Biological determinism

Biological determinism is the view that biological factors primarily determine human traits and behavior, leaving social and environmental influences secondary.

Heritability: A population statistic estimating how much variation in a trait is associated with genetic variation in a particular environment. Heritability estimates are often misread as proof that traits are biologically fixed.
Social constructionism: The view that categories and meanings are shaped substantially by social practices and historical contexts. It emphasizes social origins where biological determinism emphasizes innate causes.
Social Darwinism: A set of ideologies applying evolutionary ideas to justify social hierarchy, competition, or imperial rule. It used purported biological laws to legitimize inequalities as natural outcomes.
Biological essentialism: The belief that biological properties define the fundamental and stable nature of individuals or groups. It turns observed group differences into claims about fixed underlying essences.
Meritocracy: A system or ideal in which rewards and status are allocated according to individual ability and achievement. Biological accounts of ability can make unequal rewards appear deserved or inevitable.
Gene–environment interaction: A situation in which genetic effects on a trait vary across environments, or environmental effects vary by genotype. Interactions challenge simple claims that genes determine outcomes independently of context.
Interactionism: An approach explaining outcomes through reciprocal influence between individuals and their social environments. It offers a model of behavior that is neither biologically fixed nor socially isolated.
Eugenics: A movement seeking to shape human heredity through selective reproduction and population policies. Eugenic programs turned deterministic heredity claims into coercive public policy.
Sex differences in psychology: Research examining average psychological differences associated with sex, including their development and causes. Interpretations of sex differences often hinge on whether biology is treated as destiny.
Disability rights movement: A movement advocating equal rights, access, and self-determination for disabled people. Its social model challenges explanations that locate disability solely within individual biology.

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