How small-scale societies achieve large-scale cooperation.
Cooperation
Foragers
Hunter-gatherers
Norms
Prosociality
Reciprocity.
Reputation
Small-scale societies
Journal
Current opinion in psychology
ISSN: 2352-2518
Titre abrégé: Curr Opin Psychol
Pays: Netherlands
ID NLM: 101649136
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
04 2022
04 2022
Historique:
received:
29
06
2021
revised:
13
08
2021
accepted:
19
08
2021
pubmed:
26
9
2021
medline:
13
4
2022
entrez:
25
9
2021
Statut:
ppublish
Résumé
For most of our species' history, humans have lived in relatively small subsistence communities, often called small-scale societies. While these groups lack centralized institutions, they can and often do maintain large-scale cooperation. Here, we explore several mechanisms promoting cooperation in small-scale societies, including (a) the development of social norms that encourage prosocial behavior, (b) reciprocal exchange relationships, (c) reputation that facilitates high-cost cooperation, (d) relational wealth, and (e) risk buffering institutions. We illustrate these with ethnographic and psychological evidence from contemporary small-scale societies. We argue that these mechanisms for cooperation helped past and present small-scale communities adapt to diverse ecological and social niches.
Identifiants
pubmed: 34562700
pii: S2352-250X(21)00159-7
doi: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2021.08.026
pii:
doi:
Types de publication
Journal Article
Review
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Pagination
44-48Informations de copyright
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