The search for a general theory of behavior

Abstract

Failure of the behavioral sciences to develop an adequate general theory is seen as a result of the difficulty in deriving from evolutionary theory a subtheory, or set of subtheories, with satisfying applicability to the study of behavior. Efforts at general theories based on reflex concepts, or simple movements such as in orientation, have been unsuccessful in dealing with complex behaviors. Recent arguments that selection is focused at the level of the individual organism suggest the additional inadequacy that such theories fail to emphasize the selective compromises that exist at suborganismic levels. Evolutionary theories about behavior have tended to concentrate chiefly on patterns of historical change (phylogenies) without stressing adaptive (= reproductive) strategies, or have generally viewed adaptiveness erroneously as focused at group, population, or species levels. Human society is discussed briefly, in a context of selection focused at the individual level, considering six principal aspects: group-living, sexual competition, incest avoidance, nepotism, reciprocity, and parenthood. An effort is made to combine the approaches and data of biologists and social scientists in analyzing reciprocity in social interactions.