Significance Scientists have long debated how group cooperation can be maintained. From many standard evolutionary and economic perspectives, the best decision for an individual is to engage in free riding on the cooperation of others (i.e., share in the benefits but pay no costs). Such free riding, however, reduces the collective benefits of group cooperation and can unravel cooperation. Some propose that this “tragedy of the commons” can be solved if cooperators are compensated with reputational benefits. Our research in an Andean community found that cooperative households have better reputations for various qualities and have larger support networks, with the latter associated with healthier households. This finding supports the argument that positive reputations gained by cooperators can solve the tragedy of the commons.
One contribution of 13 to a theme issue 'Solving the puzzle of collective action through inter-individual differences: evidence from primates and humans'. Reputations are a ubiquitous feature of human social life, and a large literature has been dedicated to explaining the relationship between prosocial reputations and cooperation in social dilemmas. However, humans form reputations in domains other than prosociality, such as economic competency that could affect cooperation. To date, no research has evaluated the relative effects of multiple reputation domains on cooperation. To bridge this gap, we analyse how prosocial and competency reputations affect cooperation in two Latin American communities (Bwa Mawego, Dominica, and Pucucanchita, Peru) across a number of social contexts (Dominica: labour contracting, labour exchange and conjugal partnership formation; Peru: agricultural and health advice network size). First, we examine the behavioural correlates of prosocial and competency reputations. Following, we analyse whether prosocial, competency, or both reputation domains explain the flow of cooperative benefits within the two communities. Our analyses suggest that (i) although some behaviours affect both reputation domains simultaneously, each reputation domain has a unique behavioural signature; and (ii) competency reputations affect cooperation across a greater number of social contexts compared to prosocial reputations. Results are contextualized with reference to the social markets in which behaviour is embedded and a call for greater theory development is stressed.
Abstract. This is the first empirical investigation of blood donations in evolutionary perspective. We examine blood donor and non-donor attitudes about health and injury risks, donor characteristics, and the social value of donor participation. We propose that blood donations may communicate qualities about donors to third parties. Observers may benefit from information about the donor's health, value as a reciprocal partner, and/or ability to endure what is perceived as an anxiety-provoking and risky experience. Donors may benefit from an enhanced reputation, which can lead to greater access to cooperative networks and high-quality partners. We found that participants recognized the need for blood and perceived blood donors as generous and healthy. Study results indicated that anxiety and the perceived risk of a negative health consequence dramatically affected the willingness of donors and non-donors to donate blood in the future. These findings support our hypothesis that the act of blood donation may signal adaptive information about donor quality to third parties.
The application of evolutionary theory to human behavior has elicited a variety of critiques, some of which charge that this approach expresses or encourages conservative or reactionary political agendas. In a survey of graduate students in psychology, Tybur, Miller, and Gangestad (Human Nature, 18, 313-328, 2007) found that the political attitudes of those who use an evolutionary approach did not differ from those of other psychology grad students. Here, we present results from a directed online survey of a broad sample of graduate students in anthropology that assays political views. We found that evolutionary anthropology graduate students were very liberal in their political beliefs, overwhelmingly voted for a liberal U.S. presidential candidate in the 2008 election, and identified with liberal political parties; in this, they were almost indistinguishable from non-evolutionary anthropology students. Our results contradict the view that evolutionary anthropologists hold conservative or reactionary political views. We discuss some possible reasons for the persistence of this view in terms of the sociology of science.
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