Showing papers by "Charles Efferson published in 2007"
TL;DR: It is demonstrated that common marmoset monkeys (Callithrix jacchus) do spontaneously provide food to nonreciprocating and genetically unrelated individuals, indicating that other-regarding preferences are not unique to humans and that their evolution did not require advanced cognitive abilities such as theory of mind.
Abstract: Human cooperation is unparalleled in the animal world and rests on an altruistic concern for the welfare of genetically unrelated strangers. The evolutionary roots of human altruism, however, remain poorly understood. Recent evidence suggests a discontinuity between humans and other primates because individual chimpanzees do not spontaneously provide food to other group members, indicating a lack of concern for their welfare. Here, we demonstrate that common marmoset monkeys (Callithrix jacchus) do spontaneously provide food to nonreciprocating and genetically unrelated individuals, indicating that other-regarding preferences are not unique to humans and that their evolution did not require advanced cognitive abilities such as theory of mind. Because humans and marmosets are cooperative breeders and the only two primate taxa in which such unsolicited prosociality has been found, we conclude that these prosocial predispositions may emanate from cooperative breeding.
318 citations
TL;DR: The authors conducted an economic experiment with a group of subsistence pastoralists in southern Bolivia and found neither a clear tendency to imitate success nor conformity, but players instead relied largely on private feedback about their own personal histories of choices and payoffs.
62 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a general framework for integrating theory and empiricism in human evolutionary ecology is proposed, and the joint use of stochastic nonlinear dynamics and information theory is discussed.
Abstract: We propose a general framework for integrating theory and empiricism in human evolutionary ecology. We specifically emphasize the joint use of stochastic nonlinear dynamics and information theory. To illustrate critical ideas associated with historical contingency and complex dynamics, we review recent research on social preferences and social learning from behavioral economics. We additionally examine recent work on ecological approaches in history, the modeling of chaotic populations, and statistical application of information theory.
13 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a new method for quantitatively documenting concerns for economic fairness has been proposed for identifying variation in prosociality within and across societies, and a set of statistical models directly link experimental results and player heterogeneity with the formal theory of inequality aversion.
Abstract: A new method for quantitatively documenting concerns for economic fairness has the potential for identifying variation in prosociality within and across societies. Multiple dictator games conducted in two small‐scale societies presented decision makers with a choice between an equitable and an inequitable payoff distribution. The games varied in terms of the type of inequality the decision maker faced and the cost to the decision maker of eliminating inequality. A novel set of statistical models directly links experimental results and player heterogeneity with the formal theory of inequality aversion. The experimental method can be generalized to allow maximum flexibility in data analysis.
10 citations