Cooperation and Cognition

altruism paradox

if natural selection favors individually advantageous traits, how can we explain the evolution of altruistic behavior?

theories/mechanisms for altuism

kin selection, reciprocal altruism, parochial altruism

kin selection

selection can favor altruistic acts with genetically related relatives when the fitness benefit of the action is greater than the fitness cost of performing the action, nepotism, kin recognition, inclusive fitness

direct fitness

number of offspring you have

indirect fitness

number of offspring you help your relatives have

inclusive fitness

direct fitness + indirect fitness, reproductive success that includes your won ability to pass on genes to the next generation and the shared genes passed on by your close relatives

coefficient of relatedness

“r,” the probability that two individuals share the same allele

hamilton’s rule

a trait will be favored by natural selection if the benefits of doing the behavior, multiplied by relatedness, are greater than the costs of doing it (rB>C)

nepotism

acting preferential towards kin, regardless of cost or benefit to self

kin recognition

primates can recognize their relationships with others, parental kin recognition is underdetermined

reciprocal altruism

being altruistic in the expectation that the favor will be repaid I the near future, prisoner’s dilemma, few well documented examples in primates, biological market theory, attitudinal reciprocity, requires: repeated interaction, keeping track of helpers and cheaters, rewarding altruists and punishing cheaters

biological market theory

social animals exchange commodities based on supply and demand, does not require complex cognitive abilities, explains reciprocal changes based on current needs but cannot account for the exchange of reciprocal behaviors juxtaposed in time or long-term equitable social bonds

attitudinal reciprocity

cooperative decisions are based on your attitude towards others not keeping track of transactions, emotional booking

emotional bookkeeping

takes emotional experiences from past interactions with partners into account over a long time, requires no future thought or memory of exact interactions, your decisions to cooperate are based on how you feel about that individual

evolution of cooperation

age, sex, rank, social relationships, and inequity can all influence cooperation

chimps and cooperation

recognize cheaters but no third-party punishment

parochial altruism

being altruistic to your in-group and hostel to an out-group, cooperation in the face of conflict