General-purpose cooperativeness and altruism in humans: elements of the mathematical framework for the Interdependence Hypothesis

TL;DR

This paper introduces a formal decision-making model for joint intentionality, linking it to the evolution of cooperation and altruism in humans through the Interdependence Hypothesis, and explains cooperation emergence via cultural group selection.

Contribution

It provides a mathematical framework for understanding human cooperativeness and altruism, formalizing the Interdependence Hypothesis and applying it to strategic conflicts.

Findings

Joint intentionality can be modeled as micro-level group-mindedness.

Evolution of joint intentionality supports collaboration and altruism.

Cultural group selection explains cooperation in high-risk conflicts.

Abstract

We propose a decision-making model for joint intentionality by interpreting it as group-mindedness at the microlevel. We apply this model to give a formal justification of the first part of the Interdependence Hypothesis due to Tomasello et al. [Current Anthropology, 2012] which asserts that the emergence of joint intentionality evolved due to the challenges of difficult collaborative foraging practices among early humans, and that its evolution led to robust collaboration and some form of altruism. In another application of the microlevel group-mindedness we consider the problem of establishing cooperation in high-risk-of-defection strategic conflicts and we show that the emergence of cooperation in such situations can be explained in the context of cultural group selection as the result of adaptive learning.