Epigenetic rules in moral development: Distal-proximal approaches to altruism and aggression

Abstract

A time continum of levels of explanation is offered ranging from distal, evolutionary analyses, through trait and social learning perspectives, to proximate cognitive and situational accounts. While most research has been carried out from proximal perspectives, this paper considers data from each of the levels and concludes with a theory of moral development based on evolutionarily derived r/K reproductive strategies. When aggression is assessed using aggregate procedures, 1) consistent patterns of individual differences exist, forming part of a broad syndrome of moral behavior; 2) group differences in aggression emerge such that females < males, older < younger, and higher socioeconomic < lower socioeconomic; 3)individual differences are about 50% heritable; 4) epigenetic rules guide social development in one direction over alternatives; and 5) aggression is part of a constellation of reproductive attributes deeply embedded in evolutionary history.