1
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Boyette AH, Lew-Levy S, Valchy M, Gettler LT. Associations between men's reputations for fathering and their reproductive success among BaYaka foragers in the Congo Basin. EVOL HUM BEHAV 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2023.02.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/19/2023]
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2
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Smith KM, Mabulla IA, Apicella CL. Hadza hunter-gatherers with greater exposure to other cultures share more with generous campmates. Biol Lett 2022; 18:20220157. [PMID: 35857893 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2022.0157] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Humans are motivated to compete for access to valuable social partners, which is a function of their willingness to share and ability to generate resources. However, relative preferences for each trait should be responsive to socioecological conditions. Here, we test the flexibility of partner choice psychology among Hadza hunter-gatherers of Tanzania. Ninety-two Hadza ranked their campmates on generosity and foraging ability and then shared resources with those campmates. We found Hadza with greater exposure to other cultures shared more with campmates ranked higher on generosity, whereas Hadza with lower exposure showed a smaller preference for sharing with generous campmates. This moderating effect was specific to generosity-regardless of exposure, Hadza showed only a small preference for sharing with better foragers. We argue this difference in preferences is due to high exposure Hadza having more experience cooperating with others in the absence of strong norms of sharing, and thus are exposed to greater variance in willingness to cooperate among potential partners increasing the benefits of choosing partners based on generosity. As such, participants place a greater emphasis on choosing more generous partners, highlighting the flexibility of partner preferences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristopher M Smith
- Department of Anthropology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA
| | - Ibrahim A Mabulla
- Department of Archaeology and History, University of Dar es Salaam, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
| | - Coren L Apicella
- Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
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3
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Hunt AD, Jaeggi AV. Specialised minds: extending adaptive explanations of personality to the evolution of psychopathology. EVOLUTIONARY HUMAN SCIENCES 2022; 4:e26. [PMID: 37588937 PMCID: PMC10426115 DOI: 10.1017/ehs.2022.23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
Traditional evolutionary theory invoked natural and sexual selection to explain species- and sex-typical traits. However, some heritable inter-individual variability in behaviour and psychology - personality - is probably adaptive. Here we extend this insight to common psychopathological traits. Reviewing key findings from three background areas of importance - theoretical models, non-human personality and evolved human social dynamics - we propose that a combination of social niche specialisation, negative frequency-dependency, balancing selection and adaptive developmental plasticity should explain adaptation for individual differences in psychology - 'specialised minds' - explaining some variance in personality and psychopathology trait dimensions, which share various characteristics. We suggest that anthropological research of behavioural differences should be extended past broad demographic factors (age and sex) to include individual specialisations. As a first step towards grounding psychopathology in ancestral social structure, we propose a minimum plausible prevalence, given likely ancestral group sizes, for negatively frequency-dependent phenotypes to be maintained as specialised tails of adaptive distributions - below the calculated prevalence, specialisation is highly unlikely. For instance, chronic highly debilitating forms of autism or schizophrenia are too rare for such explanations, whereas attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder and broad autism phenotypes are common enough to have existed in most hunter-gatherer bands, making adaptive explanations more plausible.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam D. Hunt
- Institute of Evolutionary Medicine, University of Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Adrian V. Jaeggi
- Institute of Evolutionary Medicine, University of Zürich, Switzerland
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4
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Giardini F, Balliet D, Power EA, Számadó S, Takács K. Four Puzzles of Reputation-Based Cooperation : Content, Process, Honesty, and Structure. HUMAN NATURE (HAWTHORNE, N.Y.) 2022; 33:43-61. [PMID: 34961914 PMCID: PMC8964644 DOI: 10.1007/s12110-021-09419-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Research in various disciplines has highlighted that humans are uniquely able to solve the problem of cooperation through the informal mechanisms of reputation and gossip. Reputation coordinates the evaluative judgments of individuals about one another. Direct observation of actions and communication are the essential routes that are used to establish and update reputations. In large groups, where opportunities for direct observation are limited, gossip becomes an important channel to share individual perceptions and evaluations of others that can be used to condition cooperative action. Although reputation and gossip might consequently support large-scale human cooperation, four puzzles need to be resolved to understand the operation of reputation-based mechanisms. First, we need empirical evidence of the processes and content that form reputations and how this may vary cross-culturally. Second, we lack an understanding of how reputation is determined from the muddle of imperfect, biased inputs people receive. Third, coordination between individuals is only possible if reputation sharing and signaling is to a large extent reliable and valid. Communication, however, is not necessarily honest and reliable, so theoretical and empirical work is needed to understand how gossip and reputation can effectively promote cooperation despite the circulation of dishonest gossip. Fourth, reputation is not constructed in a social vacuum; hence we need a better understanding of the way in which the structure of interactions affects the efficiency of gossip for establishing reputations and fostering cooperation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Giardini
- Department of Sociology, University of Groningen, Grote Rozenstraat, 31 - 9712 TG Groningen, Netherlands
| | - Daniel Balliet
- Department of Experimental and Applied Social Psychology, VU Amsterdam, Boechorststraat 1, 1081 BT Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Eleanor A. Power
- London School of Economics and Political Science, Department of Methodology, Houghton Street, WC2A 2AE London, UK
| | - Szabolcs Számadó
- Department of Sociology and Communication, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Egry J. u. 1. Floor 7, 1111 Budapest, Hungary
- Centre for Social Sciences, CSS-RECENS, Tóth Kálmán u. 4, 1097 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Károly Takács
- The Institute for Analytical Sociology, Linköping University, 601 74 Norrköping, Sweden
- Centre for Social Sciences, CSS-RECENS, Tóth Kálmán u. 4, 1097 Budapest, Hungary
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5
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Takács K, Gross J, Testori M, Letina S, Kenny AR, Power EA, Wittek RPM. Networks of reliable reputations and cooperation: a review. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2021; 376:20200297. [PMID: 34601917 PMCID: PMC8487750 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0297] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Reputation has been shown to provide an informal solution to the problem of cooperation in human societies. After reviewing models that connect reputations and cooperation, we address how reputation results from information exchange embedded in a social network that changes endogenously itself. Theoretical studies highlight that network topologies have different effects on the extent of cooperation, since they can foster or hinder the flow of reputational information. Subsequently, we review models and empirical studies that intend to grasp the coevolution of reputations, cooperation and social networks. We identify open questions in the literature concerning how networks affect the accuracy of reputations, the honesty of shared information and the spread of reputational information. Certain network topologies may facilitate biased beliefs and intergroup competition or in-group identity formation that could lead to high cooperation within but conflicts between different subgroups of a network. Our review covers theoretical, experimental and field studies across various disciplines that target these questions and could explain how the dynamics of interactions and reputations help or prevent the establishment and sustainability of cooperation in small- and large-scale societies. This article is part of the theme issue ‘The language of cooperation: reputation and honest signalling’.
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Affiliation(s)
- Károly Takács
- The Institute for Analytical Sociology, Linköping University, 601 74 Norrköping, Sweden.,Computational Social Science-Research Center for Educational and Network Studies (CSS-RECENS), Centre for Social Sciences, Tóth Kálmán u. 4., 1097 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Jörg Gross
- Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Wassenaarseweg 52, 2333 AK, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Martina Testori
- Organization Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1105, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Srebrenka Letina
- The Institute for Analytical Sociology, Linköping University, 601 74 Norrköping, Sweden.,Institute of Health and Wellbeing, MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow, Berkeley Square, 99 Berkeley Street, Glasgow G3 7HR, UK
| | - Adam R Kenny
- Institute of Cognitive and Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Oxford, 64 Banbury Road, Oxford OX2 6PN, UK.,Calleva Research Centre for Evolution and Human Sciences, Magdalen College, High Street, Oxford OX1 4AU, UK
| | - Eleanor A Power
- Department of Methodology, The London School of Economics and Political Science, Houghton Street, London WC2A 2AE, UK
| | - Rafael P M Wittek
- Department of Sociology, University of Groningen, Grote Rozenstraat 31, 9712 TG Groningen, The Netherlands
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6
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Garfield ZH, Schacht R, Post ER, Ingram D, Uehling A, Macfarlan SJ. The content and structure of reputation domains across human societies: a view from the evolutionary social sciences. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2021; 376:20200296. [PMID: 34601916 PMCID: PMC8487742 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0296] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/26/2021] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Reputations are an essential feature of human sociality and the evolution of cooperation and group living. Much scholarship has focused on reputations, yet typically on a narrow range of domains (e.g. prosociality and aggressiveness), usually in isolation. Humans can develop reputations, however, from any collective information. We conducted exploratory analyses on the content, distribution and structure of reputation domain diversity across cultures, using the Human Relations Area Files ethnographic database. After coding ethnographic texts on reputations from 153 cultures, we used hierarchical modelling, cluster analysis and text analysis to provide an empirical view of reputation domains across societies. Findings suggest: (i) reputational domains vary cross-culturally, yet reputations for cultural conformity, prosociality, social status and neural capital are widespread; (ii) reputation domains are more variable for males than females; and (iii) particular reputation domains are interrelated, demonstrating a structure consistent with dimensions of human uniqueness. We label these features: cultural group unity, dominance, neural capital, sexuality, social and material success and supernatural healing. We highlight the need for future research on the evolution of cooperation and human sociality to consider a wider range of reputation domains, as well as their social, ecological and gender-specific variability. This article is part of the theme issue 'The language of cooperation: reputation and honest signalling'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zachary H. Garfield
- Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse, Université de Toulouse 1 Capitole, Toulouse, France
| | - Ryan Schacht
- Department of Anthropology, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, USA
| | - Emily R. Post
- Department of Anthropology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Dominique Ingram
- Department of Anthropology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Andrea Uehling
- Department of Anthropology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
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7
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Romano A, Giardini F, Columbus S, de Kwaadsteniet EW, Kisfalusi D, Triki Z, Snijders C, Hagel K. Reputation and socio-ecology in humans. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2021; 376:20200295. [PMID: 34601915 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0295] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Reputation is a fundamental feature of human sociality as it sustains cooperative relationships among unrelated individuals. Research from various disciplines provides insights on how individuals form impressions of others, condition their behaviours based on the reputation of their interacting partners and spread or learn such reputations. However, past research has often neglected the socio-ecological conditions that can shape reputation systems and their effect on cooperation. Here, we outline how social environments, cultural values and institutions come to play a crucial role in how people navigate reputation systems. Moreover, we illustrate how these socio-ecological dimensions affect the interdependence underlying social interactions (e.g. potential recipients of reputational benefits, degree of dependence) and the extent to which reputation systems promote cooperation. To do so, we review the interdisciplinary literature that illustrates how reputation systems are shaped by the variation of prominent ecological features. Finally, we discuss the implications of a socio-ecological approach to the study of reputation and outline potential avenues for future research. This article is part of the theme issue 'The language of cooperation: reputation and honest signalling'.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Romano
- Social, Economic and Organizational Psychology, Leiden University, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - F Giardini
- Department of Sociology, University of Groningen and Interuniversity Center for Social Science Theory and Methodology (ICS), Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - S Columbus
- Department of Psychology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - E W de Kwaadsteniet
- Social, Economic and Organizational Psychology, Leiden University, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - D Kisfalusi
- Computational Social Science-Research Centre for Educational and Network Studies (CSS-RECENS), Centre for Social Sciences, Eötvös Loránd Research Network, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Z Triki
- Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland.,Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - C Snijders
- Human-Technology Interaction Group, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
| | - K Hagel
- Department of Human Behaviour, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
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8
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Raihani NJ, Power EA. No good deed goes unpunished: the social costs of prosocial behaviour. EVOLUTIONARY HUMAN SCIENCES 2021; 3:e40. [PMID: 37588551 PMCID: PMC10427331 DOI: 10.1017/ehs.2021.35] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Performing costly helpful behaviours can allow individuals to improve their reputation. Those who gain a good reputation are often preferred as interaction partners and are consequently better able to access support through cooperative relationships with others. However, investing in prosocial displays can sometimes yield social costs: excessively generous individuals risk losing their good reputation, and even being vilified, ostracised or antisocially punished. As a consequence, people frequently try to downplay their prosocial actions or hide them from others. In this review, we explore when and why investments in prosocial behaviour are likely to yield social costs. We propose two key features of interactions that make it more likely that generous individuals will incur social costs when: (a) observers infer that helpful behaviour is motivated by strategic or selfish motives; and (b) observers infer that helpful behaviour is detrimental to them. We describe how the cognition required to consider ulterior motives emerges over development and how these tendencies vary across cultures - and discuss how the potential for helpful actions to result in social costs might place boundaries on prosocial behaviour as well as limiting the contexts in which it might occur. We end by outlining the key avenues and priorities for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nichola J. Raihani
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University College London, 26 Bedford Way, LondonWC1H 0AP, UK
| | - Eleanor A. Power
- Department of Methodology, London School of Economics and Political Science, Houghton Street, LondonWC2A 2AE, UK
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9
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Smith KM, Apicella CL. Partner choice in human evolution: The role of cooperation, foraging ability, and culture in Hadza campmate preferences. EVOL HUM BEHAV 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2020.07.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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10
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Samu F, Számadó S, Takács K. Scarce and directly beneficial reputations support cooperation. Sci Rep 2020; 10:11486. [PMID: 32661258 PMCID: PMC7359363 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-68123-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2020] [Accepted: 06/18/2020] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
A human solution to the problem of cooperation is the maintenance of informal reputation hierarchies. Reputational information contributes to cooperation by providing guidelines about previous group-beneficial or free-rider behaviour in social dilemma interactions. How reputation information could be credible, however, remains a puzzle. We test two potential safeguards to ensure credibility: (i) reputation is a scarce resource and (ii) it is not earned for direct benefits. We test these solutions in a laboratory experiment in which participants played two-person Prisoner's Dilemma games without partner selection, could observe some other interactions, and could communicate reputational information about possible opponents to each other. Reputational information clearly influenced cooperation decisions. Although cooperation was not sustained at a high level in any of the conditions, the possibility of exchanging third-party information was able to temporarily increase the level of strategic cooperation when reputation was a scarce resource and reputational scores were directly translated into monetary benefits. We found that competition for monetary rewards or unrestricted non-monetary reputational rewards helped the reputation system to be informative. Finally, we found that high reputational scores are reinforced further as they are rewarded with positive messages, and positive gossip was leading to higher reputations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Flóra Samu
- The Institute for Analytical Sociology, Linköping University, 601 74, Norrköping, Sweden.
- Doctoral School of Sociology, Corvinus University of Budapest, Fővám tér 8, Budapest, 1018, Hungary.
- Centre for Social Sciences (TK CSS) 'Lendület' Research Center for Educational and Network Studies (CSS-RECENS), Tóth Kálmán u. 4, Budapest, 1097, Hungary.
| | - Szabolcs Számadó
- Centre for Social Sciences (TK CSS) 'Lendület' Research Center for Educational and Network Studies (CSS-RECENS), Tóth Kálmán u. 4, Budapest, 1097, Hungary
- Department of Sociology and Communication, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Egry J. u. 1, Budapest, 1111, Hungary
- Evolutionary Systems Research Group, Centre for Ecological Research, Klebelsberg Kuno u. 3, Tihany, 8237, Hungary
| | - Károly Takács
- The Institute for Analytical Sociology, Linköping University, 601 74, Norrköping, Sweden
- Centre for Social Sciences (TK CSS) 'Lendület' Research Center for Educational and Network Studies (CSS-RECENS), Tóth Kálmán u. 4, Budapest, 1097, Hungary
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11
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von Rueden CR, Redhead D, O'Gorman R, Kaplan H, Gurven M. The dynamics of men's cooperation and social status in a small-scale society. Proc Biol Sci 2019; 286:20191367. [PMID: 31387506 PMCID: PMC6710581 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2019.1367] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2019] [Accepted: 07/12/2019] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
We propose that networks of cooperation and allocation of social status co-emerge in human groups. We substantiate this hypothesis with one of the first longitudinal studies of cooperation in a preindustrial society, spanning 8 years. Using longitudinal social network analysis of cooperation among men, we find large effects of kinship, reciprocity and transitivity in the nomination of cooperation partners over time. Independent of these effects, we show that (i) higher-status individuals gain more cooperation partners, and (ii) individuals gain status by cooperating with individuals of higher status than themselves. We posit that human hierarchies are more egalitarian relative to other primates species, owing in part to greater interdependence between cooperation and status hierarchy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher R. von Rueden
- Jepson School of Leadership Studies, University of Richmond, 221 Richmond Way, Richmond, VA 23173, USA
| | - Daniel Redhead
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Psychology, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester CO4 3SQ, UK
| | - Rick O'Gorman
- Department of Psychology, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester CO4 3SQ, UK
| | - Hillard Kaplan
- Economic Science Institute, Chapman University, One University Drive, Orange, CA 92866, USA
| | - Michael Gurven
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
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12
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Macfarlan SJ, Quinlan RJ, Post E. Emergent matriliny in a matrifocal, patrilineal population: a male coalitionary perspective. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2019; 374:20180073. [PMID: 31303155 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2018.0073] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Daughter-biased parental investment and limited paternal care promote matrifocality and matrilineal descent, both of which are forms of matricentric social organization. However, matrifocality can occur under patrilineal descent. We hypothesize that matrilineal descent could emergently organize social relationships if a society were normatively patrilineal but matrifocal. Furthermore, in matrifocal environments, male and female social lives are envisioned as sex-specific adaptive strategies. Males purportedly form large, flexible social support networks that conflict with conjugal partnership investment owing to a tradeoff in the allocation of effort associated with either investing in male social support or provisioning the conjugal household. However, no quantitative analyses exist about the effect of conjugal partnership formation on male social relations in matrifocal communities. Here we examine whether matrilineal kinship organizes male same-sex social relationships and the effect of conjugal partnerships on male social support in a normatively patrilineal, but matrifocal village. We find that matrilineal kinship influences male social support networks, but not labour cooperation. Consistent with a tradeoff associated with investing in male social support or a conjugal union, we find that labouring with a conjugal partner, but not conjugal partnership itself, reduces male labour and social support outcomes. Our results suggest new insights into men's roles in matricentric social organization: (1) matriliny can emerge in patrilineal systems when household economics shift toward matrifocality in which matrilineal descent is used to organize male social support, and (2) the degree to which this shift occurs depends on the proportion of men who invest in same-sex social networks as opposed to a conjugal partner and offspring. This article is part of the theme issue 'The evolution of female-biased kinship in humans and other mammals'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shane J Macfarlan
- 1 Department of Anthropology, University of Utah , Salt Lake City, UT 84112 , USA
| | - Robert J Quinlan
- 2 Department of Anthropology, Washington State University , Pullman, WA 99163 , USA
| | - Emily Post
- 1 Department of Anthropology, University of Utah , Salt Lake City, UT 84112 , USA
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14
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Boyette AH, Lew-Levy S, Sarma MS, Gettler LT. Testosterone, fathers as providers and caregivers, and child health: Evidence from fisher-farmers in the Republic of the Congo. Horm Behav 2019; 107:35-45. [PMID: 30268885 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2018.09.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2018] [Revised: 08/15/2018] [Accepted: 09/25/2018] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
Males in vertebrate species with biparental care commonly face a life history trade-off between investing in mating versus parenting effort. Among these males, testosterone is frequently elevated during mating and competition and reduced when males help raise offspring. These physiological patterns may be adaptive, increasing males' fitness through investments in young. However, for some species, including humans, indirect parenting often benefits young but can also involve male competition and risk-taking behavior and may be facilitated by elevated testosterone. Despite potential adaptive functions of biological responses to invested fatherhood, few if any mammalian studies have linked fathers' testosterone to offspring outcomes; no studies in humans have. Using data from a small-scale society of fisher-farmers from the Republic of the Congo, we find that fathers who were rated as better providers by their peers had higher testosterone, compared to other fathers in their community. However, children whose fathers had middle-range T compared to fathers with higher or lower levels had better energetic status (higher BMI; greater triceps skinfold thickness). Fathers' indirect and direct care helped to account for these associations between paternal T and children's energetic profiles. Given that human paternal direct and, especially, indirect care are thought to have been important evolutionarily and remain so in many contemporary societies, these findings help to shed light on the facultative nature of human biological responses to fatherhood and the relevance of these factors to children's well-being.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam H Boyette
- Thompson Writing Program, Duke University, Box 90025, Durham, NC 27708, USA.
| | - Sheina Lew-Levy
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Free School Lane CB2 3RQ, United Kingdom.
| | - Mallika S Sarma
- Department of Anthropology, University of Notre Dame, 244 Corbett Hall, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA.
| | - Lee T Gettler
- Department of Anthropology, University of Notre Dame, 244 Corbett Hall, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA; Eck Institute for Global Health, USA; William J. Shaw Center for Children and Families, University of Notre Dame, 244 Corbett Hall, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA.
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15
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Smith D, Dyble M, Major K, Page AE, Chaudhary N, Salali GD, Thompson J, Vinicius L, Migliano AB, Mace R. A friend in need is a friend indeed: Need-based sharing, rather than cooperative assortment, predicts experimental resource transfers among Agta hunter-gatherers. EVOL HUM BEHAV 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2018.08.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
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16
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Abstract
Biological market forces shape patterns of cooperation typical of small-scale human societies that are organized by division of labor based on age and gender. Labor specialization promotes trade, while supply and demand affect the amount individuals exchange for commodities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shane J Macfarlan
- Department of Anthropology, University of Utah, 270 S. 1400 E., Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA.
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17
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Bliege Bird R, Ready E, Power EA. The social significance of subtle signals. Nat Hum Behav 2018; 2:452-457. [DOI: 10.1038/s41562-018-0298-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2017] [Accepted: 01/08/2018] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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18
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Eisenbruch AB, Roney JR. The Skillful and the Stingy: Partner Choice Decisions and Fairness Intuitions Suggest Human Adaptation for a Biological Market of Cooperators. EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 2017. [DOI: 10.1007/s40806-017-0107-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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19
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Hackman J, Munira S, Jasmin K, Hruschka D. Revisiting Psychological Mechanisms in the Anthropology of Altruism. HUMAN NATURE-AN INTERDISCIPLINARY BIOSOCIAL PERSPECTIVE 2017; 28:76-91. [PMID: 27796826 DOI: 10.1007/s12110-016-9278-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Anthropologists have long been interested in the reasons humans choose to help some individuals and not others. Early research considered psychological mediators, such as feelings of cohesion or closeness, but more recent work, largely in the tradition of human behavioral ecology, shifted attention away from psychological measures to clearer observables, such as past behavior, genetic relatedness, affinal ties, and geographic proximity. In this paper, we assess the value of reintegrating psychological measures-perceived social closeness-into the anthropological study of altruism. Specifically, analyzing social network data from four communities in rural Bangladesh (N = 516), we show that perceived closeness has a strong independent effect on helping, which cannot be accounted for by other factors. These results illustrate the potential value of reintegrating proximate psychological measures into anthropological studies of human cooperation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph Hackman
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA.
| | - Shirajum Munira
- LAMB Project for Integrated Health and Development, Parbatipur, Bangladesh
| | - Khaleda Jasmin
- LAMB Project for Integrated Health and Development, Parbatipur, Bangladesh
| | - Daniel Hruschka
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
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Lyle HF. Volver a Nuestras Raíces
: The Reemergence and Adaptation of Traditional Forms of Andean Reciprocity. JOURNAL OF LATIN AMERICAN AND CARIBBEAN ANTHROPOLOGY 2017. [DOI: 10.1111/jlca.12283] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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von Rueden C, Gavrilets S, Glowacki L. Solving the puzzle of collective action through inter-individual differences. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2016; 370:20150002. [PMID: 26503677 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2015.0002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Models of collective action infrequently account for differences across individuals beyond a limited set of strategies, ignoring variation in endowment (e.g. physical condition, wealth, knowledge, personality, support), individual costs of effort, or expected gains from cooperation. However, behavioural research indicates these inter-individual differences can have significant effects on the dynamics of collective action. The papers contributed to this theme issue evaluate how individual differences affect the propensity to cooperate, and how they can catalyse others' likelihood of cooperation (e.g. via leadership). Many of the papers emphasize the relationship between individual decisions and socio-ecological context, particularly the effect of group size. All together, the papers in this theme issue provide a more complete picture of collective action, by embracing the reality of inter-individual variation and its multiple roles in the success or failure of collective action.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chris von Rueden
- Jepson School of Leadership Studies, University of Richmond, Richmond, VA 23173, USA
| | - Sergey Gavrilets
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA Department of Mathematics, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
| | - Luke Glowacki
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA Program for Evolutionary Dynamics, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
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Glowacki L, von Rueden C. Leadership solves collective action problems in small-scale societies. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2016; 370:20150010. [PMID: 26503683 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2015.0010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 82] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Observation of leadership in small-scale societies offers unique insights into the evolution of human collective action and the origins of sociopolitical complexity. Using behavioural data from the Tsimane forager-horticulturalists of Bolivia and Nyangatom nomadic pastoralists of Ethiopia, we evaluate the traits of leaders and the contexts in which leadership becomes more institutional. We find that leaders tend to have more capital, in the form of age-related knowledge, body size or social connections. These attributes can reduce the costs leaders incur and increase the efficacy of leadership. Leadership becomes more institutional in domains of collective action, such as resolution of intragroup conflict, where collective action failure threatens group integrity. Together these data support the hypothesis that leadership is an important means by which collective action problems are overcome in small-scale societies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luke Glowacki
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA Program for Evolutionary Dynamics, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Chris von Rueden
- Jepson School of Leadership Studies, University of Richmond, Richmond, VA 23173, USA
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Swakman V, Molleman L, Ule A, Egas M. Reputation-based cooperation: empirical evidence for behavioral strategies. EVOL HUM BEHAV 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2015.12.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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