sociobiology
noun
so·cio·bi·ol·o·gy
ˌsō-sē-ō-bī-ˈä-lə-jē 
ˌsō-shē-
: the comparative study of social organization and behavior in animals including humans especially with regard to its genetic basis and evolutionary history
Examples of sociobiology in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
But amid the rise of second-wave feminism and the gay-liberation movement, the champions of sociobiology and its successor field, evolutionary psychology, focused more and more on arguing that differences between men and women were, in fact, rooted in biology, not just social conditioning.
—
Erik Baker, Harpers Magazine, 18 June 2025
Every new science since the mid-century, including sociobiology and neuroscience, has claimed to answer the big questions about humanity’s meaning.
—Stefanos Geroulanos, Twin Cities, 10 Apr. 2024
To the contrary, there has been a ceaseless multiplication of rival and largely incompatible sciences of human behavior: stimulus response, sociobiology, rational choice theory, various structuralisms, many attempts at socioneuroscience, and so on.
—Jason Blakely, Harper's Magazine, 10 July 2023
In the 1970s, his study of social ants, bees, wasps, and termites led him to create the field of sociobiology, which shattered then-popular dogma that babies are born tabula rasa, or with their minds a blank slate to be formed by nurture and learning alone.
—Andrea Stone, Culture, 27 Dec. 2021
Along with this activist work, Dagg also writes about her work on sociobiology, as well as her local environmental efforts.
—Guest, Discover Magazine, 9 July 2019
Another concern is that Fukuyama's attempt to ground social structures in sociobiology is unsuccessful; listing supposedly innate attributes of human beings does not help explain their social and political institutions.
—Michael Mann, Foreign Affairs, 13 Feb. 2012
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Erik Baker, Harpers Magazine, 18 June 2025
Every new science since the mid-century, including sociobiology and neuroscience, has claimed to answer the big questions about humanity’s meaning.
—Stefanos Geroulanos, Twin Cities, 10 Apr. 2024
To the contrary, there has been a ceaseless multiplication of rival and largely incompatible sciences of human behavior: stimulus response, sociobiology, rational choice theory, various structuralisms, many attempts at socioneuroscience, and so on.
—Jason Blakely, Harper's Magazine, 10 July 2023
In the 1970s, his study of social ants, bees, wasps, and termites led him to create the field of sociobiology, which shattered then-popular dogma that babies are born tabula rasa, or with their minds a blank slate to be formed by nurture and learning alone.
—Andrea Stone, Culture, 27 Dec. 2021
Along with this activist work, Dagg also writes about her work on sociobiology, as well as her local environmental efforts.
—Guest, Discover Magazine, 9 July 2019
Another concern is that Fukuyama's attempt to ground social structures in sociobiology is unsuccessful; listing supposedly innate attributes of human beings does not help explain their social and political institutions.
—Michael Mann, Foreign Affairs, 13 Feb. 2012
Cite this Entry
“Sociobiology.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sociobiology. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
sociobiology
noun
so·cio·bi·ol·o·gy
ˌsō-sē-ō-bī-ˈäl-ə-jē, ˌsō-shē-
plural sociobiologies
: the comparative study of the biological basis of social organization and behavior in animals and humans especially with regard to their genetic basis and evolutionary history
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