West, S., Griffin, A., & Gardner, A. Warneken, F., Lohse, K., Melis, A., & Tomasello, M. (2011). Correspondence to Explanations of human altruism are still the subject of much (and heated) debate today, but often the debate suffers from a lack of clarity. Most often, the beneficiaries of altruistic acts are offspring or genetically related organisms. [22] However, vervet monkeys also display grooming behaviors within group members, displaying alliances. The canonical explanation for the evolution of altruism ("kin selection")which was mathematically derived in the 1960s by W. D. Hamiltonemphasizes the importance of genetic relatedness. Boyd, R., Gintis, H., Bowles, S., & Richerson, P. (2003). Evolutionary Human Sciences, 1, E15. Norm abidance is indeed a major cause of altruistic behavior (see Sect. A mechanism for detecting 'cheaters' must exist. doi: 10.1146/annurev-psych-010814-015355. Altruism to create friendships. Israeli mathematician Robert J. Aumann found that under this new assumption, a cooperative outcome would be possible. This demonstrates a tit-for-tat strategy, where animals help those who previously helped them. Biological (or evolutionary) altruism, on the other hand, is solely concerned with acts. Most of these norms saw the light because individuals challenged the status quo through moral reasoning and because (many) others accepted the new moral imperative after evaluating the reasons offered in support of this imperative. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 575. Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content: Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article. As critics have pointed out, however, postulating that there was genetic group selection of human traits requires us to make a series of additional assumptions that are problematic. Aa Aa Aa Evolutionary ecologists aim to understand the complex behavioral relationships between organisms as they interact to obtain resources. 66:575-599 (Volume publication date January 2015) First published online as a Review in Advance on July 25, 2014 https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-010814-015355 Robert Kurzban, 1 Maxwell N. Burton-Chellew, 2,3 and Stuart A. Humans, therefore, make an interesting case study for reciprocal altruism. The evolution of altruistic punishment. ), Evolution of social behaviour patterns in primates and man (Vol. They receive this payment as a benefit. Also, the requirement that individuals who have behaved altruistically in the past are helped by others in the future is confirmed by the data. Bookshelf This raises the reproductive success of members in the group (Hrdy 2009). According to Hamilton, genes that underlie behavior that benefits a genetically related organism contribute to the inclusive fitness of that organism if the benefit is larger than the cost given the degree of relatedness. Altruistic cooperation makes hunting more successful since it allowed ancestral humans to take down big game. Quarterly Review of Biology, 51(2), 277283. Human altruism directed at non-kin with no chance of reciprocation cannot be satisfactorily explained in terms of kin selection or reciprocal altruism. Because of the important contribution of altruism to social interactions, better understanding of this behavior will hopefully aid in positively influencing social societies such as those lived in by humans and other primates. Group selection in this explanation is acting directly on the genome. Biological altruism towards non-kin is less prevalent, but it does occur. Our moral psychology, as argued above, evolved as an adaptation to a highly cooperative niche characterized by strong prosocial norms and punishments that orchestrated in-group interaction. eCollection 2023. Henrich, J. It provides a huge advantage when it comes to warfare: imagine a group of individuals willing to risk life and limb for the group facing a group of individuals not willing to do so (Bowles and Gintis 2011, pp. However, if Randall's claim that hosts sometimes chase off possible dangers to the cleaner is correct, an experiment might be constructed in which reciprocity could be demonstrated. 2013). As Bicchieri (2005, p. 55) rightly points out: if this were not the case, social norms could not exist. It is not always clear what exactly group selection refers to and different scholars use it in different ways. One of the studies in vervet monkeys shows that among unrelated individuals, grooming induce higher chance of attending to each other's calls for aid. The question I pose in this paper is the following: why do humans often exhibit altruistic behavior towards non-kin with no chance of reciprocation? 