group selection

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡɹuːp sɪˈlɛkʃən/

Noun

group selection (uncountable)

1. (biology, evolution) A form of natural selection whereby traits that may be disadvantageous to the individual can be propagated when they are advantageous to the survival of a group as a whole. [from 19th c.]
   • 2016, David P. Barash, Out of Eden, Oxford, page 164:

     Although so-called “group selection” has enjoyed some increased followership of late, the overwhelming consensus among evolutionary biologists is that it is unlikely to be an important cause of evolution among nonhuman animals, for a number of reasons […].

   • 2007, Louise Barrett, Oxford Handbook of Evolutionary Psychology, Oxford University Press, USA, →ISBN, page 51:

     Ever since, students of evolution have been taught that group selection is possible in principle; it just happens that it can be ignored in practice. Generations of students have learned about group selection with the help of a Gary Larson 'Far […]