Skip to main content
sociobiologist

sociobiologist

1 9.0
A scientist who studies how genes and biology affect social behavior in animals and humans
  • noun
  • /ˌsoʊsiəʊbaɪˈɒlədʒɪst/
  • Specialized
translation icon : sociobiologo
  • A sociobiologist studies how genetics and environment shape animal behavior in their natural habitats.

Examples

  • 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.

  • The sociobiologist's research suggests that cooperation within a group can enhance survival rates for all members.

How Biological

geneticist
24 6.3
biologist
111 3.5
sociobiologist
  • Specialized
1 9.0
sociologist
  • Specialized
38 3.9

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.