Study of East African group suggests punishment could sustain large-scale cooperation among strangers
Tuesday, June 14, 2011 - 09:30
in Psychology & Sociology
(PhysOrg.com) -- Wondering why humans are the only species on the planet that cooperates with large numbers of others that they dont know, anthropologists Sarah Mathew and Robert Boyd, professors at UCLA, looked to the Turkana, an East African group whose survival depends on pasturing animals, for answers. In their joint paper, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, they suggest that social punishment for desertion or cowardice, doled out by the rest of the community after raids on other groups in attempts to steal livestock, served to both cause others to sign on, and then to cooperate appropriately in the raids, thus providing rewards for the whole group.