An understanding of sociobiology can provide an insight into the behaviours observed within an organisation.
It can also provide guidance on leadership and team development strategies.
Sociobiology describes the biological basis of social behaviour. The term sociobiology was coined by the eminent biologist Edward O Wilson, who studied the links between the biology and social behaviour of various species.
The relationship between the biology and social behaviour of social insects provides a very clear example of sociobiology. This relationship provides an insightful contrast to that of humans.
For some insects, there is a clear link between biology and behaviour.
Consider for example a mosquito. A mosquito brain has around 100,000 neurons, whereas a human brain has around 10 billion. There is a distinct limit to how much information a mosquito brain can hold and also a distinct limit to how much a mosquito can learn in the few days it is alive.
If a mosquito is born with inappropriate behavioural programming there is little chance that it will get to correct this through learning more effective behaviours. A mosquito's behaviour is almost entirely genetically determined.
The ability of a mosquito to successfully pass its genes on is based entirely on genetic fitness and luck. Good luck would possibly be to find a drunk patron who would not only facilitate uninterrupted gorging, but also perhaps provide a little alcoholic twist to the mosquito's short and mechanistic life!
The life of a human is vastly different to that of a mosquito. Human behaviour is not limited simply to that which is programmed in the genes. A human can learn a vast array of behaviours to suit their environment and circumstances.
In the case of humans, genes define probable behaviours, but it is the interaction between the environment and genetic predisposition that determines actual behaviour. This flexibility in behaviour has played a key role in the ability of humans to occupy a broad range of niches from islands on the equator, to rain forests, deserts and frozen landscapes.
The ability of humans to occupy such vastly different habitats is only partly due to physical adaptations such as skin colour and body shape. It is primarily the result of learned behaviours passed down from generation to generation.
During the overwhelming majority of human evolution, humans have lived in groups of 10 to 100 individuals and have operated as hunter-gatherers. The survival of an individual was not solely based on their individual performance, it was strongly influenced by the performance of the group they belonged to.
The effectiveness of the group to hunt, defend itself and provide shelter became the primary factor in determining gene propagation. As a consequence humans evolved patterns of behaviour that improved their ability to operate in small groups.
Today's societies and workplace environments are vastly different to those that humans evolved within. Consequently, many evolved behaviours are either out of place or fall short of what is required for the high levels of social performance required to be effective today.
Regardless of this, the social programming embedded in all fully functional humans strongly influences their behaviour.
Human biology is not the consequence of a simple, straightforward evolutionary process.
The process of evolution is both complex and fascinating. For example, mammals only got their chance after the dinosaurs were dealt a lethal blow. While dinosaurs reigned mammals had little opportunity to flourish, they were just too tasty!
The biology that drives human behaviour today is the result of evolutionary processes. A brief overview of some of these processes follows.
It's not about you
Evolution is about the propagation of genes. It is not about individuals, races or even physical characteristics. Individuals are just gene machines, pawns in a bigger game. The following text outlines some of the processes that facilitate the selection of genes.
Adaptation is the process that is most widely understood. A giraffe with a slightly longer neck than its colleagues can still access food after others have reached their limit. Thus a longer necked giraffe does a little better. This translates into greater mating success and the genes for longer necks are passed on to the next generation.
Exaptation is the process where a physical characteristic that was adapted for one purpose is later used for another. An example is winged-flight in insects. The fossil record suggests that early wings were used for temperature regulation, perhaps allowing insect species to occupy a broader range of niches. Later the 'cooling' wings perhaps facilitated faster movement to escape predators. Eventually, the wings supported flight and adaptive processes ensured ongoing refinement to the range and capability we see today.
Gene hitchhiking is the process where a gene is propagated purely based on its location relative to a successful gene. When a gene is selected through an evolutionary process it is not just that gene that is selected. Collections of genes are carried forward, so genes adjacent to the selected gene get a free ride.
One example of this is the relationship between aggression and colouring in canines. Russian scientists ran an experiment on Siberian foxes that involved a test of aggression towards humans and a selective breeding programme. These foxes had never been domesticated and showed very high levels of aggression towards humans. A selective breeding programme was established where the only selection criteria was that of friendliness towards humans.
Initially, the foxes were unilaterally aggressive and also uniformly white in colour. After several generations, foxes had been bred that were friendly and were able to be handled like a domesticated dog. Interestingly, the colouration of the foxes had changed from white to patchy multi-colours, just like domesticated mongrel dogs. The genes affecting colouration and the degree of aggression and or friendliness appear to have been co-selected through gene hitchhiking.
Conjugation (sexual reproduction), transduction and mutation are processes that ensure continuous variation in the genes available for selection processes. Variation due to conjugation is commonly witnessed in statements like “Ooo, he has his mother's nose and his father's ears”. Put simply, an individual is in part a mash-up of their parents' genetic contributions – good luck with yours!
Transduction is a process whereby DNA is transported directly from one organism to another. Bacteria do it, they have the best parties.
Mutation is variation based on things going wrong. Although most of us will have parts of our genetic sequence that have resulted from mutation, only a few individuals will have sufficient variation from this process to truly be called 'mutants'.
If two individuals are closely related, such as a brother and sister, then they will share many genes. It would make sense, therefore, for the brother and sister to look after each other and increase the chance that the genes they share are protected. This process is called kin selection.
An example of behaviour related to this process is homosexuality. At first glance, homosexuality would not seem to be a characteristic that would be selected to be handed down through the generations. However, through kin selection, homosexuality genes can be propagated. Consider a female with a homosexual brother. The brother is less likely to have dependant offspring, so will have time and resources to dedicate to the sister. This is likely to increase the survival rate of the sister's offspring, particularly in the situation where her partner is no longer able to provide for the offspring. Given that the sister would share many genes with her brother there is a chance that genes favouring homosexuality are passed on.
