November 1, 2002 - Human Nature II: Does Biology Matter? Margaret Mead, the pioneering anthropologist, became world renowned for a cultural determinist view of human behavior. For Mead, culture explained all human behaviors. An Inuit baby, removed from its original environment and raised by a family in Canarsie, would grow up to be a Brooklynite.
But does biology have any place in determining human behavior? We know significantly more today about the influence of genetic structure on human behavior than twenty years ago. In fact, recent biological research has reopened the debate on many controversial topics. For example, there is reexamination of the meaning and even the existence of "race." Similarly, the measurement of intelligence and its connection to biological or social processes have received renewed attention. And biology has contributed to explanations of behavior from the possible causes of criminal activity to findings that explain hyperactivity disorders in children.
Two central questions from the perspective of international organizational behavior are:
- To what extent can biology explain differences in behavior within a culture?
- To what extent can biology explain differences in behavior across cultures?
While it may be too early to provide definitive answers to these questions it has become necessary to ask them and not assume that culture determines all aspects of behavior.
Web Exercise
The Human Genome project is one of the most important developments concerning the role of biology in human behavior. An interesting introduction is the Human Genome Research web site.
Another interesting site is the National Human Genome Research Institute that includes references to Social, Cultural and Religious Issues in Genetic Research is http://www.genome.gov/PolicyEthics/.
There are also numerous web sites devoted to issues and controversies in evolutionary theory. An example is the controversy over whether evolution proceeded in an incremental path or experienced periods of equilibrium followed by periods of revolutionary change. Of course, creationism rejects the evolutionary perspective entirely. Using a search engine (Google.com) look for web sites that discuss the punctuated equilibrium theory, gradualism, and creationism.
From the perspective of International Organizational Behavior, this controversy is particularly interesting because there are similar arguments concerning how organizations change and the punctuated equilibrium theory has been applied directly to organizations. Is it useful to apply evolutionary theories borrowed from sciences such as paleontology and biology to human organizations?
Finally, using a search engine try to locate other web sites that provide information on the biological basis of human behavior. Examples of topics are the biological basis of race, gender, intelligence, leadership, and emotion.
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