green-beard effect

English

Etymology

From a hypothetical example used in Richard Dawkins' book The Selfish Gene (1976), whereby a person with a green beard acts altruistically towards other people with green beards.

Proper noun

green-beard effect

  1. (biology) A hypothesis in evolutionary biology that explains selective altruism among individuals of a species, involving preferential treatment of individuals with certain characteristics.
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.