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"Economic man" in cross-cultural perspective: behavioral experiments in 15 small-scale societies
Joseph Henrich1, Robert Boyd, Samuel Bowles
1Department of Anthropology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA. jhenric@emory.edu
The Behavioral and Brain Sciences
|December 24, 2005
Summary
Human behavior deviates from self-interest models across cultures. Economic and social factors, not just individual traits, significantly influence prosociality in experimental games.
Area of Science:
- Behavioral Economics
- Cross-Cultural Psychology
- Social Sciences
Background:
- Canonical model of self-interest fails to predict behavior in numerous experiments.
- Previous research lacked cultural diversity, limiting understanding of behavioral uniformity.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate cross-cultural variations in economic games.
- Determine the influence of cultural and economic factors on human behavior.
- Test the universality of the self-interest model.
Main Methods:
- Cross-cultural study of ultimatum, public goods, and dictator games.
- Inclusion of diverse small-scale societies with varied economic and cultural conditions.
- Analysis of group-level economic organization and social interaction structures.
Main Results:
- The self-interest model failed across all studied societies.
- Significant behavioral variability observed across different cultural groups.
- Market integration and cooperation payoffs correlate positively with prosociality.
- Individual-level factors showed limited explanatory power for game behavior.
Conclusions:
- Human behavior in economic games is not universally self-interested.
- Socioeconomic factors are key drivers of prosocial behavior.
- Experimental game outcomes often reflect real-world interaction patterns.
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