The DOI matches its Crossref record; 1 of the 1 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
A theory of group selection.
Open accessAbstract
In organisms possessing a dispersal phase the processes of mating, competition, feeding, and predation are often carried out within "trait-groups," defined as populations enclosed in areas smaller than the boundaries of the deme. A simple model shows that this can lead to the selection of "altruistic" traits that favor the fitness of the group over that of the individual. The extent of group selection that occurs depends mainly on the variation in the composition of genotypes between trait-groups. The traditional concepts of group and individual selection are seen as two extremes of a continuum, with systems in nature operating over the interval in between.
Overview
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In the citing paper
“Wilson constructed his trait group model (TGM, structured deme model) [39,90] to demonstrate that group selection at the supraindividual level can lead to the coexistence of altruistic individuals with inferior fitness compared to more selfish, opportunistic ones.”
From Ecology and Evolution in the RNA World Dynamics and Stability of Prebiotic Replicator Systems (2017) · cites this paper as [39]
In the citing paper
“People are nicer to others if third parties were nicer to them.”
From Evolution of indirect reciprocity (2005) · cites this paper as [58]
In the citing paper
“In particular, the image score of potential recipients correlates well with their expectation to actually receive money 58 .”
From Evolution of indirect reciprocity (2005) · cites this paper as [58]
In the citing paper
“In experimental situations which are not based on rigid networks, the decisions of donors also tend to mirror their own recent experience 58,63 .”
From Evolution of indirect reciprocity (2005) · cites this paper as [58]
Citations
Cites
Group selection on the boundary of a stable population
Boorman, S. A., & Levitt, P. R. (1973) · Theoretical Population Biology · doi:10.1016/0040-5809(73)90007-5 · Cited by 242
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Five Rules for the Evolution of Cooperation
Nowak, M. A. (2006) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1133755 · Cited by 5,894
Ecological and Evolutionary Forces Shaping Microbial Diversity in the Human Intestine
Ley, R. E., Peterson, D. A., & Gordon, J. I. (2006) · Cell · doi:10.1016/j.cell.2006.02.017 · Cited by 3,358
ESTIMATING RELATEDNESS USING GENETIC MARKERS
Queller, D. C., & Goodnight, K. F. (1989) · Evolution · doi:10.1111/j.1558-5646.1989.tb04226.x · Cited by 3,012
Evolution of indirect reciprocity
Nowak, M. A., & Sigmund, K. (2005) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature04131 · Cited by 2,762
Habitat, the Templet for Ecological Strategies?
Southwood, T. R. E. (1977) · Journal of Animal Ecology · doi:10.2307/3817 · Cited by 2,271
Social semantics: altruism, cooperation, mutualism, strong reciprocity and group selection.
WEST, S. A., GRIFFIN, A. S., & GARDNER, A. (2007) · Journal of Evolutionary Biology · doi:10.1111/j.1420-9101.2006.01258.x · Cited by 1,889
Metapopulation dynamics: brief history and conceptual domain
Hanski, I., & Gilpin, M. E. (1991) · Biological Journal of the Linnean Society · doi:10.1111/j.1095-8312.1991.tb00548.x · Cited by 1,746
The Stag Hunt and the Evolution of Social Structure
Skyrms, B. (2003) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9781139165228 · Cited by 1,539
Nowak, M. A., Tarnita, C. E., & Wilson, E. O. (2010) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature09205 · Cited by 1,530
Evolutionary origins of stigmatization: The functions of social exclusion.
