Strong reciprocity and human sociality
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Updated: Oct 13, 2026

Assessment of Social Interaction Behaviors
Published on: February 25, 2011
1Department of Economics, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA. hgintis@mediaone.net
Abstract:
Human groups maintain a high level of sociality despite a low level of relatedness among group members. This paper reviews the evidence for an empirically identifiable form of prosocial behavior in humans, which we call "strong reciprocity", that may in part explain human sociality. A strong reciprocator is predisposed to cooperate with others and punish non-cooperators, even when this behavior cannot be justified in terms of extended kinship or reciprocal altruism. We present a simple model, stylized but plausible, of the evolutionary emergence of strong reciprocity.
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