Sixteen common misconceptions about the evolution of cooperation in humans

Stuart A. West; Claire El Mouden; Andy Gardner

doi:10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2010.08.001

Sixteen common misconceptions about the evolution of cooperation in humans

Stuart A. West^*, Claire El Mouden, Andy Gardner

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review

Abstract

The occurrence of cooperation poses a problem for the biological and social sciences. However, many aspects of the biological and social science literatures on this subject have developed relatively independently, with a lack of interaction. This has led to a number of misunderstandings with regard to how natural selection operates and the conditions under which cooperation can be favoured. Our aim here is to provide an accessible overview of social evolution theory and the evolutionary work on cooperation, emphasising common misconceptions. (C) 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	231-262
Number of pages	32
Journal	Evolution and Human Behavior
Volume	32
Issue number	4
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2010.08.001
Publication status	Published - Jul 2011

Keywords

Altruism
Fitness
Inclusive fitness
Reciprocity
CULTURAL-GROUP SELECTION
KIN SELECTION
INCLUSIVE FITNESS
STRONG RECIPROCITY
MULTILEVEL SELECTION
SEX-RATIO
SOCIAL EVOLUTION
HUMAN ALTRUISM
STRUCTURED POPULATIONS
CLEANER FISH

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10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2010.08.001

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@article{2a4aebf6c2be4dc4b21110f2fc0b0c31,

title = "Sixteen common misconceptions about the evolution of cooperation in humans",

abstract = "The occurrence of cooperation poses a problem for the biological and social sciences. However, many aspects of the biological and social science literatures on this subject have developed relatively independently, with a lack of interaction. This has led to a number of misunderstandings with regard to how natural selection operates and the conditions under which cooperation can be favoured. Our aim here is to provide an accessible overview of social evolution theory and the evolutionary work on cooperation, emphasising common misconceptions. (C) 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.",

keywords = "Altruism, Fitness, Inclusive fitness, Reciprocity, CULTURAL-GROUP SELECTION, KIN SELECTION, INCLUSIVE FITNESS, STRONG RECIPROCITY, MULTILEVEL SELECTION, SEX-RATIO, SOCIAL EVOLUTION, HUMAN ALTRUISM, STRUCTURED POPULATIONS, CLEANER FISH",

author = "West, {Stuart A.} and {El Mouden}, Claire and Andy Gardner",

year = "2011",

month = jul,

doi = "10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2010.08.001",

language = "English",

volume = "32",

pages = "231--262",

journal = "Evolution and Human Behavior",

issn = "1090-5138",

publisher = "Elsevier Inc.",

number = "4",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Sixteen common misconceptions about the evolution of cooperation in humans

AU - West, Stuart A.

AU - El Mouden, Claire

AU - Gardner, Andy

PY - 2011/7

Y1 - 2011/7

N2 - The occurrence of cooperation poses a problem for the biological and social sciences. However, many aspects of the biological and social science literatures on this subject have developed relatively independently, with a lack of interaction. This has led to a number of misunderstandings with regard to how natural selection operates and the conditions under which cooperation can be favoured. Our aim here is to provide an accessible overview of social evolution theory and the evolutionary work on cooperation, emphasising common misconceptions. (C) 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

AB - The occurrence of cooperation poses a problem for the biological and social sciences. However, many aspects of the biological and social science literatures on this subject have developed relatively independently, with a lack of interaction. This has led to a number of misunderstandings with regard to how natural selection operates and the conditions under which cooperation can be favoured. Our aim here is to provide an accessible overview of social evolution theory and the evolutionary work on cooperation, emphasising common misconceptions. (C) 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

KW - Altruism

KW - Fitness

KW - Inclusive fitness

KW - Reciprocity

KW - CULTURAL-GROUP SELECTION

KW - KIN SELECTION

KW - INCLUSIVE FITNESS

KW - STRONG RECIPROCITY

KW - MULTILEVEL SELECTION

KW - SEX-RATIO

KW - SOCIAL EVOLUTION

KW - HUMAN ALTRUISM

KW - STRUCTURED POPULATIONS

KW - CLEANER FISH

U2 - 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2010.08.001

DO - 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2010.08.001

M3 - Review article

SN - 1090-5138

VL - 32

SP - 231

EP - 262

JO - Evolution and Human Behavior

JF - Evolution and Human Behavior

IS - 4

ER -

Sixteen common misconceptions about the evolution of cooperation in humans

Abstract

Keywords

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