TheCooperativePrimate

Cogs184*ModelingCognitiveEvolution

EvolvingMotivation

• Somecognitivedevelopmentsinhominidsconcernedmotivation/affect• vs.Tooluse,reasoning,symbols,etc.

• Thesechangeseffect typesofbehaviorseen

ANDtypesofreasoningpossible

• Inparticular,humansshowfargreatertendencytocooperatethananyotherprimate

CooperativeBreeding

Alloparentingbykinornon-kin

CooperativeForaging

Hunter/Gatherers

Forageingroups

Shareresourceswithall

NonhumanPrimatesForageIndependently

Eveninagroup,collectandprocessfoodINDIVIDUALLY

Althoinfantslearnfrom

Mom

RARE – Collaborativehuntinginsomechimpanzees

Flankers&Catcherquietlymoveintoposition

DrivernoisilychasesmonkeytowardCatcherOnlycollaborators

sharemeat

CooperativeHuntinginHominids

Workingtogether,thegroupismoreeffectivethantheindividual

Becomesobligatoryinhominids

Gathering

GatheringFind,Procure,Prepare,Share

Includemedicine?Experimentation,Traditionrequired.

Althoughnote– otheranimalsshowmedicinalshiftsindietwhensick.

BaseCamps

• FirstevidenceinHomoerectus,withcontroloffire

• EstablishedasplacewherecollectedresourcesareSHARED

FoodSharing

Allhumanssharefood

NHPstoleratescrounging,&momsmaygivetoinfants,butyoungnevergive…

NHPsrarelysharefood

Giving– OnlyHumans!

• From~7months,humansgivetoothers

• Especiallyfood,butalsootherobjects

HumansHelp

HominidsHelp

"OldManofChapelle auxSaints"BuriedNeanderthaldeformedfrombirth,livedtooldage.

Apparentlysupportedbyhiscommunity

Helping

Helping

Tomasello etal,2006

Humaninfantswillpickupobjectsanotherappearedtodrop“accidently”,butnotifdropped“deliberately”

Helping

Itfeelsgood tohelp

Proximatemechanism(givinghelpisreinforcing)

suggestsevolutionarypayoffs

Helping

Humansempathizewith,andaid,notonlyotherhumans

(evenifunrelated)…

…butevenotherspecies!

Helping

• Hominidsmostlyinteractw/kin,cohorts,• SopaysoffoftenenoughtobebasicMO?

Why dowehelpstrangers?

Helping

Seediscussionofevolutionaryadvantagesofself-deception!

(VonHippel&Trivers,2011)

Seeself aspredominantlygood,increaseslikelihoodyouwilldogood

Why dowehelpstrangers?

Helping

Ifhelp,evenwithoutreciprocation,seenbyothersasagoodchoice

toinvestinasapotentialcollaborator WefindHelpersattractive

Why dowehelpstrangers?Reputation

Helping

Eventually,withtheemergenceoflanguage,canusespeech(gossip,truth/lies)

tomake/breakanother'sreputation…

…or(viaboasting,confessing)impactyourown

Reputation

Butreputation-buildingaloneseemsinsufficientto

accountforhumaninclinationtohelp…

Itfeels goodtohelp!

Proximatemechanismofhelping>>positivereinforcement,suggestshelpingmayhaveOVERALLtendedtopayoff...

Helping

Why dowehelpstrangers?

Helping

• e.g.6mo oldsshown“friendly/unfriendly”shapeshelporhinderacircletorolltotopofhill

• Thenshowpreference tointeractwithhelping shape(Kuhlmeier etal2003;Hamlinetal2007)

• Canalsorecognize,usehelpingbyotherstothirdpartiestoguideownbehavior

Helping

Helping

• Plus,helptoLEARN=TEACHING• Interveneinother’sprocessfortheirbenefit• Muchmoreonthistocome!

Fairness

• Humanstrackfairness• Althoughmaythenpromoteorexploitit!

