Cooperation creates selection for tactical deception.
Citation:
McNally L, Jackson AL, Cooperation creates selection for tactical deception., Proceedings. Biological sciences / The Royal Society, 280, 1762, 2013, 20130699Download Item:
Abstract:
Conditional social behaviours such as partner choice and reciprocity are held
to be key mechanisms facilitating the evolution of cooperation, particularly in
humans. Although how these mechanisms select for cooperation has been
explored extensively, their potential to select simultaneously for complex
cheating strategies has been largely overlooked. Tactical deception, the mis-
representation of the state of the world to another individual, may allow
cheaters to exploit conditional cooperation by tactically misrepresenting their
past actions and/or current intentions. Here we first use a simple game-
theoretic model to show that the evolution of cooperation can create selection
pressures favouring the evolution of tactical deception. This effect is driven by
deception weakening cheater detection in conditional cooperators, allowing
tactical deceivers to elicit cooperation at lower costs, while simple cheats are
recognized and discriminated against. We then provide support for our theor-
etical predictions using a comparative analysis of deception across primate
species. Our results suggest that the evolution of conditional strategies may,
in addition to promoting cooperation, select for astute cheating and associated
psychological abilities. Ultimately, our ability to convincingly lie to each other
may have evolved as a direct result of our cooperative nature.
Sponsor
Grant Number
Irish Research Council for Science and Engineering Technology (IRCSET)
Author's Homepage:
http://people.tcd.ie/jacksoanDescription:
PUBLISHED
Author: JACKSON, ANDREW
Type of material:
Journal ArticleCollections
Series/Report no:
Proceedings. Biological sciences / The Royal Society280
1762
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Full text availableSubject (TCD):
Neuroscience , Smart & Sustainable PlanetDOI:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2013.0699Metadata
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