Synonyms
Definition
Hamilton’s rule predicts that, all else being equal, individuals will invest more in their closely related relatives compared to their distantly related relatives.
Introduction
Inclusive fitness theory (Hamilton 1964) argues that individuals can spread their genes in future generations (inclusive fitness) by investing in the reproduction of their relatives (indirect fitness) in addition to reproducing themselves (direct fitness). Hamilton’s rule is an equation of the above-described theory and can be described as follows: Br > C. In the equation, B stands for benefits and C refers to the costs, which are both measured in terms of reproductive success. The coefficient r represents the genetic relatedness between the investor and the recipient, indicating the probability that these individuals have an identical allele by common descent at a random locus (Salmon and Shackelford 2011). According to Hamilton’s...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
References
Abbot, P., Abe, J., Alcock, J., Alizon, S., et al. (2011). Inclusive fitness theory and eusociality. Nature, 471, E1–E4.
Burnstein, E. (2005). Altruism and genetic relatedness. In D. M. Buss (Ed.), The handbook of evolutionary psychology (pp. 528–551). Hoboken: Wiley.
Hamilton, W. D. (1964). The genetical evolution of social behaviour I & II. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 7, 1–52.
Hepper, P. (2011). Kin recognition. In C. A. Salmon & T. K. Shackelford (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of evolutionary family psychology (pp. 211–229). New York: Oxford University Press.
Madsen, E. A., Tunney, R. J., Fieldman, G., Plotkin, H. C., Dunbar, R. I. M., Richardson, J.-M., & McFarland, D. (2007). Kinship and altruism: A cross-cultural experimental study. British Journal of Psychology, 98, 339–359.
Neyer, F. J., & Lang, F. R. (2003). Blood is thicker than water: Kinship orientation across adulthood. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84, 310–321.
Nowak, M. A., Tarnita, C. E., & Wilson, E. O. (2010). The evolution on eusociality. Nature, 466, 1057–1062.
Pollet, T. V., & Hoben, A. D. (2011). An evolutionary perspective on siblings: Rivals and resources. In C. A. Salmon & T. K. Shackelford (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of evolutionary family psychology (pp. 128–148). New York: Oxford University Press.
Salmon, C. A., & Shackelford, T. K. (2011). Toward an evolutionary psychology of the family. In C. A. Salmon & T. K. Shackelford (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of evolutionary family psychology (pp. 3–11). New York: Oxford University Press.
Segal, N. L., Seghers, J. P., Marelich, W. D., Mechanic, M. B., & Castillo, R. R. (2007). Social closeness of MZ and DZ twin parents towards nieces and nephews. European Journal of Personality, 21, 487–506.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Section Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
Hämäläinen, H., Tanskanen, A.O., Danielsbacka, M. (2017). Hamilton’s Rule and Kin Investment. In: Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_3750-1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_3750-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6
eBook Packages: Springer Reference Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences