Do people differentially remember cheaters?

Abstract

The evolution of reciprocal altruism probably involved the evolution of mechanisms to detect cheating and remember cheaters. In a well-known study, Mealey, Daood, and Krage (1996) observed that participants had enhanced memory for faces that had previously been associated with descriptions of acts of cheating. There were, however, problems with the descriptions that were used in that study. We sought to replicate and extend the findings of Mealey and colleagues by using more controlled descriptions and by examining the possibility of enhanced altruist recognition. We also examined whether individual differences in cheating tendencies were related to cheater and altruist recognition. In the first experiment, 164 undergraduates saw 40 faces that were paired with character descriptions representing the categories cheating, trustworthiness, altruism, or neutral, for individuals who had either low or high social status. One week later participants reported which faces they recognized from the previous week (among 80 faces). Overall, the results failed to replicate the findings of Mealey and her colleagues, as there was no enhanced memory for cheaters. In addition, there was no enhanced memory for altruists, and no effect of participants' cheating tendencies. A second experiment using a slightly different methodology produced similar results, with some evidence for enhanced memory for altruists.

The evolution of judgement bias in indirect reciprocity

“…Weighting good or bad acts in the same way is not evolutionarily stable according to our model, and judgement bias can additionally help to promote indirect reciprocity and co-operation. Consistent with predictions on how humans remember individuals who commit bad acts (Mealey et al 1996;Oda 1997;Barclay & Lalumière 2006;Vanneste et al 2007), we expect judgement bias to be an important part of reputation building in indirect reciprocity.…”

Memory for “mean” over “nice”: The influence of threat on children’s face memory

“…When presented with faces of people who are said to have committed negative/threatening, neutral, or positive/trustworthy actions, adults are most likely to remember the negative/ threatening individuals (Mealey et al, 1996; cf. Barclay & LaLumiere, 2006). An influence of threatening behavior on face memory is not surprising given the clear benefits of surveillance of the harmful.…”

Um olhar evolucionista para os mecanismos cognitivos associados às trocas sociais

“…Entretanto, existem trabalhos que não dão suporte à hipótese de memória diferencial para trapaceiros (Barclay & Lalumière, 2006;Kiyonari, Tanida, & Yamagishi, 2000). Outros sugerem uma maior facilidade na detecção de sujeitos cooperadores (Brown, Palameta, & Moore, 2003).…”