More than Kin and Less than Kind : The Evolution of Family Conflict
Editorial Reviews
Review
John Alcock, Arizona State Unviersity : Siblings and parents do some very strange and dramatic things to one another. In this fine book about a fascinating subject, Doug Mock, one of the top researchers in this field, explains why. These widespread features of the animal kingdom originally puzzled biologists but no longer for reasons that Mock makes clear.
Marc Bekoff, University of Colorado, author of Minding Animals and The Ten Trusts (with Jane Goodall) : The world of animal behavior is full of many fascinating and varied phenomena. Few are more difficult to reconcile than out-right cruelty among relatives. More than Kin and Less than Kind shows us how to understand the forces that can at once break up and help to stabilize family groups. It is must reading for all students of behavior. I couldn't put it down.
Marlene Zuk, University of California, Riverside, and author of Sexual Selections: What We Can and Can't Learn about Sex from Animals : Those fond of intoning piously that a biological universal is support and loyalty to one's family members may want to rethink their position. Doug Mock has many grim tales to tell about family dynamics in species that make the Simpsons look like the Brady Bunch. But the book is much more than the natural history of family dysfunction; it is a model of how behavioral ecology can and should be done. This is a gripping read. Just don't take the book to family reunions.
Book Description
Sibling rivalry and intergenerational conflict are not limited to human beings. Among seals and piglets, storks and burying beetles, in bird nests and beehives, from apples to humans, family conflicts can be deadly serious, determining who will survive and who will perish. When offspring compete for scarce resources, sibling rivalry kicks in automatically. Parents sometime play favorites or even kill their young. In More Than Kin and Less Than Kind, Douglas Mock tells us what scientists have discovered about this disturbing side of family dynamics in the natural world.
Natural selection operates primarily for the benefit of individuals (and their genes). Thus a family member may profit directly, by producing its own offspring, or indirectly, by helping close kin to reproduce. Much of the biology of family behavior rests on a simple mathematical relationship called Hamilton's rule, which links the benefits and costs of seemingly altruistic or selfish behavior to the degree of relatedness between individuals.
Blending natural history and theoretical biology, Mock shows how Hamilton's rule illuminates the study of family strife by throwing a spotlight on the two powerful forces--cooperation and competition--that shape all interaction in the family arena. In More Than Kin and Less Than Kind, he offers a rare perspective on the family as testing ground for the evolutionary limits of selfishness. When budgets are tight, close kin are often deadly rivals.
More than Kin and Less than Kind: The Evolution of Family Conflict,Douglas W. Mock,Belknap Press,0674012852,Family,General,Interpersonal conflict,Life Sciences - Evolution,Life Sciences - Zoology - General,Psychological aspects,Science,Science/Mathematics,Sibling rivalry,Sociology - Marriage & Family,Science / General
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