AI Article Synopsis
- Biological competition influences the evolution of selfish (self-regarding) and altruistic (other-regarding) preferences, with the 'homo economicus' model representing selfish behavior in economics.
- The theory proposed in this text suggests that intergenerational migration plays a crucial role in determining whether a population evolves towards self-regarding or other-regarding preferences.
- The model emphasizes spatial interactions among agents, inheritance of traits related to friendliness, and a fitness-based selection process to support the existence of 'homo socialis', or socially-oriented individuals, while advocating for an evolutionary economic theory that encompasses varied social behaviors.
Article Abstract
Biological competition is widely believed to result in the evolution of selfish preferences. The related concept of the 'homo economicus' is at the core of mainstream economics. However, there is also experimental and empirical evidence for other-regarding preferences. Here we present a theory that explains both, self-regarding and other-regarding preferences. Assuming conditions promoting non-cooperative behaviour, we demonstrate that intergenerational migration determines whether evolutionary competition results in a 'homo economicus' (showing self-regarding preferences) or a 'homo socialis' (having other-regarding preferences). Our model assumes spatially interacting agents playing prisoner's dilemmas, who inherit a trait determining 'friendliness', but mutations tend to undermine it. Reproduction is ruled by fitness-based selection without a cultural modification of reproduction rates. Our model calls for a complementary economic theory for 'networked minds' (the 'homo socialis') and lays the foundations for an evolutionarily grounded theory of other-regarding agents, explaining individually different utility functions as well as conditional cooperation.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3601368 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/srep01480 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Gambling on others' health: risky pro-social decision-making in the era of COVID-19.
Front Psychol
September 2024
Theory of Pain Laboratory, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
Introduction: In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, individuals were asked to perform costly actions to reduce harm to strangers, even while the general population, including authorities and experts, grappled with the uncertainty surrounding thenovel virus. Many studies have examined health decision-making by experts, but the study of lay, non-expert, individual decision-making on a stranger's health has been left to the wayside, as ordinary citizens are usually not tasked with such decisions.
Methods: We sought to capture a snapshot of this specific choice behavior by administering two surveys to the general population in the spring of 2020, when much of the global community was subject to COVID-19-related restrictions, as well as uncertainty surrounding the virus.
Give some, keep some, put some: The language of sharing in children.
J Exp Child Psychol
January 2025
Department of Linguistics, University College London, London WC1N 1PF, UK.
Sensitivity to linguistic cues, in theory, can change the interpretation of social and game theoretical behavior. We tested this in a pair of experiments with children aged 4 and 5 years. Children were asked to give some, keep some, or put some stickers for themselves or for another player (a puppet) after collaborative activities.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChemoradiotherapy plus induction or consolidation chemotherapy as total neoadjuvant therapy for locally advanced rectal cancer: Pooled analysis of the CAO/ARO/AIO-12 and the OPRA randomized phase 2 trials.
Eur J Cancer
October 2024
Department of Radiotherapy and Oncology, University of Frankfurt, Germany; German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Partner Site: Frankfurt, Germany; German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Partner Site: Frankfurt, Heidelberg, Germany; Frankfurt Cancer Institute, Frankfurt, Germany.
Background: Total neoadjuvant therapy (TNT) has been used for patients with locally advanced rectal cancer. The optimal sequence of chemoradiotherapy (CRT) and chemotherapy (CT) is a matter of debate.
Methods: We performed a pooled analysis of the CAO/ARO/AIO-12 and OPRA multicenter, randomized phase 2 trials to identify patient subsets that could benefit from one TNT sequence over the other regarding disease-free survival (DFS).
Exploring the neuropsychological basis of behavioral contagion during learning about another agent's social preferences: Evidence from an ERP study.
Acta Neurobiol Exp (Wars)
June 2024
Department of Biomedical Physics, Faculty of Physics, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland.
Social contagion is a pervasive phenomenon and an important social influence that involves the rapid dissemination (propagation) of behaviors, attitudes, emotions, or ideas from one person to another, often without conscious reflection or rational thought. This phenomenon is closely related to conformity, by which a person changes his/her original ideas and attitude and imitates certain behavior of others. Although some behavioral research has been carried out on contagion and conformity, there is very little neuropsychological understanding of these phenomena.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProsocial behaviors in rodents.
Neurosci Biobehav Rev
August 2024
CNC-UC - Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal; CIBB - Center for Innovative Biomedicine and Biotechnology, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal. Electronic address:
Prosocial behaviors (i.e., actions that benefit others) are central for social interactions in humans and other animals, by fostering social bonding and cohesion.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!