2 on proximate explanations). Princeton: Princeton University Press. There is however another explanation for the evolution of altruistic dispositions in humans, which does not face these problems and is supported by extensive evidence. Vampire bats also display reciprocal altruism, as described by Wilkinson. It (naturally) selected for cooperative, norm-abiding and altruistic individuals. Despite the fact that it decreases the (inclusive) fitness of the altruistic organism in the short term, such altruistic behavior evolved because it is reciprocal. Human cooperation studies have gathered wide interest from psychologists, evolutionary anthropologists, behavioral ecologists, economists, etc. Christopher Stephens shows a set of necessary and jointly sufficient conditions " for an instance of reciprocal altruism:[5], There are two additional conditions necessary "for reciprocal altruism to evolve:"[5], The first two conditions are necessary for altruism as such, while the third is distinguishing reciprocal altruism from simple mutualism and the fourth makes the interaction reciprocal. Under scrutiny, however, the mismatch hypothesis to explain human altruism does not hold up. [23] This would demonstrate vervet monkey's grooming behavior as a part of kin selection since the activity is done between siblings in this study. How are we to live? This contradicts the definition of reciprocal altruism, which implies the do-gooder is expecting the recipient to reciprocate an equal value action in the future. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 276, 1319. Wilson, D. S. (2005). Hamilton in 1964, when he developed mathematical models to explain the evolution of altruistic behavior within populations based on the degree of relatedness.3, 5, In 1971, American evolutionary biologist Robert Trivers countered the problem of contradictory altruistic behavior through a series of papers, which became the foundation for modern evolutionary psychology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. The Evolution of Reciprocal Altruism Robert L. Trivers PDF PDF PLUS Abstract Sections Abstract A model is presented to account for the natural selection of what is termed reciprocally altruistic behavior. There is no social norm that requires people to donate blood in contemporary societies (people are not socially reprimanded for not donating blood), yet some people regularly volunteer to do so. Reciprocal altruism saw early beginnings with Egyptian-born British evolutionary biologist W.D. It evolved in response to an equally unique feature of human life: complex culture with prosocial norms and punishments, which in turn had the power to shape the human genome. For example, tourists who have received a tour from a certain company are able to put reviews online about their experience and discuss with other tourists who also received the same tour from the same company about how they felt about the experience and share their ratings for others to see.12. This is close to the notion of "tit for tat" introduced by Anatol Rapoport,[4] although there still seems a slight distinction in that "tit for tat" cooperates in the first period and from thereon always replicates an opponent's previous action, whereas "reciprocal altruists" stop cooperation in the first instance of non-cooperation by an opponent and stay non-cooperative from thereon. Wiessner, P. (2005). Boyd, R., & Richerson, P. (1985). Compare it with our craving for sweet tasting food and drinks. Brown, D. (1991). Fehr, E., & Gchter, S. (2002a). We cannot explain the evolution of human altruistic dispositions solely in terms of inclusive individual fitness (given that it is often directed at non-kin) and reciprocity (given that it is often directed at people who cannot reciprocate). Support for Altruistic Behavior in Rats, AUTHORS: Hill, K. R., Wood, B. M., Baggio, J., Hurtado, A. M., & Boyd, R. T. (2014). For some reason, the paper by Rothstein and Pierotti did not catch hold, but it remains one of the best examinations of the relationship between altruism and kin selection. While British Naturalist Charles Darwinstheory of evolutionwas first introduced to the public in 1859, it maintained a very controversial image up until the 1950s. This means each gene acts in such a way that it has the best chance of being replicated and passed on to the next generation. 2022 Dec 6;119(49):e2210082119. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 364, 791806. Tooby, J., & Cosmides, L. (1996). Finally, they want to follow social norms that require them to act fairly and engage in altruistic acts or feel obligated to so. They propose a so-called multi-level selection account, claiming that not only genes and/or organisms are units of natural selection but also groups. 3, I take on the ultimate explanation of human (biological) altruism: group selection. Moreover, following the criteria by Stephen,[5] if the study is to be an example of reciprocal altruism, it must prove the mechanism for detecting cheaters. December According to psychological egoism, reciprocal altruism is the only altruism that can occur. Synthese 199, 23952413 (2021). Trust and suspicion. 2018 Feb;93(1):457-468. doi: 10.1111/brv.12352. I distinguish between genetic and cultural group selection and argue that the latterin conjunction with gene-culture coevolutionoffers a theoretically satisfactory and empirically supported explanation for the evolution of human altruistic dispositions. Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content: Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article. Altruism: Acting in such a way that incurs a cost from oneself and benefits another.1, Reciprocal Altruism: A behavioral strategy in which an agent sacrifices for the benefit of a recipient who is not closely related, where a return benefit to the agent may be reciprocated in the future.3, 4. The PubMed wordmark and PubMed logo are registered trademarks of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Many participants will also give up part of their allocated sum in public good games to punish free-riders who do not contribute to the public good. In particular, competition between groups selects for norms (and punishments) that reduce conflict and enable and protect altruistic cooperation within groups (Aviles 2002; Boyd et al 2003; West et al. While anthropological evidence for the universality of prosocial punishment is of course no guarantee that ancestral human (hunter-gatherer) societies would have possessed such prosocial punishments, it is nevertheless a good indication that they had. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. (2016). Regarding human reciprocal altruism, it is shown that the details of the psycho-logical system that regulates this altruism can be explained by the model. CrossRef In Sect. turning wolves into dogs by selectively breeding with the most docile animals), they inadvertently did something similar to themselves. They tend to share spoils equally after having collaborated equally to obtain themeven if they could keep them for themselves (Warneken and Tomasello 2009; Warneken et al. PNAS, 99(22), 1426814273. Michael Vlerick. The Evolution of Reciprocal Altruism. What do I mean by altruism? In fact, in a clever experiment in which a large sample of people were randomly assigned to spend money on themselves or to spend it on others, Dunn and colleagues (2008) found that the group that was asked to spend it on others reported (significantly) greater happiness than the group that was asked to keep it for themselves. Nature, 471(7339), E1E4. It has led many scholars to develop group selection theories, which in turn have been heavily criticized. Cultural group selection plays an essential role in explaining human cooperation: A sketch of the evidence. Many researchers have posited that rats have the cognitive capabilities to engage in these altruistic behaviors that were at one time only attributed to species that are more complex. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 215, 287296. This explains why many people behave altruistically (without expecting anything in return). 2007; Puurtinen and Mappes 2009). Evolution and moral realism, justification, and progress. There is also evidence that rats rely on previous experiences and predictions of future behaviors of others to make judgments when engaging in altruistic behaviors. However, for the host to provide this service to the tourist, they must be subjected to a cost themselves for their time, equipment, etc. This too is altruistic behavior. 2. Front Psychiatry. Finally, people tend to follow social norms. The final aim of this paper, therefore, was to complete extant scientific explanations of human altruism that have focused solely on its evolutionary underpinning. Disclaimer. It is suggested that altruism can be viewed as a courtship display designed as an honest advertisement of the capacity and the intention of the altruist to be a reliable mate. Based on a review of some recent work on human and non-human animals, we show that only our own species evolved under conditions that favoured reciprocal altruism and spiteful interactions, and importantly, evolved the brains to . Strong reciprocity, human cooperation, and the enforcement of social norms. Boehm, C. (1997). Liu X, Zhang Y, Chen Z, Xiang G, Miao H, Guo C. Int J Environ Res Public Health. Three instances of altruistic behavior are discussed, the evolution of which the model can explain: (1) behavior involved in cleaning symbioses; (2) warning cries in birds; and (3) human reciprocal altruism. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. The American Economic Review, 91, 7378. This is Sober and Wilsons (1998) view. The theory of reciprocal altruism was first described by the evolutionary biologist, Robert Trivers, as a solution to the problem of how altruistic behaviors directed toward nonkin could have emerged through natural selection. In other words: A helps B, which then motivates B to help C. Downstream reciprocity occurs when the performer of an act of altruism is more likely to be the recipient of a later act of altruism. It also reduces the risk of famine through food sharing. This site needs JavaScript to work properly. Valeria V. Isaeva, Nickolay V. Kasyanov, Eugene V. Presnov, Elrasheid A. H. Kheirelseid, Nicola Miller, Michael J. Kerin, Alexandros Roniotis, Kostas Marias, Vangelis Sakkalis, Michalis Zervakis, Zaichao Zhang, Jiayan Wu, Jun Yu, Jingfa Xiao. These are regulators for cheating and subtle cheating. According to Dunbar (1996) language evolved (gradually) in the human lineage for this very purpose. They are not fooled by a confusing modern context, but consciously decide to help those in need, regardless of their culture or ethnicity (Vlerick 2017). Friendship and emotions of liking and disliking. 