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Humans display a ‘cooperative phenotype’ that is domain general and temporally stable

Author

Listed:
  • Alexander Peysakhovich

    (Yale University)

  • Martin A. Nowak

    (Program for Evolutionary Dynamics, Harvard University
    Harvard University
    Harvard University)

  • David G. Rand

    (Yale University
    Yale University
    School of Management, Yale University)

Abstract

Understanding human cooperation is of major interest across the natural and social sciences. But it is unclear to what extent cooperation is actually a general concept. Most research on cooperation has implicitly assumed that a person’s behaviour in one cooperative context is related to their behaviour in other settings, and at later times. However, there is little empirical evidence in support of this assumption. Here, we provide such evidence by collecting thousands of game decisions from over 1,400 individuals. A person’s decisions in different cooperation games are correlated, as are those decisions and both self-report and real-effort measures of cooperation in non-game contexts. Equally strong correlations exist between cooperative decisions made an average of 124 days apart. Importantly, we find that cooperation is not correlated with norm-enforcing punishment or non-competitiveness. We conclude that there is a domain-general and temporally stable inclination towards paying costs to benefit others, which we dub the ‘cooperative phenotype’.

Suggested Citation

  • Alexander Peysakhovich & Martin A. Nowak & David G. Rand, 2014. "Humans display a ‘cooperative phenotype’ that is domain general and temporally stable," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 5(1), pages 1-8, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:5:y:2014:i:1:d:10.1038_ncomms5939
    DOI: 10.1038/ncomms5939
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    Cited by:

    1. Brunner, Fabian & Gamm, Fabian & Mill, Wladislaw, 2023. "MyPortfolio: The IKEA effect in financial investment decisions," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    2. Wladislaw Mill & Jonathan Stäbler, 2023. "Spite in Litigation," CESifo Working Paper Series 10290, CESifo.
    3. Sandro Ambuehl & B. Douglas Bernheim & Annamaria Lusardi, 2022. "Evaluating Deliberative Competence: A Simple Method with an Application to Financial Choice," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 112(11), pages 3584-3626, November.
    4. Yuzhen Li & Jun Luo & He Niu & Hang Ye, 2023. "When punishers might be loved: fourth-party choices and third-party punishment in a delegation game," Theory and Decision, Springer, vol. 94(3), pages 423-465, April.
    5. Salazar, Miguel & Joel Shaw, Daniel & Czekóová, Kristína & Staněk, Rostislav & Brázdil, Milan, 2022. "The role of generalised reciprocity and reciprocal tendencies in the emergence of cooperative group norms," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    6. Shawn A. Rhoads & Kruti M. Vekaria & Katherine O’Connell & Hannah S. Elizabeth & David G. Rand & Megan N. Kozak Williams & Abigail A. Marsh, 2023. "Unselfish traits and social decision-making patterns characterize six populations of real-world extraordinary altruists," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-15, December.
    7. Arnaud Tognetti & Valérie Durand & Melissa Barkat-Defradas & Astrid Hopfensitz, 2020. "Does he sound cooperative? Acoustic correlates of cooperativeness," Post-Print hal-03169806, HAL.
    8. Leonard Hoeft & Michael Kurschilgen & Wladislaw Mill & Simone Vannuccini, 2022. "Norms as Obligations," Munich Papers in Political Economy 22, Munich School of Politics and Public Policy and the School of Management at the Technical University of Munich.
    9. Quan, Ji & Yu, Junyu & Li, Xia & Wang, Xianjia, 2023. "Conditional switching between social excluders and loners promotes cooperation in spatial public goods game," Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    10. Valerio Capraro & Hélène Barcelo, 2021. "Punishing defectors and rewarding cooperators: Do people discriminate between genders?," Journal of the Economic Science Association, Springer;Economic Science Association, vol. 7(1), pages 19-32, September.
    11. Mill, Wladislaw & Morgan, John, 2022. "Competition between friends and foes," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).

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