Race, Evolution and Behavior
J. Philippe Rushton
 The book grew out of Rushton's 1989 paper, "Evolutionary Biology and Heritable Traits (With Reference to Oriental-White-Black Difference)". The 1st unabridged edition was published in 1995, the 2nd unabridged edition in 1997, and the 3rd unabridged edition in 2000. Rushton argues that Mongoloids, Caucasoids, and Negroids fall consistently into the same one-two-three pattern when compared on a list of 60 different behavioral and anatomical variables. (Rushton's 2000 book, like other population history works, e.g. Cavalli-Sforza 1994, uses the terms Mongoloid, Caucasoid, and Negroid to describe these groups broadly conceived, but these terms have since been replaced in the scientific literature—the MeSH terminology as of 2004 is Asian Continental Ancestry Group, African Continental Ancestry Group and European Continental Ancestry Group.)The decline in usage of these terms can be seen year by year in a Google Scholar search, and the change of terms can be seen in, for example, the US National Library of Medicine's Medical Subject Headings (MeSH), which in deleted the -oids (as well as terms such as Black and White) in favor of terms such as African Continental Ancestry Group: The MeSH descriptor Racial Stocks, and its four children (Australoid Race, Caucasoid Race, Mongoloid Race, and Negroid Race) have been deleted from MeSH in 2004 along with Blacks and Whites. Race and ethnicity have been used as categories in biomedical research and clinical medicine. Recent genetic research indicates that the degree of genetic heterogeneity within groups and homogeneity across groups make race per se a less compelling predictor. Rushton uses averages of hundreds of studies, modern and historical, to assert the existence of this pattern. Rushton's book is focused on what he considers the three broadest racial groups, and does not address other populations such as South East Asians or Australian aboriginals. The book argues that Mongoloids, on average, are at one end of a continuum, that Negroids, on average, are at the opposite end of that continuum, and that Caucasoids rank in between Mongoloids and Negroids, but closer to Mongoloids. His continuum includes both external physical characteristics and personality traits. Citing genetic research by Cavalli-Sforza, the African Eve hypothesis, and the out of Africa theory, Rushton writes that Negroids branched off first (200,000 years ago, Caucasoids second 110,000 years ago, and Mongoloids last 41,000 years ago), arguing that throughout all of evolution, more ancient forms of life (i.e. plants, bacteria, reptiles) are less evolved than more recent forms of life (i.e. mammals, primates, humans) and that the much smaller variation in the races is consistent with this trend. "One theoretical possibility," said Rushton "is that evolution is progressive and that some populations are more advanced than others". Rushton argues that this evolutionary history correlates with, and is responsible for, a consistent global racial pattern which explains many variables such as worldwide crime statistics or the global distribution of AIDS. {| class="wikitable" |- | colspan=4 | Claimed Average Differences Among Blacks, Whites, and Orientals from Race, Evolution, and Behavior |- | || Blacks || Whites || Orientals¹ |- | colspan=4 | Brain size |- | Cranial capacity (cubic centimeters) || 1,267 || 1,347 || 1,364 |- | Cortical neurons (millions) || 13,185 || 13,665 || 13,767 |- | colspan=4 | Intelligence |- | IQ test scores || 85 || 100 || 106 |- |- | Cultural achievements || Low || High || High |- | colspan=4 | Reproduction |- | 2-egg twinning (per 1000 births) || 16 || 8 || 4 |- | Hormone levels || Higher || Intermediate || Lower |- | Sex characteristics || Larger || Intermediate || Smaller |- | Intercourse frequencies || Higher || Intermediate || Lower |- | Permissive attitudes || Higher || Intermediate || Lower |- | Sexually transmitted diseases || Higher || Intermediate || Lower |- | colspan=4 | Personality |- | Aggressiveness || Higher || Intermediate || Lower |- | Cautiousness || Lower || Intermediate || Higher |- | Impulsivity || Higher || Intermediate || Lower |- | Self-concept || Higher || Intermediate || Lower |- | Sociability || Higher || Intermediate || Lower |- | colspan=4 | Maturation |- | Gestation time || Shorter || Longer || Longer |- | Skeletal development || Earlier || Intermediate || Later |- | Motor development || Earlier || Intermediate || Later |- | Dental development || Earlier || Intermediate || Later |- | Age of first intercourse || Earlier || Intermediate || Later |- | Age of first pregnancy || Earlier || Intermediate || Later |- | Lifespan || Shortest || Intermediate || Longest |- | colspan=4 | Social organization |- | Marital stability || Lower || Intermediate || Higher |- | Law abidingness || Lower || Intermediate || Higher |- | Mental health || Low || Intermediate || Higher |- | colspan=4 align=right | Source: 2nd Special Abridged edition, Race, Evolution, and Behavior (p.&nbsp;9). |} Rushton writes that his collection of 60 different variables can be unified by a single evolutionary dimension known as the r and K scale. His theory attempts to apply the inter-species r/K selection theory to the much smaller inter-racial differences within the human species. While all humans display extremely K-selected behavior, Rushton believes the races vary in the degree to which they exhibit that behavior. He argues that Negroids use a strategy more toward an r-selected strategy (produce more offspring, but provide less care for them) while Mongoloids use the K strategy most (produce fewer offspring but provide more care for them), with Caucasoids exhibiting intermediate tendencies in this area. He further asserts that Caucasoids evolved more toward a K-selected breeding strategy than Negroids because of the harsher and colder weather encountered in Europe, while the same held true to a greater extent for Mongoloids. Rushton argues that the survival challenges of making warm clothes, building durable shelter, preserving food, and strategically hunting large animals all selected genes for greater intelligence and social organization among the populations that migrated to cold climates. Rushton invokes genetics to explain his data arguing that purely environmental theories fail to elegantly explain what he sees as such a consistent pattern of both behavioral and physiological differences, but instead just provide a long list of ad hoc explanations. Rushton argues that science strives to organize and simplify data, and seeks the simplest explanation possible, and claims that r/K selection theory explains all of his data parsimoniously.