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Runaway selection for cooperation and strict-and-severe punishment
Mayuko Nakamaru1, Ulf Dieckmann
1Department of Value and Decision Science, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1-W9-35, O-okayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8552, Japan. nakamaru@valdes.titech.ac.jp
Journal of Theoretical Biology
|October 8, 2008
Summary
Cooperation and punishment can evolve together through a process of runaway selection. Strict punishment of defectors, even those with slightly lower cooperation, enhances overall cooperation and can lead defectors to become cooperators.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary game theory
- Social dynamics
- Behavioral economics
Background:
- Stabilizing cooperation is crucial for social groups.
- Defining defectors and punishment levels requires social standards.
- Previous models often used discrete cooperation and punishment levels.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate the evolution of social reaction norms for punishment.
- Analyze how punishment levels depend on observed cooperation.
- Explore conditions for the emergence and enhancement of cooperation.
Main Methods:
- Agent-based modeling on a lattice-structured population.
- Simulating the evolution of psychological response functions (reaction norms).
- Analyzing the dynamics of cooperation and punishment levels.
Main Results:
- Cooperation and punishment can exhibit runaway selection, mutually reinforcing each other.
- Strict punishment, minimizing ambiguity in defector identification, optimizes this mechanism.
- Evolution favors strict-and-severe punishment for minor deviations from average cooperation.
- This process naturally evolves and significantly enhances cooperation when baseline cooperation is weak and costs are low.
Conclusions:
- Evolutionary dynamics can bootstrap cooperation and punishment simultaneously.
- Defectors can evolve into cooperators through a system of evolving social norms.
- Strict punishment plays a key role in stabilizing cooperation in populations.
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