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Epigenetic rules in moral development: Distal‐proximal approaches to altruism and aggression
Author(s) -
Philippe Rushton J.
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
aggressive behavior
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.223
H-Index - 92
eISSN - 1098-2337
pISSN - 0096-140X
DOI - 10.1002/1098-2337(1988)14:1<35::aid-ab2480140106>3.0.co;2-5
Subject(s) - aggression , situational ethics , altruism (biology) , psychology , trait , developmental psychology , socioeconomic status , poison control , cognition , social psychology , moral development , demography , sociology , medicine , population , medical emergency , computer science , neuroscience , programming language
A time continum of levels of explanation is offered ranging from distal, evolutionary analyses, through trait and social learning perspectives, to proximate cognitive and situational accounts. While most research has been carried out from proximal perspectives, this paper considers data from each of the levels and concludes with a theory of moral development based on evolutionarily derived r/K reproductive strategies. When aggression is assessed using aggregate procedures, 1) consistent patterns of individual differences exist, forming part of a broad syndrome of moral behavior; 2) group differences in aggression emerge such that females < males, older < younger, and higher socioeconomic < lower socioeconomic; 3)individual differences are about 50% heritable; 4) epigenetic rules guide social development in one direction over alternatives; and 5) aggression is part of a constellation of reproductive attributes deeply embedded in evolutionary history.