Adaptation, Heritability, and the Emergence of Evolutionary Political Science

Bibliographic Data

ID6337706
AuthorsAnthony C Lopez (0000-0001-7330-4337, John Brown University), Rose Mcdermott (0000-0002-0920-1541, John Brown University)
Year2012
Volume33
Issue3
Pages343-362
Publication date2012-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePolitical Psychology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0162-895X • E-ISSN: 1467-9221
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/j.1467-9221.2012.00880.x
OpenAlexW1597941877
LanguageEN
Citations received22
References cited108

Biological approaches to politics have witnessed the emergence of two major strands of research that are related but quite distinct: an “Adaptationist” approach and a “Heritability” approach. The former explains behavior as the product of complex psychological adaptations designed by natural selection that all humans share, while the latter explains behavior as a consequence of heritable genetic differences between individuals. Importantly, neither approach excludes environmental factors from a causal role in generating behavior. Heritability approaches are more familiar to political scientists, and one well‐known example is behavior genetics, as exemplified in twin study research. However, Adaptationist approaches, such as evolutionary psychology, remain theoretically underdeveloped in political science. We therefore provide a detailed outline of the theoretical framework of evolutionary psychology, and we explore its application toward the study of political behavior—an endeavor we label Evolutionary Political Science

Adaptation (eye · Biology · Epistemology · Evolutionary biology · Evolutionary psychology · Heritability · Natural selection · Political science · Politics · Selection (genetic algorithm · Computer Science · Evolutionary Game Theory and Cooperation · Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior · Law · Philosophy · Psychology · Social and Intergroup Psychology · Social Psychology

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