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Cultural group selection, coevolutionary processes and large-scale cooperation (2004)
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| Venue: | Journal of Economic Behaviour & Organisation 53/1, Special |
| Citations: | 186 - 12 self |
BibTeX
@ARTICLE{Henrich04culturalgroup,
author = {Joseph Henrich},
title = {Cultural group selection, coevolutionary processes and large-scale cooperation},
journal = {Journal of Economic Behaviour & Organisation 53/1, Special},
year = {2004},
pages = {3--35}
}
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Abstract
In constructing improved models of human behavior, both experimental and behavioral economists have increasingly turned to evolutionary theory for insights into human psychology and preferences. Unfortunately, the existing genetic evolutionary approaches can explain neither the degree of prosociality (altruism and altruistic punishment) observed in humans, nor the patterns of variation in these behaviors across different behavioral domains and social groups. Ongoing misunderstandings about why certain models work, what they predict, and what the place is of “group selection ” in evolutionary theory have hampered the use of insights from biology and anthropology. This paper clarifies some of these issues and proposes an approach to the evolution of prosociality rooted in the interaction between cultural and genetic transmission. I explain how, in contrast to non-cultural species, the details of our evolved cultural learning capacities (e.g., imitative abilities) create the conditions for the cultural evolution of prosociality. By producing multiple behavioral equilibria, including group-beneficial equilibria, cultural evolution endogenously generates a mechanism of equilibrium selection that can favor prosociality. Finally, in the novel social environments left in the wake of these cultural evolutionary processes, natural selection is likely to favor prosocial genes
Keyphrases
cultural group selection large-scale cooperation coevolutionary process cultural evolution evolutionary theory human behavior evolved cultural learning capacity multiple behavioral equilibrium behavioral economist improved model ongoing misunderstanding genetic transmission natural selection altruistic punishment social group genetic evolutionary approach group-beneficial equilibrium non-cultural specie cultural evolutionary process novel social environment imitative ability different behavioral domain human psychology group selection certain model work equilibrium selection prosocial gene
