Why are signals reliable? Honesty depends on costs, sometimes

Polnaszek, Timothy J.; Stephens, David W.

doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2015.09.011

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…While risked and forgone capital are only “potential,” not “realized” (spent), costs—leading many to dismiss them as beyond the scope of costly signaling—we suggest that such costs are in fact compatible with signaling theory and may often be crucial elements of many signaling systems. The vast economic literature on risk and uncertainty already demonstrates the importance of potential costs in shaping behavior.…”

Section: Signaling Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 79%

“…Costs need not be limited to those entailed in the immediate production of the signal. Some costs may instead be ongoing, periodic, or delayed, and other costs may never be realized . To emphasize the different ways in which costs may be paid, we distinguish between capital that is spent, risked, and/or forgone (Figure ).…”

Section: Signaling Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some costs may instead be ongoing, periodic, or delayed, and other costs may never be realized. 47,53 To emphasize the different ways in which costs may be paid, we distinguish between capital that is spent, risked, and/or forgone ( Figure 2). Capital that is spent can be transferred to others (e.g., when food is shared, Box 2B) or burned via irretrievable expenditure (e.g., when blankets are literally burned in a potlatch, or when calories are burned in a performance, Box 2C).…”

Section: How and When Costs Can Be Paidmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Content, cost, and context: A framework for understanding human signaling systems

Barker

Heap

Puurtinen

et al. 2019

Evolutionary Anthropology

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Humans frequently perform extravagant and seemingly costly behaviors, such as widely sharing hunted resources, erecting conspicuous monumental structures, and performing dramatic acts of religious devotion. Evolutionary anthropologists and archeologists have used signaling theory to explain the function of such displays, drawing inspiration from behavioral ecology, economics, and the social sciences. While signaling theory is broadly aimed at explaining honest communication, it has come to be strongly associated with the handicap principle, which proposes that such costly extravagance is in fact an adaptation for signal reliability. Most empirical studies of signaling theory have focused on obviously costly acts, and consequently anthropologists have likely overlooked a wide range of signals that also promote reliable communication. Here, we build on recent developments in signaling theory and animal communication, developing an updated framework that highlights the diversity of signal contents, costs, contexts, and reliability mechanisms present within human signaling systems. By broadening the perspective of signaling theory in human systems, we strive to identify promising areas for further empirical and theoretical work.

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Section: Signaling Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 79%

Section: Signaling Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: How and When Costs Can Be Paidmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Content, cost, and context: A framework for understanding human signaling systems

Barker

Heap

Puurtinen

et al. 2019

Evolutionary Anthropology

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The role of signaling constraints in defining optimal marginal costs of reliable signals

2020

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The handicap principle was originally proposed to resolve the question of why, in their competition for mates, certain species invest in exaggerated ornaments that are often detrimental to their survival. Zahavi suggested that the traits that are most suitable to serve as signals are precisely those that require the burden of extra investment to increase in magnitude: that burden enables the signal to be correlated with the signaler’s quality. According to his model, the additional investment in signaling results in a functional advantage. It does so by providing more accurate information regarding the signaler as it increases the distinction between males of similar quality. There are a number of formalizations of this model, and experimental studies of the handicap principle have focused on testing them. Nonetheless, there is little consensus whether 1) ensuring reliability requires an additional investment or 2) traits that require a relatively higher investment to increase (have higher marginal costs) are selected as signals over those with lower marginal costs. Here, we present an agent-based mate choice model that quantifies the relative stability of signals with different marginal costs. Our model demonstrates how quality-independent constraints (in signal production and perception) affect the range of marginal costs for which a signal is informative. In turn, receiver preference for informative signals drives the selection of signals according to marginal cost. The presence or absence of signaling constraints can determine the outcome of costly signaling models and, thus, explain the different conclusions of Zahavi’s verbal model and its subsequent formalizations.

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Effects of food and thermal regimes on body condition indices and skin colouration in corn snakes

Václav

Kolníková

2017

Biologia

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One of the open problems in evolutionary ecology is signal reliability. While the view that signals need to be costly to be honest has attracted most attention, this type of signals may apply only to some contexts. Also, different views exist about the nature of costs involved in signal honesty, and the classification and examination of these costs remains controversial. Pigmentarybased colouration of animal integuments has received considerable attention among researchers seeking to explain what maintains the honesty of visual signals, but support for existing hypotheses is far from conclusive. Here we use a whole-animal approach and consider a distinct time scale, the period of juvenile growth, to test the effects of different feeding and thermal regimes on different physical parameters and skin colouration in corn snakes

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Why are signals reliable? Honesty depends on costs, sometimes

Cited by 3 publications

References 18 publications

Content, cost, and context: A framework for understanding human signaling systems

Content, cost, and context: A framework for understanding human signaling systems

The role of signaling constraints in defining optimal marginal costs of reliable signals

Effects of food and thermal regimes on body condition indices and skin colouration in corn snakes

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