1. The role of threats in animal cooperation
- Author
-
Michael A. Cant
- Subjects
cooperative breeding ,genetic structures ,media_common.quotation_subject ,mutualism ,Social behaviour ,General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology ,within-group conflict ,Empirical research ,Game Theory ,Punishment ,negotiation ,reproductive skew ,Selfishness ,Animals ,Cooperative Behavior ,Social Behavior ,Review Articles ,General Environmental Science ,media_common ,General Immunology and Microbiology ,Behavior, Animal ,Environmental ethics ,General Medicine ,biparental care ,Negotiation ,Cooperative behavior ,General Agricultural and Biological Sciences ,Psychology ,Game theory ,Social psychology - Abstract
In human societies, social behaviour is strongly influenced by threats of punishment, even though the threats themselves rarely need to be exercised. Recent experimental evidence suggests that similar hidden threats can promote cooperation and limit within-group selfishness in some animal systems. In other animals, however, threats appear to be ineffective. Here I review theoretical and empirical studies that help to understand the evolutionary causes of these contrasting patterns, and identify three factors—impact, accuracy and perception—that together determine the effectiveness of threats to induce cooperation.
- Published
- 2010