The psychology of cooperation in animals: an ecological approach

Abstract

There has been a recent push to study the psychological processes supporting cooperation in nonhuman animals. However, progress has been limited thus far due to differences in approaches between psychologists and behavioral ecologists. Although the former tend to use controlled experiments to pinpoint precise cognitive mechanisms, these experiments often lack ecological validity. In contrast, behavioral ecologists seek to understand the adaptive function of cooperative behavior of animals in the wild but typically neglect the underlying psychological mechanisms. Here we appraise and integrate evidence from these two approaches to understand the potential cognitive solutions to four fundamental challenges that animals face during cooperative interactions under natural conditions: (1) when to cooperate; (2) with whom to cooperate; (3) what to do in cooperative interactions; (4) how much to contribute to cooperation. We argue that an ecologically motivated approach is critical to understanding the psychological mechanisms of cooperation and how these mechanisms evolve.

Inequity aversion strategies between marmosets are influenced by partner familiarity and sex but not by oxytocin

“…The patterns of prosocial preferences among primates vary considerably both across species and within species (Brosnan, 2011; Brosnan and de Waal, 2014; Cronin, 2012; McAuliffe and Thornton, 2015). These differences raise important questions about whether primates are primed to behave prosocially based on their social structure and/or whether specific social and biological cues enhance or inhibit the expression of prosociality toward others.…”

“…Whether cooperative strategies in primates are a consequence of physiological, psychological, or ecological factors and to what extent these findings inform us about the evolution of human cooperation is a stimulating topic under current debate (Brosnan, 2011; Burkart et al, 2014; Jaeggi, Burkart, & Van Schaik, 2010; K. McAuliffe & Thornton, 2015; Trumble, Jaeggi, & Gurven, 2015). In captive marmosets, there is a clear willingness or tolerance to reward others in a low-cost task without the expectation to receive an immediate reward for themselves (Burkart et al, 2007; Mustoe et al, 2015), but less is known about when marmosets are unwilling to behave prosocially.…”

The evolution of altruistic social preferences in human groups

“…Observational studies are essential for documenting the form, scope and scale of altruism in nature, but they are less useful for evaluating the social preferences that shape behaviour [46,47]. Current controversy about the interpretation of food transfers illustrates this problem.…”

Cognitive demands of sociality: from simple mechanisms to complex behaviour

“…For example, individuals might acquire information from others about their environment (Rendell et al ., ; Leadbeater, ) while experienced individuals might teach naïve counterparts how to behave in a given context (Thornton & Raihani, ). Furthermore, individuals might cooperate with others to achieve personal or common goals, or compete with them over limiting resources (McAuliffe & Thornton, ; Thornton & McAuliffe, ). Despite the vast and fruitful body of research into these topics, a key outstanding question is whether social learning and behaviour rely on specialized, higher‐order cognitive adaptations, either for social learning or for social behaviour more generally.…”

“…It was with this broad question in mind that this mini‐series of reviews was commissioned. The three contributions ask, respectively, whether social learning is an adaptation to social living (Leadbeater, ), whether cooperative breeding selects for advanced socio‐cognitive abilities (Thornton & McAuliffe, ) and, more generally, how considering both psychology and ecology is essential to understand the mechanisms underpinning social learning and behaviour (McAuliffe & Thornton, ). A key take‐home message from all three contributions is that seemingly complex behavioural and learning outcomes can often arise through relatively simple psychological mechanisms and, relatedly, that similar behavioural outcomes can often be achieved via different cognitive means.…”