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Working dogs cooperate among one another by generalised reciprocity
Nastassja Gfrerer1, Michael Taborsky1
1Behavioural Ecology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, Wohlenstrasse 50a, CH-3032 Hinterkappelen, Switzerland.
Scientific Reports
|March 7, 2017
Summary
Dogs exhibit generalized reciprocity, helping others after receiving help, regardless of the partner. This simple cooperation strategy may be common in social animals.
Area of Science:
- Ethology
- Animal Behavior
- Evolutionary Biology
Background:
- Cooperation is crucial for social animals.
- Generalized reciprocity (helping those who have helped you) is a known cooperation mechanism.
- Its prevalence in the animal kingdom remains unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if dogs (Canis familiaris) employ generalized reciprocity.
- To determine if dogs differentiate partners when applying reciprocity rules.
Main Methods:
- Dogs were trained in an instrumental cooperative task.
- Their behavior was observed after receiving help from a conspecific partner.
- Dogs' choices to help familiar or unfamiliar conspecifics were recorded.
Main Results:
- Dogs helped conspecifics more frequently after receiving prior help.
- Dogs did not distinguish between previous helpers and unfamiliar conspecifics.
- This indicates adherence to a generalized reciprocity rule.
Conclusions:
- Dogs utilize a simple generalized reciprocity rule for cooperation.
- This strategy is less cognitively demanding than direct reciprocity.
- Generalized reciprocity may be a widespread cooperation mechanism in animals.
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