sociobiologist
- noun
- /ˌsoʊsiəʊbaɪˈɒlədʒɪst/
- Specialized
- A sociobiologist studies how genetics and environment shape animal behavior in their natural habitats.
Examples
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Sociobiologists tend to sputter when trying to explain why those illusions once existed.
Academic text (2003) -
Even the sociobiologists tell us that we consciously prefer ourselves and our own.
Academic text (2003) -
The truth, the sociobiologists say, is that human beings are at home in nature.
Academic text (2003) -
The sociobiologists hold that social and cultural behaviors serve a primary rather than a responsive role.
Academic text (1998) -
The capacity to be seduced by illusion, sociobiologist E. O. Wilson contends, turned out to be an evolutionary advantage for our species.
Academic text (2003) -
The sociobiologists say that in the era of sociobiology, marriage will no longer be understood to have a sacred or transcendent dimension.
Academic text (2003) -
Not all sociobiologists, however, are so skeptical, nor indeed so cynical, about genuine altruism.
Academic text (2010) -
A major puzzle for many sociobiologists in understanding the process of natural selection among humans is how to find an evolutionary place and role for altruism, or for generous other-centeredness, as distinct from self- or group-interest.
Academic text (2010) -
Many sociobiologists explore the ways that social hierarchies influence mating practices among various species.
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The sociobiologist's research suggests that cooperation within a group can enhance survival rates for all members.
How Biological
Surface Forms
Morphology
sociobiologist = sociobiology (transparent) = sociobiology + ist
Formed by the noun 'sociobiology' plus the agentive suffix '-ist', meaning a person who practices or studies sociobiology.
Etymology
Sociobiologist joins socio- meaning 'social' and biology meaning 'the study of life', with the ending -ist meaning 'a person who studies'. So, a sociobiologist is a scientist who studies how 'life' (biology) affects 'social' behavior.