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This page lists some of the more commonly proposed explanations for patterns of behavior and intelligence. Most of this is theory.

Instinct

Gregory Bateson, in one of his metalogs, notes that instinct is an "explanatory principle" -- a black box that is simply a label for something unknown or unexplained. Instinct is something that is yet to be explained. It remains in the realm of speculation. It is only a label, not an explanation. Nonetheless, thinking about instinct raises some profound questions that, at least, help define what is unknown.

Genetics

A genetic explanation for organism behavior is “fitness” – the ability of individuals within a  gene pool to both survive and reproduce within its environment or ecosystem.  Fitness is said to be equal to the average contribution to the gene pool of the next generation that is made by an average individual of the specified genotype or phenotype. If differences between alleles of a given gene affect fitness, then the frequencies of the alleles will change over generations; the alleles with higher fitness become more common. This process is called natural selection.  Within the context of Darwinian genetics, the concept of fitness is considered by some to be a viable explanation for genetically driven behavior such as kin selection.

The science of sociobiology is based on the idea that some behaviors (both social and individual) are at least partly inherited and can be affected by natural selection. It starts with the idea that these behaviors have evolved over time, similar to the way that physical traits are thought to have evolved. Therefore, it predicts that animals will act in ways that have proven to be evolutionarily successful over time, which can among other things result in the formation of complex social processes that have proven to be conducive to evolutionary fitness.

The discipline of sociobiology seeks to explain behavior as a product of natural selection; thus behavior is seen as an effort to preserve one's genes in the population. Inherent in sociobiological reasoning is the idea that certain genes or gene combinations that influence particular behavioral traits can be "passed down" from generation to generation.

Epigenetics

The emerging field of epigenetics is changing scientific thinking about the way genes work. “Epi” means above the genome, the total genetic material of an individual or species. The epigenome literally sits over the genome and is affected by factors such as the environment or food intake . The epigenome serves to switch genes on or off, leading to changes in genetic behavior. Scientists use the analogy of a computer to illuminate the concept. Our genome (DNA sequence) is the computer’s hardware. The epigenome is the software that tells the computer when, where and how to work.
In humans, the dramatic rise in diabetes, asthma, heart disease and obesity may at least partially be attributed to an epigenetic mechanism, predisposing succeeding generations to these diseases. Diet, stress, nurturing, our behavioral habits, and even environmental exposures may change gene activity without altering the actual sequence of our genes. In other organisms, pesticides and exposures to synthetic compounds can trigger a chemical change that attaches to the control segment of a gene and either silences or activates the gene, causing it to deviate from its intended purpose.

Culture

Culture is information stored individual’s brains that is capable of affecting behavior and got there through social learning. In addition to a parent’s DNA being inherited by a child, cultural inheritance bypasses DNA and creates those behavioral characteristics which develop through a learning process. Parents' participation in teaching is especially important in the earlier years of development, and those traits that are learned during the first period of life are more likely to show a transmission from parent to child. In addition, the society of an organism may be the means by which behavior is taught and a culture passed on. It is thought that cultural transmission may be an important part of  how ants learn to behave in their colony. The “imprinting” of behavior onto young ducklings is another possible example.

Culture can act as a epigenome that profoundly influences gene frequencies in a population. One of the best known examples is the prevalence of the gene for adult lactose absorption in human populations, such as Northern Europeans and some African societies, with a long history of raising cattle for milk. Other societies such as East Asians and Amerindians, retain the typical mammalian gene in which the body shuts down lactase production shortly after the normal age of weaning. This implies that the cultural practice of raising cattle for milk led to a selection for genetic traits for lactose digestion.

Memes

Yet another notion about causes behind behavior is memes. A meme is an idea or value or pattern of behavior that is passed from one person to another by non-genetic means (such as imitation). Memes are the cultural counterpart of genes. Wikipedia describes memes as an approach to evolutionary models of cultural information transfer. A meme, analogous to a gene, is essentially a "unit of culture"—an idea, belief, pattern of behavior, etc. which is "hosted" in one or more individual minds, and which can reproduce itself from mind to mind. Thus what would otherwise be regarded as one individual influencing another to adopt a belief is seen mimetically as a meme reproducing itself. As with genetics, a meme's success may be due to its contribution to the effectiveness of its host.