Kurzban, R., & Leary, M. R. (2001) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/0033-2909.127.2.187 · Cited by 1,424
Rand, D. G., & Nowak, M. A. (2013) · Trends in Cognitive Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.tics.2013.06.003 · Cited by 1,308
Rethinking the Theoretical Foundation of Sociobiology
Wilson, D. S., & Wilson, E. O. (2007) · The Quarterly Review of Biology · doi:10.1086/522809 · Cited by 1,236
Self-citationSocial evolution theory for microorganisms
West, S. A., Griffin, A. S., Gardner, A., & Diggle, S. P. (2006) · Nature Reviews Microbiology · doi:10.1038/nrmicro1461 · Cited by 1,183
Sachs, J. L., Mueller, U. G., Wilcox, T. P., & Bull, J. J. (2004) · The Quarterly Review of Biology · doi:10.1086/383541 · Cited by 1,140
Population Responses to Patchy Environments
Wiens, J. A. (1976) · Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics · doi:10.1146/annurev.es.07.110176.000501 · Cited by 1,073
Reintroducing group selection to the human behavioral sciences
Wilson, D. S., & Sober, E. R. (1994) · Behavioral and Brain Sciences · doi:10.1017/s0140525x00036104 · Cited by 967
Self-citationEvolution of cooperation by multilevel selection
Traulsen, A., & Nowak, M. A. (2006) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.0602530103 · Cited by 954
The evolution of the host microbiome as an ecosystem on a leash
Foster, K. R., Schlüter, J., Coyte, K. Z., & Rakoff-Nahoum, S. (2017) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature23292 · Cited by 958
Nepotism and the Evolution of Alarm Calls
Sherman, P. W. (1977) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.197.4310.1246 · Cited by 909
Prosocial Spending and Well-Being: Cross-Cultural Evidence for a Psychological Universal
Aknin, L. B., Barrington-Leigh, C. P., Dunn, E. W., Helliwell, J. F., Burns, J., Biswas‐Diener, R., Kemeza, I., Nyende, P., Ashton-James, C. E., & Norton, M. I. (2010) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0031578 · Cited by 887
Social network analysis of animal behaviour: a promising tool for the study of sociality
Wey, T. W., Blumstein, D. T., Shen, W., & Jordán, F. (2008) · Animal Behaviour · doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2007.06.020 · Cited by 881
Is altruism part of human nature?
Hoffman, M. L. (1981) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.40.1.121 · Cited by 783
Reputation-based partner choice promotes cooperation in social networks
Fu, F., Hauert, C., Nowak, M. A., & Wang, L. (2008) · Physical Review E · doi:10.1103/physreve.78.026117 · Cited by 682
Selection on soil microbiomes reveals reproducible impacts on plant function
Panke-Buisse, K., Poole, A. C., Goodrich, J. K., Ley, R. E., & Kao‐Kniffin, J. (2014) · The ISME Journal · doi:10.1038/ismej.2014.196 · Cited by 683
Nadell, C. D., Xavier, J. B., & Foster, K. R. (2008) · FEMS Microbiology Reviews · doi:10.1111/j.1574-6976.2008.00150.x · Cited by 686
Wilson, D. S., & Sober, E. R. (1989) · Journal of Theoretical Biology · doi:10.1016/s0022-5193(89)80169-9 · Cited by 629
Self-citationEvolution of cooperation and conflict in experimental bacterial populations
Rainey, P. B., & Rainey, K. (2003) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature01906 · Cited by 568
Ecology and evolution of metabolic cross-feeding interactions in bacteria
D’Souza, G. G., Shitut, S., Preußger, D., Yousif, G., Waschina, S., & Kost, C. (2018) · Natural Product Reports · doi:10.1039/c8np00009c · Cited by 582
Sixteen common misconceptions about the evolution of cooperation in humans
West, S. A., Mouden, C. E., & Gardner, A. (2010) · Evolution and Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2010.08.001 · Cited by 568
The Group Selection Controversy: History and Current Status
Wilson, D. S. (1983) · Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics · doi:10.1146/annurev.es.14.110183.001111 · Cited by 514
Self-citationEvolutionary dynamics in structured populations
Nowak, M. A., Tarnita, C. E., & Tibor Antal, A. (2009) · Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences · doi:10.1098/rstb.2009.0215 · Cited by 505
The Ecological and Genetic Consequences of Density-Dependent Regulation in Plants
Antonovics, J., & Levin, D. A. (1980) · Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics · doi:10.1146/annurev.es.11.110180.002211 · Cited by 492
The tragedy of the commons in evolutionary biology
Rankin, D. J., Bargum, K., & Kokko, H. (2007) · Trends in Ecology & Evolution · doi:10.1016/j.tree.2007.07.009 · Cited by 497
Twelve Misunderstandings of Kin Selection
Dawkins, R. (1979) · Zeitschrift für Tierpsychologie · doi:10.1111/j.1439-0310.1979.tb00682.x · Cited by 462
Eisenberg, N., Spinrad, T. L., & Knafo‐Noam, A. (2015) · Wiley eBooks · doi:10.1002/9781118963418.childpsy315 · Cited by 444
Toward major evolutionary transitions theory 2.0
Szathmáry, E. (2015) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1421398112 · Cited by 415
The Evolution of Quorum Sensing in Bacterial Biofilms
