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‘Altruistic’ and ‘antisocial’ punishers are one and the same
I think this is a very important study, with far-reaching implications, from I/P issues to babies left in cars.
Kimmo Eriksson1,2, Daniel Cownden1, Micael Ehn1, Pontus Strimling1
1Centre for the Study of Cultural Evolution, Stockholm University, Sweden
2School of Education, Culture and Communication, Mälardalen University, Västerås, Sweden
Abstract
In certain economic experiments, some participants willingly pay a cost to punish peers who contribute too little to the public good. Because such punishment can lead to improved group outcomes, this costly punishment has been conceived of as altruistic. Here we provide evidence that individual variation in the propensity to punish low contributions is unrelated to altruism. First, individual use of punishment was uncorrelated with contribution to the public good, contrary to the hypothesis that punishers are proximally motivated by prosocial preferences. Second, individual use of punishment was positively correlated across situations where the use of punishment is typically group beneficial and situations where the use of punishment is typically group detrimental, as well as across situations of radically different strategic structures. These findings contrast sharply with the premise that the tendency to use punishment can fruitfully be regarded as an adaptation for solving social dilemmas.
1Centre for the Study of Cultural Evolution, Stockholm University, Sweden
2School of Education, Culture and Communication, Mälardalen University, Västerås, Sweden
Abstract
In certain economic experiments, some participants willingly pay a cost to punish peers who contribute too little to the public good. Because such punishment can lead to improved group outcomes, this costly punishment has been conceived of as altruistic. Here we provide evidence that individual variation in the propensity to punish low contributions is unrelated to altruism. First, individual use of punishment was uncorrelated with contribution to the public good, contrary to the hypothesis that punishers are proximally motivated by prosocial preferences. Second, individual use of punishment was positively correlated across situations where the use of punishment is typically group beneficial and situations where the use of punishment is typically group detrimental, as well as across situations of radically different strategic structures. These findings contrast sharply with the premise that the tendency to use punishment can fruitfully be regarded as an adaptation for solving social dilemmas.
Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2469806