1 Reciprocal Altruism: A behavioral strategy in which an agent sacrifices for the benefit of a recipient who is not closely related, where a return benefit to the agent may be reciprocated in the future. We must also take into account conscious and voluntary reasoning processes involved in moral decision-making. Psychological altruism is solely concerned with motives. Evolution of Reciprocal Altruism. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. I would add that people who benefited from a higher level of education might also be better trained in reasoning about moral issues and reflecting on their moral behavior. However, it is pointed out that this "conditioning device" does not need to be conscious. 2016; Sonne and Gash 2018). Human altruism: economic, neural, and evolutionary perspectives. Reasoning processeswhich are content-freewill not lead to moral behavior by themselves. Reciprocity, culture and human cooperation: Previous insights and a new cross-cultural experiment. According to Trivers, the following emotional dispositions and their evolution can be understood in terms of regulation of altruism.[2]. This evidence suggests that engaging in altruistic acts often follows from a genuine concern for others (emotional empathyFootnote 1) and is inherently rewarding. Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout. Fehr, E., & Gchter, S. (2002b). Though potential mechanisms have been suggested, there is an alternative: much "altruistic" behavior may in fact be purely selfish in origin . Modeling indicates that altruism about partner choices is unlikely to evolve, as costs and benefits between multiple individuals are variable. sharing sensitive information, make sure youre on a federal Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11229-020-02890-y, https://www.umass.edu/preferen/gintis/behavi~1.pdf, https://www.edge.org/conversation/steven_pinker-the-false-allure-of-group-selection, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. Human Nature, 13(1), 125. To qualify for reciprocal altruism, the benefit to the receiver would have to be larger than the cost to the donor. Evolution and Human Behavior, 24, 153172. Humans often behave altruistically towards strangers with no chance of reciprocation. In other words, our moral psychology evolved for altruistic cooperation within the groups in which we live. (2005). Therefore, the majority of evolutionary scientists are highly skeptical of theories advocating genetic group selection of human traits. Within the prisoners dilemma, both participants have two choices: to cooperate or not cooperate. A bird, once it has detected a bird of prey, calls to signal to the bird of prey that it was detected, and that there is no use trying to attack the calling bird. Partnerships. Regarding human reciprocal altruism, it is . Wilson, D. S., & Kniffin, K. M. (1999). The causes of evolution. New York: Cambridge University Press. volume199,pages 23952413 (2021)Cite this article. Bicchieri, C. (2005). Their compliance may be born out of fear of incurring reputation damage or of being punished (informally) by their peers for breaking the rules. They typically do so because they empathize with these strangers and decide it is the morally right thing to do. Shayna A. Wrighten, Chelsea R. Hall, KEYWORDS: 2001; Fehr and Rockenbach 2004; Gchter and Herrmann 2009). This kind of moral behavior is not rooted in (intuition or emotion-based) psychological mechanisms which evolved for in-group (altruistic) cooperation. While they might do so for a variety of reasonsincluding virtue signalingmoral reasoning is likely to be an important factor. The response paper by Abbot et al. [2] Therefore, the tendency to give, to cheat, and the response to other's acts of giving and cheating must be regulated by a complex psychology in each individual, social structures, and cultural traditions. However, showing reciprocal altruism in an unambiguous way requires more evidence as will be shown later. Solving the freeloaders paradox: Genetic associations and frequency dependent selection in the evolution of cooperation among nonrelatives. Both measures show that three college groups all differentiate among friend, stranger, and antagonist, and YMCA college students are generally more positively oriented toward the other's welfare-friend, Stranger, or antagonist. Here we bring together this interdisciplinary body of research and review the main theories that have been proposed to explain human prosociality, with an emphasis on kinship, reciprocity, indirect reciprocity, punishment, and morality. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 114, 364370. Nature. Sober, E., & Wilson, D. (1998). These cravings were adaptive in ancestral times, where they motivated humans to consume ripe fruit containing the necessary carbohydrates and vitamin C, but are maladaptive in modern environments filled with cheap and unhealthy candy and soft drinks. However, social norm following does not explain all altruistic deeds.

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