Nadell, C. D., Xavier, J. B., Levin, S. A., & Foster, K. R. (2008) · PLoS Biology · doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0060014 · Cited by 407
Evolution of Social Behavior: Individual and Group Selection
Bergstrom, T. C. (2002) · The Journal of Economic Perspectives · doi:10.1257/0895330027265 · Cited by 394
Quantitative Genetics, Inclusive Fitness, and Group Selection
Queller, D. C. (1992) · The American Naturalist · doi:10.1086/285343 · Cited by 381
Klump, G. M., & Shalter, M. D. (1984) · Zeitschrift für Tierpsychologie · doi:10.1111/j.1439-0310.1984.tb01365.x · Cited by 378
Structured Demes and the Evolution of Group-Advantageous Traits
Wilson, D. S. (1977) · The American Naturalist · doi:10.1086/283146 · Cited by 363
Self-citationCapturing the superorganism: a formal theory of group adaptation
Gardner, A., & Grafen, A. (2009) · Journal of Evolutionary Biology · doi:10.1111/j.1420-9101.2008.01681.x · Cited by 369
INTERACTING PHENOTYPES AND THE EVOLUTIONARY PROCESS. III. SOCIAL EVOLUTION
McGlothlin, J. W., Moore, A. J., Wolf, J. B., & Brodie, E. D. (2010) · Evolution · doi:10.1111/j.1558-5646.2010.01012.x · Cited by 366
AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF GROUP SELECTION
Wade, M. J. (1977) · Evolution · doi:10.1111/j.1558-5646.1977.tb00991.x · Cited by 358
Michod, R. E. (1982) · Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics · doi:10.1146/annurev.es.13.110182.000323 · Cited by 354
Upstream reciprocity and the evolution of gratitude
Nowak, M. A., & Roch, S. (2006) · Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences · doi:10.1098/rspb.2006.0125 · Cited by 362
A Method for Analyzing Selection in Hierarchically Structured Populations
Heisler, I. L., & Damuth, J. D. (1987) · The American Naturalist · doi:10.1086/284732 · Cited by 337
Alternative formulations of multilevel selection
Damuth, J. D., & Heisler, I. L. (1988) · Biology & Philosophy · doi:10.1007/bf00647962 · Cited by 326
On the Role of Plant Defences in the Fluctuation of Herbivore Populations
Haukioja, E. (1980) · Oikos · doi:10.2307/3544428 · Cited by 322
The Evolution of Altruism in Humans
Kurzban, R., Burton-Chellew, M. N., & West, S. A. (2014) · Annual Review of Psychology · doi:10.1146/annurev-psych-010814-015355 · Cited by 334
Giving leads to happiness in young children
Aknin, L. B., Hamlin, J. K., & Dunn, E. W. (2012) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0039211 · Cited by 304
Skinner, B. F. (1984) · Behavioral and Brain Sciences · doi:10.1017/s0140525x0002673x · Cited by 310
Wilson, R. (2001) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511606847 · Cited by 289
Risk of collective failure provides an escape from the tragedy of the commons
Santos, F. C., & Pacheco, J. M. (2011) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1015648108 · Cited by 286
Assortment of encounters and evolution of cooperativeness
Eshel, I., & Cavalli-Sforza, L. L. (1982) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.79.4.1331 · Cited by 274
Currency value moderates equity preference among young children
Blake, P. R., & Rand, D. G. (2009) · Evolution and Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2009.06.012 · Cited by 290
Boundaries of the Mind: The Individual in the Fragile Sciences - Cognition
Wilson, R. A. (2004) · PhilPapers (PhilPapers Foundation) · Cited by 266
Altruists Egoists and Hooligans in a Local Interaction ModelPreprint
Eshel, I., Samuelson, L., & Shaked, A. (1998) · RePEc: Research Papers in Economics · Cited by 265
RNA Catalysis in Model Protocell Vesicles
Chen, I. A., Salehi-Ashtiani, K., & Szostak, J. W. (2005) · Journal of the American Chemical Society · doi:10.1021/ja051784p · Cited by 257
Social organization and kinship in the polygynous bat Phyllostomus hastatus
McCracken, G. F., & Bradbury, J. W. (1981) · Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology · doi:10.1007/bf00302840 · Cited by 255
Goodnight, C. J., Schwartz, J. M., & Stevens, L. (1992) · The American Naturalist · doi:10.1086/285438 · Cited by 251
Bijma, P., & Wade, M. J. (2008) · Journal of Evolutionary Biology · doi:10.1111/j.1420-9101.2008.01550.x · Cited by 253
Anti-social punishment can prevent the co-evolution of punishment and cooperation
Rand, D. G., Armao IV, J. J., Nakamaru, M., & Ohtsuki, H. (2010) · Journal of Theoretical Biology · doi:10.1016/j.jtbi.2010.06.010 · Cited by 233
Social structure and co-operative interactions in a wild population of guppies (Poecilia reticulata)
Croft, D. P., James, R., Thomas, P. O. R., Hathaway, C., Mawdsley, D., Laland, K. N., & Krause, J. (2005) · Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology · doi:10.1007/s00265-005-0091-y · Cited by 232
Khalil, E. L. (2003) · Journal of Economic Psychology · doi:10.1016/s0167-4870(03)00075-8 · Cited by 239
Nowak, M. A. (2012) · Journal of Theoretical Biology · doi:10.1016/j.jtbi.2012.01.014 · Cited by 242
Species Turnover and Equilibrium Island Biogeography
Simberloff, D. (1976) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.194.4265.572 · Cited by 230
Group selections among laboratory populations of Tribolium.
