Gains to cooperation drive the evolution of egalitarianism

Nature Human Behavior • Vol/Iss. 5(3) • Springer Nature • London, UK • Published In • Pages: ??•
By Hooper, Paul L., Kaplan, Hillard S., Jaeggi, Adrian V.

Abstract

This article is mainly concerned with understanding the motivators toward egalitarianism through modeling via a game that combined elements from both hawk-dove and prisoners dilemma. While most of the article is focused on this model, the researchers also tested their hypotheses cross-culturally on a sample of forager societies. In both cases, they found evidence that the benefits of cooperation drove egalitarianism.

Note

For the purposes of this research, egalitarianism was defined as a lack of class stratification.

Samples

Sample Used Coded Data Comment
Binford hunter-gatherer datasetby other researchers

Hypotheses (2)

HypothesisSupported
The presence of horses, food storage, and formal resource ownership will each be negatively associated with a lack of class stratificationSupported
The presence of hunting will be positively associated with a lack of class stratificationSupported
Documents and Hypotheses Filed By: dmccloskey103  anj.droe