PSYCH 1XX3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Inclusive Fitness
20 Jan 2017
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Document Summary
Organisms evolved to maximize their fitness and reproductive success. Virtually all honey bees in a colony don"t ever reproduce they don"t even have functioning reproductive organs: they spend their lives in the service of the colony helping to raise eggs laid by the. Queen and many bees often die defending their colony from predators. Cooperation sometimes reaps more benefit than selfishness. Adaptations must increase success of the gene; not necessarily the group. Foraging in groups increases personal success of obtaining food. There is a trade-off between foraging for food and scanning for predators: one scans while one eats. Foraging in groups ensures more time for foraging over scanning. Selection must be good for the gene, regardless of how it acts on the group. Altruism (is a social behaviour: behaviour is which the actor pays a cost to provide a benefit to a recipient. Alturists decrease their own fitness when helping others.