Wade, M. J. (1976) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.73.12.4604 · Cited by 227
Prosocial behavior leads to happiness in a small-scale rural society.
Aknin, L. B., Broesch, T., Hamlin, J. K., & de Vondervoort, J. W. V. (2015) · Journal of Experimental Psychology General · doi:10.1037/xge0000082 · Cited by 246
EVOLUTION OF SEX RATIO IN STRUCTURED DEMES
Wilson, D. S., & Colwell, R. K. (1981) · Evolution · doi:10.1111/j.1558-5646.1981.tb04952.x · Cited by 223
Self-citationStochastic Evolutionary Game Dynamics
Traulsen, A., & Hauert, C. (2009) · Wiley eBooks · doi:10.1002/9783527628001.ch2 · Cited by 229
Skyrms, B. (2001) · Proceedings and Addresses of the American Philosophical Association · doi:10.2307/3218711 · Cited by 232
Altruism as a motivation to volunteer
Unger, L. S. (1991) · Journal of Economic Psychology · doi:10.1016/0167-4870(91)90044-t · Cited by 219
Evolutionary forces favoring intragroup coalitions among spotted hyenas and other animals
Smith, J. E., HORN, R. C. V., Powning, K. S., Cole, A. R., Graham, K. E., Memenis, S. K., & Holekamp, K. E. (2010) · Behavioral Ecology · doi:10.1093/beheco/arp181 · Cited by 229
Theories of kin and group selection: A population genetics perspective
Uyenoyama, M. K., & Feldman, M. W. (1980) · Theoretical Population Biology · doi:10.1016/0040-5809(80)90033-7 · Cited by 218
Evolution of cooperation by generalized reciprocity
Pfeiffer, T., Rutte, C., Killingback, T., Taborsky, M., & Bonhoeffer, S. (2005) · Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences · doi:10.1098/rspb.2004.2988 · Cited by 217
Group Selection, Altruism, and Structured-Deme Models
Nunney, L. (1985) · The American Naturalist · doi:10.1086/284410 · Cited by 212
The cultural evolution of emergent group-level traits
Smaldino, P. E. (2014) · Behavioral and Brain Sciences · doi:10.1017/s0140525x13001544 · Cited by 211
Moral Reputation: An Evolutionary and Cognitive Perspective
Sperber, D., & Baumard, N. (2012) · Mind & Language · doi:10.1111/mila.12000 · Cited by 221
Metapopulation dynamics: brief history and conceptual domain
Hanski, I., & Gilpin, M. E. (1991) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-284120-0.50004-8 · Cited by 206
Cooperation—A Biologist's Dilemma
Brown, J. L. (1983) · Advances in the study of behavior · doi:10.1016/s0065-3454(08)60284-3 · Cited by 206
Genetic Consequences of Mammalian Social Structure
Storz, J. F. (1999) · Journal of Mammalogy · doi:10.2307/1383301 · Cited by 205
Prosocial Motivation: Inferences From an Opaque Body of Work
Eisenberg, N., VanSchyndel, S. K., & Spinrad, T. L. (2016) · Child Development · doi:10.1111/cdev.12638 · Cited by 205
Darwinian selection and “altruism”
Cavalli-Sforza, L. L., & Feldman, M. W. (1978) · Theoretical Population Biology · doi:10.1016/0040-5809(78)90028-x · Cited by 201
From self-replication to replicator systems en route to de novo life
Adamski, P., Eleveld, M., Sood, A., Kun, Á., Szilágyi, A., Czárán, T., Szathmáry, E., & Otto, S. (2020) · Nature Reviews Chemistry · doi:10.1038/s41570-020-0196-x · Cited by 200
Adoption and Kinship in Oceania
Silk, J. B. (1980) · American Anthropologist · doi:10.1525/aa.1980.82.4.02a00050 · Cited by 195
Yu, D. W. (2001) · Biological Journal of the Linnean Society · doi:10.1111/j.1095-8312.2001.tb01336.x · Cited by 195
Evolution of Cooperation on Stochastic Dynamical Networks
Wu, B., Zhou, D., Fu, F., Luo, Q., Wang, L., & Traulsen, A. (2010) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0011187 · Cited by 193
How does selection reconcile individual advantage with the good of the group?
