Essentialism bias

Biological Parallel

Kin recognition in Belding's ground squirrels depends on developmental exposure to siblings—individuals raised together are treated as kin regardless of actual genetic relationship. Konrad Lorenz's imprinted ducklings followed him as 'mother' because the essence of motherhood was inferred from first-moving-object, not actual species. Cuckoo chicks exploit this: reed warblers feed cuckoo nestlings that look nothing like their own young because being 'in the nest' triggers the essence of 'offspring.' Essentialism evolved as a categorization shortcut: when reliable markers correlate with important categories, brains evolved to treat markers as revealing hidden essences, enabling fast decisions about kin, predators, and food without genetic testing or chemical analysis.