Do we harm others even if we don't need to?

Frontiers in Psychology

M. Paula Cacault¹ 

关键词: parochial altruism;    experimental tests;    public-good;    in-group favoritism;    out-group aggression;    strong aggression;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00729

学科分类：心理学（综合）

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

Evolutionary explanations of the co-existence of large-scale cooperation and warfare in human societies rest on the hypothesis of parochial altruism, the view that in-group pro-sociality and out-group anti-sociality have co-evolved. We designed an experiment that allows subjects to freely choose between actions that are purely pro-social, purely anti-social, or a combination of the two. We present behavioral evidence on the existence of strong aggression—a pattern of non-strategic behaviors that are welfare-reducing for all individuals (i.e., victims and perpetrators). We also show how strong aggression serves to dynamically stabilize in-group pro-sociality.

【 授权许可】

CC BY