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green-beard effect

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

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Etymology

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From a hypothetical example used in Richard Dawkins' book The Selfish Gene (1976), whereby a person with a green beard acts altruistically towards other people with green beards.

Proper noun

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green-beard effect

  1. (biology) A hypothesis in evolutionary biology that explains selective altruism among individuals of a species, involving preferential treatment of individuals with certain characteristics.