Description
The theory of reciprocal cooperation proposes that individuals who help others receive help in return and are thus better off than those who never help. So far, however, all empirical animal research of reciprocity has focused on how individuals react to past instances of help rather than actions aimed at ensuring future repay of help. Here, we tested whether Norway rats consider the past and future when deciding to cooperate. Focal rats were presented with partners that either provided food (cooperator) or not (defector). Subsequently, focal rats could open a door to allow the same partner to return their help by providing food back (payback) or not (no payback). We predict that if rats consider their past cooperative experience and future possibility of payback, they will be quicker to open the door for previously experienced cooperators than for defectors, and they will be overall quicker to open in the future payback than the no payback condition. Data collection is ongoing, but we hope these results will lead to a better understanding of the role that past experiences and future expectations play in the decision to cooperate in non-human animals.| Period | 15 Dec 2025 → 16 Dec 2025 |
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| Event title | ASAB Winter Meeting |
| Event type | Conference |
| Location | Edinburgh, United KingdomShow on map |