Not all selected characteristics are directed towards the survival of the individual. Due to the real game being gene propagation, there are characteristics selected that serve this purpose at the expense of the individual's fitness for survival. An example of this is a peacock's feathers, which have one purpose only, to attract a peahen. Although beautiful and useful at parties, the long tail feathers could only hinder a peacock's ability to evade predators.
Some selected behaviours are so sophisticated that they can only be regarded with awe. For example, the ability of newly hatched eels to navigate back from a Pacific island to the river that their parents earlier departed from in New Zealand or Australia, or for buntings to navigate using the circumpolar constellation (but no other).
There are indeed some very sophisticated behaviours that can be selected and passed on through genetic processes only.
The most social of insects are the haplodiploidic ones, such as ants, bees and wasps. The degree of their cooperation and commitment to their society is markedly greater than other social collections like schooling fish and flocking birds, indeed even more than humans.
The reason this is the case is rooted in the biology of social insects. With haplodiploidic insects, the workers are all female and are typically created from fertilised eggs from the queen and a common father. Consequentially the sisters have very similar genes and kin selection becomes the driving force behind their behaviour.
There is no possibility of a social insect surviving on its own. Its survival is entirely dependent on the survival of the colony. Furthermore, kin selection between sisters with near-identical genes means that it does not matter who dies to save the colony, either way, the genes will be propagated. There is no genetic cost of committing suicide if it results in the survival of the colony.
Social insects would not understand the celebration of war heroes! Equally social insects would likely be baffled with human self-interest, cowardice and fear of death.
There are many examples of behaviour in humans which is biological in nature, some of these are:
Variation in the behaviour of newborn babies
In some geographies, newborn babies are quiet, relaxed and compliant. In other locations, the babies are restless, demanding and discontented. These changes stay with the child as they grow and are evident in studies of child behaviour in child care centres.
Deep grammar
Grammar is largely innate. That is, humans are born with a natural ability to understand the structure of language.
Reflexive smiling
It had long been thought that babies learned to smile from mimicking their parents. However, it has now been clearly shown that foetuses smile.
Violence
Humans express violence in certain situations. There have been instances of human societies with low levels of violence. However, history has repeatedly shown that if the circumstances change to warrant violence, individuals will tend towards violence.
Examples of social behaviour in humans that have biological origin are:
Altruism and reciprocity
Doing favours for strangers may seem like an odd thing to do from the perspective of an individual. However, altruism has a key role to play in social bonding. When someone performs a favour the recipient is likely to feel inclined to respond in kind, this is reciprocity. If individuals in a group owe favours to others then they are more likely to help each other during difficult times. This in turn will increase the group's survival.
Hypergamy
Hypergamy is the tendency for an individual to seek out a partner of equal or greater social standing. Having a partner with greater social standing will mean more resources for offspring and to see off threats.
Incest taboos
Offspring from closely related parents tend to have lower intelligence and more frequent genetic defects. Many societies have incest taboos that restrict mating between siblings and close cousins. There are also some innate mechanisms that restrict incest. Children who are raised together until around age six do not go on to form pair-bonding relationships. This mechanism was evident in studies of children raised in Kibbutzim. Of 2,700 marriages amongst the Kibbutzim members, not one was between children raised in the same lodge.
To successfully operate as a group, a band of hunter gatherers needed ways to influence the behaviours of one another. Furthermore, the leader of the group needed mechanisms to both assert their leadership and to motivate group members to make an effort when it was required. Some of these mechanisms are outlined below.
Social Influence
Human behaviour is strongly influenced by the behaviour of others.
Social validation
“If everyone else is doing it, it must be a good idea!”
Reciprocity
“If I do a favour for you, then you will feel obliged to do a favour for me.”
Consistency
“Did I really say I would do that? If so, I had better honour my commitment.”
Authority
“How high did you want me to jump?”
Scarcity
“Hmmm delicious. The very last of the species you know.”
Liking
“Okay, but only because you're a friend.”
An individual's self-interest is often at odds with what is best for the group. This can result in social loafing. Social loafing is the tendency to work less hard in a “collective effort, shared reward” environment. Humans are inclined to save their best effort for when they are the sole beneficiaries of that effort. In a team environment, individuals often need carefully constructed feedback to perform at their best.
Humans have an instinctive aversion to being controlled. In general, the only reason an individual seeks to have control over another is to exploit them. It is often not in an individual's best interest to be understood. To be understood can leave an individual vulnerable to manipulation. As a group humans can react strongly and negatively to the perception of a steep control gradient.
By far the most significant development of humans is that of language and symbolic thought. Language allows the almost limitless accumulation and sharing of knowledge. Consequently, language has allowed human culture to develop in extraordinary and diverse ways.
The use of language and style of communication within an organisation is very influential on the disposition and performance of the members of that organisation.
Evolution is about the propagation of genes, not individuals, or species.
In social species, it is the performance of the group that is paramount.
If an organisation attempts to operate in a way that violates the rules of engagement that are biologically wired into humans, then they can expect resistance and sub-optimum performance. Humans cannot be expected to operate like ants or bees, that is to tirelessly work in return for the privilege of being part of the organisation.
Optimum performance requires that employees feel they are part of a team that values their input, values them as individuals, obeys the rules of reciprocity and treats them fairly.
An understanding of the human-social factors that drive behaviour within organisations can help leaders be more effective in implementing change, motivating and engaging employees and to achieve the best organisational performance possible.