Journal
PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
Volume 376, Issue 1819, Pages -Publisher
ROYAL SOC
DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0670
Keywords
experimental economics; capuchin monkey; chimpanzee; cooperation; trade; barter
Categories
Funding
- NSF [SES 1919305, SES 1658867]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
In the past decade, there has been a growing interest in using games derived from experimental economics to test decision-making behavior across species. These games are being used as tools to understand factors influencing decision-making, differences across species or contexts, and broader questions about species' tendencies to cooperate or compete. By breaking down economic decision-making into smaller components and using data from economic games, researchers aim to compare these components across species and contexts, leading to a better understanding of the evolution of economic behavior.
In the past decade, there has been a surge of interest in using games derived from experimental economics to test decision-making behaviour across species. In most cases, researchers are using the games as a tool, for instance, to understand what factors influence decision-making, how decision-making differs across species or contexts, or to ask broader questions about species' propensities to cooperate or compete. These games have been quite successful in this regard. To what degree, however, do these games tap into species' economic decision-making? For the purpose of understanding the evolution of economic systems in humans, this is the key question. To study this, we can break economic decision-making down into smaller components, each of which is a potential step in the evolution of human economic behaviour. We can then use data from economic games, which are simplified, highly structured models of decision-making and therefore ideal for the comparative approach, to directly compare these components across species and contexts, as well as in relation to more naturalistic behaviours, to better understand the evolution of economic behaviour and the social and ecological contexts that influenced it. The comparative approach has successfully informed us about the evolution of other complex traits, such as language and morality, and should help us more deeply understand why and how human economic systems evolved. This article is part of the theme issue 'Existence and prevalence of economic behaviours among non-human primates'.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available