#283 Max Krasnow: The Evolution of Cooperation, Punishment, Honesty, and Deterrence
RECORDED ON NOVEMBER 8th, 2019.
Dr. Max Krasnow is Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at Harvard University. His research interests include: evolutionary psychology, evolution of sociality, psychology of cooperation and punishment, ecological rationality, and psychology of foraging. Dr. Krasnow’s primary line of research focuses on the evolutionary origins and computational design of the mechanisms underlying human cooperation and social behavior. Why are we more generous, trusting and cooperative, but also vengeful and punitive than an otherwise rational analysis would predict? He has been exploring how the answers to these questions neatly fall out by considering reliable features of the ancestral ecology and simple cognitive mechanisms that could evolve to benefit from them.
In this episode, we talk about different aspects of human sociality. We first discuss how we evolved to be so generous, trusting and cooperative. We address the different types of natural selection, namely, sexual selection and social selection, and also if we need group selection to explain things like strong reciprocity. We then talk about uncertainty in human interactions, and why we cooperate in one-shot interactions. We refer to the social role of vengeance and punishment; the evolution of honesty; the importance of social reputation; and how deterrence works in human societies.
Time Links:
Why are we so generous, trusting and cooperative?
Sexual selection, social selection, and how they are part of natural selection
Do we need group selection to explain altruism and strong reciprocity?
Uncertainty, and why we cooperate in one-shot interactions (even in modern societies)
The social role of vengeance and punishment
The evolution of honesty
The importance of social reputation
How deterrence works in human societies
Final remarks
Follow Dr. Krasnow’s work!
Follow Dr. Krasnow’s work:
Faculty page/website: http://bit.ly/2m8HutZ
Evolutionary Psychology Laboratory (Harvard): http://bit.ly/2kk9HO6
ResearchGate profile: http://bit.ly/2kKxJln
Twitter handle: @mmkrasnow
Relevant papers:
Are Humans Too Generous and Too Punitive? Using Psychological Principles to Further Debates about Human Social Evolution: http://bit.ly/36KTaWO
Evolution of direct reciprocity under uncertainty can explain human generosity in one-shot encounters: http://bit.ly/2CoNjs7
Group Cooperation without Group Selection: Modest Punishment Can Recruit Much Cooperation: http://bit.ly/2NREKvs
The Importance of Being Honest?: Evidence that Deception May Not Pollute Social Science Subject Pools After All: http://bit.ly/2NZ2FJw
The psychology of deterrence explains why group membership matters for third-party punishment: http://bit.ly/36LwfL6