavior[dubious – discuss]. It has been resisted in fields such as sociology and
political science where the findings on human evolution are either ignored or
regarded as irrelevant.[citation needed]
Contents [hide]
1 Evolutionary theory
2 Basic principles of HBE
2.1 Ecological selectionism
2.2 The piecemeal approach
2.3 Conditional strategies
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2.4 The phenotypic gambit
2.5 Modeling
3 See also
4 Further reading
5 References
6 External links
Evolutionary theory
Human behavioral ecology rests upon a foundation of evolutionary theory. This
includes aspects of both general evolutionary theory and established middlelevel 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:
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 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, any individual one 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.
 Evolutionarily stable strategy, which refers to a strategy, which if adopted
by a population, cannot be invaded by any competing alternative strategy.
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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 phenomena, (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.
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 In environmental context Y, engage in adaptive strategy B.
The phenotypic gambit
The phenotypic gambit refers to the simplifying assumption that complex traits,
such as behavioral traits, can be modelled as if they were controlled by single
distinct alleles, representing alternate strategies. In other words, the phenotypic
gambit assumes that "selection will favor traits with high fitness ...irrespective
of the particulars of inheritance."
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.
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