• EvensomeNHPsshowsomeevidenceofassuringtheyget“myfairshare”

Fairness

• Cebusmonkeystrainedtogiverock(fromincage)tohumanforcucumber

Giverock Getcucumber

Otherwatches,awaitsownturn

(Brosnan 2006)

Fairness

• Eachmonkeylearnssametask,andwatchesother

Giverock Getcucumber

Previouswatches,awaitsownturn

(Brosnan 2006)

Fairness:Brosnan(2006)onCebus

• Thenone monkeyreceives(moredesirable)grapeasotherwatches

Giverock Getgrape!

Otherwatches,awaitsownturn

(Brosnan 2006)

Fairness:BrosnanonCebus

• Watching monkeywillnowREFUSEtoworkanylongerfor(unfair!)cucumber

(Brosnan 2006)

BothCebus monkeys,&theapes(Chimps)testedshowedsuchasensitivitytofairness...

Fairness

• UnlikeNHPs,humansalsoexercise

thirdparty evaluation/enforcement

• i.e.Police others’behavior• Developelaborateculturalconventions

(laws,sanctions)toregulate

• Cachingcorvidsalsoharass3rdpartiesforstealingfromothers

ETHICS:Fairness

Notehowoftendependson

“Intention”

Onereasonweneedtogetagriponthisslipperytopic!

ReciprocalAltruism

Betweenunrelatedindividuals

Trackdebt,paybackinvariablecurrency,etc

ReciprocalAltruism

Onlystableifcandetect&punish“cheaters”

WasonSelectionTask

• Cardshaveletterononeside,numberontheother

• RULE:IfVowelononeside,thenmustbeOddonother

• Whichcard(s)arenecessary toturnovertoconfirm?

• Subjectsfindthisdifficult,donotalwayspickcorrectcard(s)!

1 2 A BMostcommonerror

WasonSelectionTask

• But,ifprovidecontextofobligation(socialcontract),easier!• i.e.YouworkforthepostalService,makesuremailerscomplywithrules

• RULE:IfletterSealed,thenmusthaveStamp

Same"logic"involvedasabove,butmuchEasier!CheckforCheaters!

1 2 A B

ChrisJohnson1606BirchAveEscondido,CA92027

ChrisJohnson1606BirchAveEscondido,CA92027

ETHICS

Doyourshare.Donoharm.Servethecommongood.

Culturalnormsofproperbehavior

“Good”/”Bad”varieswithculture,buttypicalexamplesrelatetoabove…

Learnbyobservation,imitation&reinforcement,ANDviasanctioningbyothersandinternalizeddis/approval

• But,CooperationalsooftenentailsCompetition

• Asaresult,canleadto InGroup/OutGroupDistinctions

• i.e.Humansmuchmorelikelytohelp membersofInGroup

InGroup/OutGroup

• CulturalnormsofteninvolvemarkingIn-Group-OutGroupdistinctions

InGroup/OutGroup

• Culturalnormsofteninvolvemarking In-Group-OutGroupdistinctions

InGroup/OutGroup

Language,especially,supportsthesedistinctions

Ifwecannotcommunicate,verydifficulttoCOOPERATE!

DidHomosapienseliminate

Homoneanderthalensisduetosuchdistinctions???

InGroup/OutGroup

LetusconsiderotheraspectsofBehavior&Cognitionthatareassociatedwithbeing

Cooperative…

SocialComplexity

Socialdomainisprobablythemostcognitivelydemanding...

SocialComplexity

Ina“simple” hierarchicalsociety,ConlyneedstotrackitsownDYADIC relationships.

Power=Rank

SocialComplexity

Powernot=Rank(deWaal,1986)

COALITIONSbetweenlowerranking

individualscanout-competehigherrankingindividuals

So,Cmusttracknotjustitsowndyadicrelations,

butalsotherelationsbetweenothers.

Dyadics

Power=Rank

Muchmorecognitivelydemanding!

SocialComplexitydemandsCognitiveComplexity

• Thus,inaboveexamples,whensee“NEW”behaviorslikepolicing,orrecognizing3rd partyhelp/hinder ...

