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Do humans really punish altruistically? A closer look
Eric J Pedersen1, Robert Kurzban, Michael E McCullough
1Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33124-0751, USA.
Proceedings. Biological Sciences
|March 8, 2013
Summary
Altruistic punishment, where individuals punish unfairness without personal gain, may be overstated. Experiments show only victims, not witnesses, punish, and emotions like envy, not moral anger, drive witness reactions.
Area of Science:
- Behavioral Economics
- Evolutionary Psychology
- Social Psychology
Background:
- The hypothesis of altruistic punishment suggests humans evolved to punish unfairness, even without direct benefit.
- Empirical evidence for this hypothesis relies on experiments susceptible to specific artifacts.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate altruistic punishment in humans using an experimental design that avoids known artifacts.
- To re-evaluate the prevalence and mechanisms of altruistic punishment in human behavior.
Main Methods:
- Conducted an experiment designed to preclude common experimental artifacts.
- Administered a second experiment across two independent samples to validate findings.
- Analyzed participants' punitive behavior and emotional responses to unfairness.
Main Results:
- Victims of unfairness punished transgressors, but witnesses did not.
- Witnesses exhibited envy of selfish gains rather than moralistic anger.
- Prior evidence for altruistic punishment may stem from affective forecasting errors.
Conclusions:
- The findings challenge the notion of widespread altruistic punishment as a human adaptation.
- Human responses to unfairness appear more self-interested and less driven by abstract moral outrage than previously suggested.
- The concept of altruistic punishment in humans may be overstated, requiring a re-evaluation of existing evidence.
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01:55Egoism 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?
00:57Inclusive Fitness
Most altruistic behavior—in which one animal helps another at a cost to themselves—occurs between relatives. Scientists think these altruistic behaviors evolved because they increase the inclusive fitness of the animal providing help.
01:27Punishment
Negative reinforcement and punishment are often confused but serve distinct functions in behavior modification. Reinforcement, whether positive or negative, increases the likelihood of a desired behavior, while punishment decreases it.
Punishment can be positive or negative. Positive punishment involves adding an undesirable stimulus, such as scolding, to decrease a behavior. Negative punishment involves removing a desirable stimulus, such as taking away a favorite toy, to decrease behavior.
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01:08Timing and Consequences on Behavior
In operant conditioning, the timing of reinforcement is crucial. For animals like rats and cats, immediate reinforcement (within a few seconds) is much more effective than delayed reinforcement. For example, a food reward for a rat needs to follow within 30 seconds of pressing a bar to be effective.
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