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Contribution Details

Type Working Paper
Scope Discipline-based scholarship
Title Is Strong Reciprocity a Maladaptation? On the Evolutionary Foundations of Human Altruism
Organization Unit
Authors
  • Ernst Fehr
  • Joseph Henrich
Language
  • English
Institution University of Zurich
Series Name Working paper series / Institute for Empirical Research in Economics
Number No. 140
ISSN 1424-0459
Date 2003
Abstract Text In recent years a large number of experimental studies have documented the existence of strong reciprocity among humans. Strong reciprocity means that people willingly repay gifts and punish the violation of cooperation and fairness norms even in anonymous one-shot encounters with genetically experimental evidence suggesting that ultimate evolutionary explanations of strong reciprocity. can rationalize strong reciprocity only if it is viewed as maladaptive behavior whereas the evidence suggests that it is an adaptive trait. Thus, we conclude that alternative evolutionary approaches are needed to provide ultimate accounts of strong reciprocity.
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