• MayNOTbethatweevolvedtheabilitytodothesebehaviorsperse

• Instead,arisewhenaddnew“HelpingMatters”toasystemalreadyatuned toThirdPartyRelations

Hunter/GathererSociety

MEAT• Graduallyincreasinginhominiddiet

• w/Assortedothergatheredfoods,helpedtofueledbrainbloom

• EveninHomohabillis,(mostlikelyascavenger)stonetoolsusedtoaccessmarrow&meat,without“power-jaw”

Hunter/GathererSociety

“Predigest”meat,plantfoods,usingcontrolledfire

COOKING>>Largerbrain,shortergut,changeinteeth

Morenutritionallyaccessible,lesstimechewing,digesting

FIREforCOOKING

Doyourpart,coordinatedwithothersinspace&time

Accomplishtogetherwhatcannot(aseasilyoratall)beaccomplishedalone

Collaboration

Roles

• Abovedependsona

DivisionofLabor

• Bothwithin&betweenHuntersandGatherers

• e.g.H.erectus especiallymayhaverun-downprey• Averydifferentcontributionfromgathering!

• e.g.Hunting- Flankers,Drivers&Catchers;• e.g.Toolmaker,Thrower,Processorsofcarcass,etc.• e.g.Gathering– Youngcollectobviousnuts,olderextractroots,more

discriminantcollectherbs• Notemanytoolsprobablyforgathering;

• Mayhavebeenmade,usedmainlybyfemales(?)• Noteinchimpanzees,femalesareprimarytoolusers

TraditionalRoles

Possiblyperage,gender,status,etc.

Culturalconventions,aswellastalent,playaroleinassigningroles!

Roles

Plus,Status mayaccruetovariousroles

Roles

• Mayalsohelpselectfortheabstractcategorizationofbehavior,since“role”canbefilledbyvariousindividuals

Whowillplay...RoleXRoleY

SelfControl

Suppressnoisetostalk,Postponeactionuntilothersinplace,

etc.

Hunting

SelfControl

Whenobjectsarevaluable(requiretimetomake,arenecessarytoforage)thenkeeping/transportingthembecomesanissue

• Delaygratification(seeDiscussionof“time-travel”).

Carry

• Requireswesuppressuseofobject-in-hand

ManycooperativesituationsrequireSelfControl

SelfControl

Wearenottheonlyspeciesthatcanexerciseselfcontrol,butwedoitmore&betterthanmost.

SelfControl:PromoteGroupHarmony

Resistselfishimpulses,Donotexploitpartnersevenifprofitable

SelfControl:LivinginCloseQuarters

Suppresstempers– needtogetalong,esp intightquarters

Respecttheprivacyofothers

SelfControl

Adoptemotionalstateyouwanttopromoteinothers

“Motherese”

SeeupcomingreadingFalk2004

SelfControl

Concealemotion,controlgazedirection,

postponeactivityuntilhidden,etc.

MORETOCOME!

Deception

Planning

• Muchofabovebehaviormaybebaseonlong-termplans• “Actioninadvanceofneed”• (Consider Suddendorf &Corballis reading)

• Couldbearguedforalltool-makingandhunting/gatheringthatservesbeyondpersonal requirements

Planning

Whendidwestartcachingfood?

Tools?

Considerprimate-atypicalmemoryrequirementsinvolved

forwhat,where,howmuchstored

Etc?

WearetheCACHING primate

Teaching/Apprenticeship(SeeupcomingDevelopmentallecture)

Mosthumanpracticesrequireteaching

Teaching/Apprenticeship

Motivation topracticefromculturalexpectations

Evenwhentaught,refinedskillrequires

Practice

Teaching/Apprenticeship

• Requiresprovisioning byothers,ifyouaretosurvivewhileinvestingtimeinmaking,trainingtoolsforthegoodofself&others

Teaching/Apprenticeship

TheoryofMindrequiredforteaching?

ExperttakesintoaccountwhatNovice

knows/doesnotknow

MORETOCOME!