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. This demonstrates belief in an underlying essence (kinship) that animals infer from surface features (co-rearing). 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.