Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Social Exchange Theory02:06

Social Exchange Theory

35.0K
We have discussed why we form relationships, what attracts us to others, and different types of love. But what determines whether we are satisfied with and stay in a relationship? One theory that provides an explanation is social exchange theory. According to social exchange theory, we act as naïve economists in keeping a tally of the ratio of costs and benefits of forming and maintaining a relationship with others (Rusbult & Van Lange, 2003).
35.0K
Cognitive Dissonance01:38

Cognitive Dissonance

33.0K
Social psychologists have documented that feeling good about ourselves and maintaining positive self-esteem is a powerful motivator of human behavior (Tavris & Aronson, 2008). In the United States, members of the predominant culture typically think very highly of themselves and view themselves as good people who are above average on many desirable traits (Ehrlinger, Gilovich, & Ross, 2005). Often, our behavior, attitudes, and beliefs are affected when we experience a threat to our...
33.0K
Persuasion Strategies01:52

Persuasion Strategies

39.1K
Researchers have tested many persuasion strategies, including the foot-in-the door and the door-in-the-face techniques, in a variety of contexts. Ultimately, the principles are effective in selling products and changing people’s attitude, ideas, and behaviors (Cialdini & Goldstein, 2004).
39.1K
Self-Discrepancy Theory02:45

Self-Discrepancy Theory

18.4K
One influential perspective on what motivates people's behavior is detailed in Tory Higgin's self-discrepancy theory (Higgins, 1987). He proposed that people hold disagreeing internal representations of themselves that lead to different emotional states.  
18.4K
Contact-dependent Signaling01:19

Contact-dependent Signaling

44.8K
Contact-dependent signaling, as the name suggests, requires that communicating cells be in direct contact with each other. This is achieved either through receptor-ligand interactions or by specialized cytoplasmic channels that allow the flow of small molecules between cells. In animal cells, channels called gap junctions facilitate contact-dependent signaling in certain tissues, whereas, plasmodesmata perform a similar function in plants.
Gap Junctions
In animal cells, gap junctions are formed...
44.8K
Sympathetic Signaling01:31

Sympathetic Signaling

1.2K
Sympathetic signaling, a vital part of the autonomic nervous system, plays a crucial role in mobilizing the body's resources in response to stress or emergencies. It involves the transmission of nerve impulses from sympathetic preganglionic fibers to postganglionic fibers. This results in the release of specific neurotransmitters and activation of adrenergic receptors.
Sympathetic preganglionic fibers release the neurotransmitter acetylcholine (ACh) onto the ganglionic neurons in the...
1.2K

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by
Same author

A general signalling theory: why honest signals are explained by trade-offs rather than costs or handicaps.

Journal of evolutionary biology·2025
Same author

Cooperation is not rewarded by friendship, but generous and selfish students repel each other in social networks.

PloS one·2025
Same author

Cue-driven microbial cooperation and communication: evolving quorum sensing with honest signaling.

BMC biology·2024
Same author

Socio-economic inequalities in smoking and drinking in adolescence: Assessment of social network dynamics.

Addiction (Abingdon, England)·2023
Same author

Honesty in signalling games is maintained by trade-offs rather than costs.

BMC biology·2023
Same author

Four Puzzles of Reputation-Based Cooperation : Content, Process, Honesty, and Structure.

Human nature (Hawthorne, N.Y.)·2021

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Aug 25, 2025

Combining Behavioral Endocrinology and Experimental Economics: Testosterone and Social Decision Making
11:51

Combining Behavioral Endocrinology and Experimental Economics: Testosterone and Social Decision Making

Published on: March 2, 2011

15.2K

Condition-dependent trade-offs maintain honest signalling.

Szabolcs Számadó1,2, Flóra Samu2,3,4, Károly Takács5,2

  • 1Department of Sociology and Communication, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Egry J. u. 1. H-1111, Budapest, Hungary.

Royal Society Open Science
|October 17, 2022
PubMed
Summary

Honest communication relies on differential trade-offs, not just signal cost. Experiments show that varying the costs and benefits for different signalers, rather than the signal

Keywords:
communicationcondition-dependent trade-offscostly signallinghandicap principlehonest signalling

More Related Videos

A Conflict Model of Reward-seeking Behavior in Male Rats
06:11

A Conflict Model of Reward-seeking Behavior in Male Rats

Published on: February 20, 2019

7.5K
Operant Protocols for Assessing the Cost-benefit Analysis During Reinforced Decision Making by Rodents
07:05

Operant Protocols for Assessing the Cost-benefit Analysis During Reinforced Decision Making by Rodents

Published on: September 10, 2018

6.1K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Aug 25, 2025

Combining Behavioral Endocrinology and Experimental Economics: Testosterone and Social Decision Making
11:51

Combining Behavioral Endocrinology and Experimental Economics: Testosterone and Social Decision Making

Published on: March 2, 2011

15.2K
A Conflict Model of Reward-seeking Behavior in Male Rats
06:11

A Conflict Model of Reward-seeking Behavior in Male Rats

Published on: February 20, 2019

7.5K
Operant Protocols for Assessing the Cost-benefit Analysis During Reinforced Decision Making by Rodents
07:05

Operant Protocols for Assessing the Cost-benefit Analysis During Reinforced Decision Making by Rodents

Published on: September 10, 2018

6.1K

Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary biology
  • Behavioral economics
  • Communication theory

Background:

  • The evolution of honest signaling is crucial for understanding communication in nature and society.
  • The Handicap Principle posits that honest signals must be costly, but game theory suggests otherwise.
  • Honesty can be maintained by the cost of cheating, specifically differential trade-offs between signaler qualities.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To empirically test the role of signal cost and differential trade-offs in maintaining honest communication.
  • To investigate predictions from game theoretical models of signaling.

Main Methods:

  • A laboratory decision-making experiment involving human participants.
  • Manipulation of equilibrium signal production cost.
  • Manipulation of differential trade-offs for low- versus high-quality signalers.

Main Results:

  • Differential trade-off manipulation significantly influenced communication reliability.
  • Equilibrium signal cost manipulation had less impact on honesty.
  • Negative production costs, under differential trade-offs, promoted high levels of honesty, contradicting the Handicap Principle.

Conclusions:

  • Differential trade-offs are more critical for honest signaling than absolute signal cost.
  • Empirical evidence supports game theoretical models over the traditional Handicap Principle in certain contexts.
  • Future research should focus on the mechanisms maintaining honesty through differential costs and benefits.