Doctoral Dissertation: The Role of Culture in the Practice and Maintenance of Cooperation: A Cross-Cultural Study in Detroit, MI

University Of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles CA

Investigators

Abstract

This project will investigate how cooperation is achieved and maintained by examining "norms of pro-social beliefs and punishment" among the Hmong (Laos) and Chaldean (Iraq) populations of Detroit. It argues that because cooperation (reciprocal altruism) varies extensively cross-culturally, that culture must play a major role in shaping pro-social norms. Culturally transmitted beliefs (norms) concerning pro-sociality maintain cooperation among large groups of unrelated individuals despite the evolutionary expectation that "free-riders" will undermine the viability of the group. The two migrant groups chosen for the study differ significantly in their cultural patterns of cooperation. The research is framed within theories of economic/evolutionary ecology.