The selfish goal meets the selfish gene.
The connection between selfish genes and selfish goals is not merely metaphorical. Many goals that shape contemporary cognition and behavior are psychological products of evolutionarily fundamental motivational systems and thus are phenotypic manifestations of genes. An evolutionary perspective can add depth and nuance to our understanding of "selfish goals" and their implications for human cognition and behavior.
Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-1104. steven.neuberg@asu.edu http://psychology.clas.asu.edu/neuberg.
Steven L
SL
Neuberg
Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada. schaller@psych.ubc.ca http://neuron4.psych.ubc.ca/~schallerlab.
Mark
M
Schaller
D001519:Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006040:Goals; D006801:Humans; D007600:Judgment / Q000502:physiology*; D009042:Motivation / Q000502:physiology*