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Related Concept Videos

Inclusive Fitness00:57

Inclusive Fitness

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Most altruistic behavior—in which one animal helps another at a cost to themselves—occurs between relatives. Scientists think these altruistic behaviors evolved because they increase the inclusive fitness of the animal providing help.
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Cell Inclusions01:27

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Prokaryotic cells possess a variety of inclusions that play crucial roles in nutrient storage, metabolic processes, and environmental adaptation. These structures enable bacteria to thrive under fluctuating environmental conditions by storing essential resources and optimizing their metabolic efficiency.Carbon Storage: Poly-β-Hydroxybutyric Acid and Glycogen GranulesBacteria frequently store excess carbon in specialized granules. Poly-β-hydroxybutyric acid (PHB) granules are lipid...
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The field of behaviorism was pioneered by figures such as Ivan Pavlov, John B. Watson, and B.F. Skinner fundamentally shifted the focus of psychology to the observable and controllable aspects of human and animal behavior. This shift marked a critical evolution in the discipline, emphasizing scientific rigor and experimental methodology.
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jan 24, 2026

Monitoring Protein Aggregation Kinetics In Vivo using Automated Inclusion Counting in Caenorhabditis elegans
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The Inclusive Behavioral Immune System.

Keren Shakhar1

  • 1Department of Psychology, College of Management Academic Studies, Rishon LeTsiyon, Israel.

Frontiers in Psychology
|May 28, 2019
PubMed
Summary

The behavioral immune system (BIS) protects social groups from disease. Expanding this concept to inclusive fitness reveals how behaviors like social immunity and sickness behavior benefit kin and genes, not just individuals.

Keywords:
behavioral immune systemevolutionary psychologyinclusive fitnesssickness behaviorsocial immunity

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Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Behavioral Ecology
  • Immunology

Background:

  • Social living provides benefits but increases disease transmission risk.
  • The behavioral immune system (BIS) evolved to minimize pathogen contact.
  • Existing research on BIS primarily focuses on individual fitness and human cognition.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To explore the evolutionary origins of the BIS from a gene-centric perspective, considering inclusive fitness.
  • To broaden the definition of the BIS to encompass behaviors that benefit relatives.

Main Methods:

  • Conceptual analysis of evolutionary theory, shifting focus from individual to gene-level selection.
  • Review of existing literature on social immunity and sickness behavior.

Main Results:

  • Viewing BIS through inclusive fitness highlights behaviors benefiting kin, such as social immunity in eusocial insects and sickness behavior in infected individuals.
  • Sickness behavior reduces pathogen transmission to relatives, enhancing inclusive fitness.

Conclusions:

  • The concept of an "inclusive behavioral immune system" better explains the evolution of protective behaviors that benefit gene propagation through relatives.
  • Broadening the BIS definition accounts for collective and self-sacrificing protective behaviors crucial for kin survival.