Abstract

Humans’ ability to collaborate to obtain otherwise inaccessible goals may be one main reason of our success as a species. For mutually beneficial collaboration, individuals need (1) cognitive mechanisms to coordinate actions with partners, and (2) mechanisms to distribute the acquired resources in a way that incentivizes partners to continue collaborating. Several recent comparative psychological studies suggest that we share with chimpanzees many of the cognitive mechanisms required for successful coordination: chimpanzees understand the need to act jointly with a partner and even help a partner to perform her role. However, in contrast to very young children, chimpanzees do not seem well equipped to share resources obtained through joint effort. Chimpanzees’ competitive nature around food hinders their capacity to collaborate. This suggests that higher inter-individual tolerance and mechanisms to counteract bullying behaviour and share the spoils after a collaborative effort were probably crucial in human evolution. In addition, humans and chimpanzees are capable of intervening on behalf of others in situations in which selfish benefits can be ruled out. In my talk I will review the similarities and differences between chimpanzees and young children cooperative behaviour and draw some conclusions about the phylogenetic roots as well as the unique psychological mechanisms that support our cooperative behavior.

Reference

Alicia Melis (University of Warwick), “The evolutionary roots of human cooperation”, IAST General Seminar, Toulouse: IAST, December 5, 2013, 15:30–16:30, room MF323.