INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES WITHIN HUMAN GROUPS
Commentary on Caporael on Group-Selection

Abstract

Caporael's (1995) target article discusses four topics in evolutionary psychology. Of these, the most useful is her approach to human social relations and her categorization of human groups into four "core configurations" that vary in size and have different functions. The least useful is her attack on behavioral genetics. Caporael's theory does a good job of accounting for the assimilatory aspects of group membership -- the fact that the members of groups tend to acquire shared patterns of behavior and cognition. However, the theory does not take sufficient account of within-group individual differences.

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