Over the last several decades, mathematical models have become central to the study of social evolution, both in biology and the social sciences. But students in these disciplines often seriously lack the tools to understand them. A primer on behavioral modeling that includes both mathematics and evolutionary theory, Mathematical Models of Social Evolution aims to make the student and professional researcher in biology and the social sciences fully conversant in the language of the field.
Teaching biological concepts from which models can be developed, Richard McElreath and Robert Boyd introduce readers to many of the typical mathematical tools that are used to analyze evolutionary models and end each chapter with a set of problems that draw upon these techniques. Mathematical Models of Social Evolution equips behaviorists and evolutionary biologists with the mathematical knowledge to truly understand the models on which their research depends. Ultimately, McElreath and Boyd’s goal is to impart the fundamental concepts that underlie modern biological understandings of the evolution of behavior so that readers will be able to more fully appreciate journal articles and scientific literature, and start building models of their own.
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"Evolutionary arguments are increasingly used as explanations in a wide range of human sciences - psychology, economics, anthropology - as well as in biology itself. However, these arguments are frequently employed on the basis of a secondhand understanding of the principles by which they are derived. This is the first book to provide a thorough but accessible grounding in the methods underlying the major topics in the evolution of social behavior. It should become required study for graduate students in evolution and human behavior." - Daniel Nettle, Newcastle University"
About the Author
Richard McElreath is associate professor of anthropology at the University of California, Davis. Robert Boyd is professor of anthropology at the University of California, Los Angeles, and coauthor of Not by Genes Alone, also published by the University of Chicago Press.
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Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Never learned so much in so little time. It is very well written and easy to understand. Would highly recommend to anyone interested in this area of science.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
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4.1 out of 5 stars
8 reviews
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful Hands-On Guide to the Math of Cultural Evolution!
2 May 2007
By Timothy M. Waring
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
This concise book will allow any mathematically competent but sociobiologically inexperienced reader to dive right into the debates about human evolution. Although the many of the models described in McElreath and Boyd's Guide for the Perplexed come from evolutionary biology and were conceived as genetic models, a great deal of them apply without alteration to related processes in the social world. Take the prisoners dilemma, the battle of the sexes, the Price Equation, or the Phillip Sidney game, honest signaling, and social learning. Everything inside has direct bearing on how we should understand the evolution of social systems, it's just that the *math* has already been worked out by others in the biological sciences.
The social sciences have much to gain from game theory, and this book is a concise, complete and speedy primer.
The social sciences have much to gain from game theory, and this book is a concise, complete and speedy primer.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A fantastic introduction to theoretical sociobiology
10 April 2007
By Kevin R. Foster
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
This book provides a thorough, lucid and near-complete guide to the theories used by sociobiologists like no book has achieved before it. As a working biologist, I strongly recommend it to those interested in why animals and indeed all organisms cooperate, or conflict.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Pedagogical Tour de Force
29 Aug 2008
By Herbert Gintis
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
Robert Boyd is a professor of anthropology at UCLA, and McElreath is his former student, now professor of Anthropology at UC Davis. Boyd, together with Peter Richerson, were early contributors to a dynamic (and correct, I believe) version of sociobiology known as gene-culture coevolution. The theory developed in this book is relevant for anyone interested in social behavior, whether they are biologists, anthropologists, or have their training in another behavioral discipline.
I have written an extended review for the journal Evolutionary Psychology, which should appear in the year 2008.
I have written an extended review for the journal Evolutionary Psychology, which should appear in the year 2008.
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4.1 out of 5 stars
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