Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 16, 2026

Observational Fear as a Model of Affective Empathy in Mice
Published on: November 22, 2024
A skew model for the evolution of sociality via manipulation: why it is better to be feared than loved
1Department of Biosciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada. crespi@sfu.ca
Abstract:
Concession-based reproductive skew models predict that social groups can form via persuasion, whereby dominant individuals forfeit some reproduction to subordinates as an incentive to stay and help. We have developed an alternative skew model based on manipulation, whereby dominant individuals coerce subordinates into staying and helping by imposing costs on their independent reproductive prospects. Stable groups can evolve under a much wider range of genetic and ecological conditions under this manipulation model than under concession models. We describe evidence that various forms of pre-emptive and ongoing manipulation occur in nature and we discuss the implications of the model for the development of a general theory of social evolution.
Related Concept Videos
Criticisms of the Evolutionary Perspective
Evolutionary psychology provides one explanation for these findings, suggesting...
Social Proof
Relationship Formation
Dark Triad and Person Perception
Impact of Individuals on Individuals
Social Exchange Theory

