Decoupling cooperation and punishment in humans shows that punishment is not an altruistic trait.

ABSTRACT: Economic experiments have suggested that cooperative humans will altruistically match local levels of cooperation (conditional cooperation) and pay to punish non-cooperators (altruistic punishment). Evolutionary models have suggested that if altruists punish non-altruists this could favour the evolution of costly helping behaviours (cooperation) among strangers. An often-key requirement is that helping behaviours and punishing behaviours form one single conjoined trait (strong reciprocity). Previous economics experiments have provided support for the hypothesis that punishment and cooperation form one conjoined, altruistically motivated, trait. However, such a conjoined trait may be evolutionarily unstable, and previous experiments have confounded a fear of being punished with being surrou

SUBMITTER: Burton-Chellew MN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8580421 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature