Richard Machalek

Richard Machalek (born April 12, 1946) is a social theorist, sociobiologist, and professor of sociology.^[1][2] He is emeritus faculty of sociology at the University of Wyoming.^[3]

A student and colleague of sociobiologist E.O. Wilson, Machalek is best known for using traditional sociological frameworks and theories to explain complex social behavior and structures in non-human societies, with a special emphasis on ant populations.^[4][5]

Machalek believes that the bedrock of sociological knowledge lies in explaining social phenomena that are exhibited across many different types of species.^{[citation needed]} Machalek also applies knowledge from the fields of evolutionary theory, zoology, and biology and is especially concerned with the trans-species social behaviors of cheating, cooperation, and division of labor, among others.

See also

• E.O. Wilson
• Sociobiology
• Evolutionary psychology