Kin Selection
Natural selection that favors behaviors benefiting genetic relatives, even at cost to the individual. Explains altruistic behavior toward relatives based on shared genes.
Used in the Books
This term appears in 2 chapters:
"...petitors (other gazelles who could reproduce instead of you) and alert predators? Several mechanisms make alarm calling evolutionarily stable: 1. Kin selection: Many species live in family groups. Prairie dogs in a colony are often close relatives. An individual's alarm call protects siblings, offspring, a..."
"... but the net effect is resource redistribution from resource-rich to resource-poor individuals. Why share resources? Several explanations: 1. Kin selection: Mother trees share with offspring seedlings nearby, increasing kin fitness. Resource sharing is altruism toward genetic relatives. 2."
Biological Context
Hamilton's rule states that altruism evolves when the benefit to relatives, weighted by relatedness, exceeds the cost to the altruist. This explains sterile worker castes in social insects (sisters share 75% of genes), alarm calls in ground squirrels, and parental care. Inclusive fitness includes both direct reproduction and helping relatives reproduce.
Business Application
Organizational kin selection: people favor those they perceive as similar (same team, department, background). Understanding this helps explain in-group bias and the importance of shared identity.