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Human altruism: economic, neural, and evolutionary perspectives

Ernst Fehr1, Bettina Rockenbach

  • 1Institute for Empirical Research in Economics, University of Zurich, Bluemlisalpstrasse 10, 8006 Zuerich, Switzerland. efehr@iew.unizh.ch

Current Opinion in Neurobiology
|December 8, 2004
PubMed
Summary

Humans uniquely cooperate with strangers, driven by strong reciprocity. Altruistic punishment and rewarding activate the brain's reward circuits, making cooperation psychologically beneficial.

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