Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Kohlberg's Theory of Moral Development

Kohlberg's Theory of Moral Development

Kohlberg's theory of moral development uses the Heinz dilemma — a thought experiment in which a man, Heinz, must decide whether to steal an unaffordable drug to save his dying wife — to illustrate the evolution of moral reasoning. This framework, divided into three levels with two stages, highlights how individuals' understanding of right and wrong becomes increasingly complex.
Pre-Conventional Level
At the pre-conventional level, morality is primarily driven by personal consequences. In Stage...

Egoism and Altruism

Egoism and Altruism

Voluntary behavior with the intent to help other people is called prosocial behavior. Why do people help other people? Is personal benefit such as feeling good about oneself the only reason people help one another?

Ethics and Bioethics

Ethics and Bioethics

Ethics is a philosophical study of moral actions. Ethics attempts to determine what is valuable for individuals and society. It examines the rational justification of moral judgments and analyzes what is morally just, fair, and right. Bioethics is a sub-discipline of applied ethics that analyzes the philosophical, social, and legal issues in life sciences and medicine. Ethical theories serve as a foundation for decision-making and represent the viewpoints from which people seek direction. They...

Ethical Dilemmas II

Ethical Dilemmas II

Resolving an ethical dilemma in healthcare involves a systematic approach that considers every aspect of the issue, respecting both the patient's needs and values and the healthcare professional's ethical obligations. Here are potential steps to resolve an ethical dilemma:

Ethical Standards II

Ethical Standards II

Ethical standards are the backbone of nursing practice, guiding nurses as they interact with patients, families, and colleagues. These standards are crucial for providing safe, empathetic care centered on the patient's needs.
Nurses are entrusted with upholding various ethical principles and standards. Nurses forge solid therapeutic relationships using trust, empathy, autonomy, confidentiality, and professional competence.
Confidentiality is crucial, embodying respect for individual privacy and...

Ethical Dilemmas I

Ethical Dilemmas I

Ethical dilemmas in nursing are of utmost importance, as they often arise from the tension between adhering to core ethical principles and the practical realities of healthcare delivery. These dilemmas require nurses to navigate complex situations where competing ethical considerations pull them in different directions.
Let us explore some examples to understand the potentially complex moral decisions nurses face.
Take the case of caring for minors, particularly in areas related to reproductive...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Sexual selection for males with beneficial mutations.

Scientific reports·2022

Same author

The benefits of being seen to help others: indirect reciprocity and reputation-based partner choice.

Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences·2021

Same author

Cooperating to show that you care: costly helping as an honest signal of fitness interdependence.

Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences·2021

Same author

The psychological foundations of reputation-based cooperation.

Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences·2021

Same author

Cooperation: How Vampire Bats Build Reciprocal Relationships.

Current biology : CB·2020

Same author

Prosocial behavior as sexual signaling.

The Behavioral and brain sciences·2017

Same journal

Institutions as cached computation for resource-rational negotiation.

The Behavioral and brain sciences·2026

Same journal

Delegation to legitimate authority as a resource rational mechanism.

The Behavioral and brain sciences·2026

Same journal

Moral cognition is contractualist, but does not work by simulating a bargaining process.

The Behavioral and brain sciences·2026

Same journal

Contractarian partiality, contractualist impartiality, and the question of falsifiability.

The Behavioral and brain sciences·2026

Same journal

The veil and the deal: Bargaining between case-specific solutions and unknown rules.

The Behavioral and brain sciences·2026

Same journal

Moral decision-making entails negotiation over the psychological mechanisms underlying decisions.

The Behavioral and brain sciences·2026

See all related articles

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 13, 2026

Exploring the Role of Deontic Reasoning and World Knowledge in Wason´s Selection Task

Exploring the Role of Deontic Reasoning and World Knowledge in Wason´s Selection Task

Published on: July 22, 2025

Competitive morality.

Gilbert Roberts¹

¹Centre for Behaviour & Evolution, Institute of Neuroscience, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4HH, United Kingdom. Gilbert.Roberts@ncl.ac.uk

The Behavioral and Brain Sciences

|March 1, 2013

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Partner choice fosters fairness and mutualism, forming morality

More Related Videos

The Collective Trust Game: An Online Group Adaptation of the Trust Game Based on the HoneyComb Paradigm

The Collective Trust Game: An Online Group Adaptation of the Trust Game Based on the HoneyComb Paradigm

Published on: October 20, 2022

A Conflict Model of Reward-seeking Behavior in Male Rats

A Conflict Model of Reward-seeking Behavior in Male Rats

Published on: February 20, 2019

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 13, 2026

Exploring the Role of Deontic Reasoning and World Knowledge in Wason´s Selection Task

Exploring the Role of Deontic Reasoning and World Knowledge in Wason´s Selection Task

Published on: July 22, 2025

The Collective Trust Game: An Online Group Adaptation of the Trust Game Based on the HoneyComb Paradigm

The Collective Trust Game: An Online Group Adaptation of the Trust Game Based on the HoneyComb Paradigm

Published on: October 20, 2022

A Conflict Model of Reward-seeking Behavior in Male Rats

A Conflict Model of Reward-seeking Behavior in Male Rats

Published on: February 20, 2019

Area of Science:

Evolutionary Psychology
Behavioral Economics
Moral Philosophy

Background:

The origins of morality are debated.
Previous theories link partner choice to fairness and mutualism as foundations for moral behavior.

Purpose of the Study:

To extend existing theories on the evolutionary basis of morality.
To propose competitive altruism as a driving force behind moral conduct.

Main Methods:

Theoretical analysis.
Application of evolutionary game theory principles.
Critique and extension of existing partner-choice models.

Main Results:

Mutualism alone is insufficient to fully explain the development of morality.
Strategic investments in desirable traits, driven by competition, can promote moral behaviors.

Conclusions:

Competitive altruism offers a more comprehensive framework for understanding the evolution of morality.
Moral conduct may arise from the strategic pursuit of desirable partnerships.