Leigh, E. G. (1977) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.74.10.4542 · Cited by 192
The evolution of cooperative breeding in the African cichlid fish, Neolamprologus pulcher
Wong, M. Y. L., & Balshine, S. (2010) · Biological reviews/Biological reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society · doi:10.1111/j.1469-185x.2010.00158.x · Cited by 196
Social semantics: how useful has group selection been?
WEST, S. A., GRIFFIN, A. S., & GARDNER, A. (2008) · Journal of Evolutionary Biology · doi:10.1111/j.1420-9101.2007.01458.x · Cited by 191
The role of diversity in the evolution of cooperation
Santos, F. C., Pinheiro, F. L., Lenaerts, T., & Pacheco, J. M. (2011) · Journal of Theoretical Biology · doi:10.1016/j.jtbi.2011.09.003 · Cited by 191
Correlated genotypes in friendship networks
Fowler, J. H., Settle, J. E., & Christakis, N. A. (2011) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1011687108 · Cited by 188
Germline Bottlenecks and the Evolutionary Maintenance of Mitochondrial Genomes
Bergstrom, C. T., & Pritchard, J. K. (1998) · Genetics · doi:10.1093/genetics/149.4.2135 · Cited by 189
Between-group competition and human cooperation
Puurtinen, M., & Mappes, T. (2008) · Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences · doi:10.1098/rspb.2008.1060 · Cited by 194
Weak Altruism, Strong Group Selection
Wilson, D. S. (1990) · Oikos · doi:10.2307/3545133 · Cited by 184
Self-citationBarrett, L., Henzi, S. P., & Lusseau, D. (2012) · Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences · doi:10.1098/rstb.2012.0113 · Cited by 183
Relatedness in Trait Group Models of Social Evolution
Pepper, J. W. (2000) · Journal of Theoretical Biology · doi:10.1006/jtbi.2000.2132 · Cited by 183
How many kinds of individual are there?
Santelices, B. (1999) · Trends in Ecology & Evolution · doi:10.1016/s0169-5347(98)01519-5 · Cited by 181
The Units of Evolutionary Transition
Griesemer, J. R. (2001) · Selection · doi:10.1556/select.1.2000.1-3.7 · Cited by 185
Metadata
- Authors
- Wilson, D. S.
- Corresponding author
- Wilson, D S
- Venue
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- Publisher
- National Academy of Sciences
- Published
- 1975-01
- Volume
- 72
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 143-146
- ISSN
- 0027-8424 (ISSN-L)
- 1091-6490
- PMC
- PMC432258
- OpenAlex
- W2087169316
- Cited by
- 1,259
- References
- 1
- Citations by year
- 2026: 22 · 2025: 41 · 2024: 75 · 2023: 31 · 2022: 70 · 2021: 40 · 2020: 59 · 2019: 40 · 2018: 65 · 2017: 32 · 2016: 49 · 2015: 38 · 2014: 43 · 2013: 34 · 2012: 30
- FWCI
- 74.93
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- europepmc.org
- Locations
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Evolutionary Game Theory and Cooperation
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Evolution and Genetic Dynamics
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics › Animal Behavior and Reproduction
- Keywords
- group selection, altruism, dispersal, demes, individual selection, kin selection, evolutionary theory, predation and competition
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Behavior, Animal, Ecology, Biological Evolution, Gene Frequency, Genetics, Population, Genotype, Mathematics, Models, Biological, Selection, Genetic, Genetic Variation
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
