EAPSI: A Cross-cultural Study of the Relationship Between Social Ecology and Evolved Cognitive Systems for Forgiveness

Mccauley Thomas G, Middletown DE

Investigators

Abstract

Social relationships are a key component of human life. However, even the strongest of relationships can come under duress in the event that one partner harms or offends the other. Rather than abandoning these relationships, people frequently respond by forgiving. Because forgiveness is crucial in maintaining valuable cooperative relationships, researchers have suggested that humans possess evolved psychological mechanisms designed for achieving forgiveness. These mechanisms utilize two criteria in determining whether an individual will forgive or abandon a relationship: the value of the relationship, and the likelihood that the offender will exploit them again. The purpose of this project is to investigate the operation of these forgiveness mechanisms across diverse cultural landscapes, as cultures vary in terms of the social opportunities they offer, consequently impacting relationship value. Cultures that offer few opportunities for new relationship partners commensurately raise the value of existing relationships, making people more willing to forgive; when new relationships are scarce, there is external incentive to give someone another chance. In contrast, in cultures where new relationships are plentiful, individuals may be less motivated to tolerate a harmful partner. This project will be conducted at Kobe University in Japan in collaboration with Dr. Yohsuke Ohtsubo, an expert in forgiveness research. Japan is the ideal place to study this phenomenon, fostering a society where new social relationships are difficult to find, making it an optimal foil to the United States, a society that affords the opportunity to form many new social relationships. This project aims to explain cross-cultural variation in forgiveness using a socio-ecological perspective, emphasizing that behavior and psychology are often the product of game theoretic strategies that individuals adopt in response to local environmental conditions. In addition, this project furthers research on the evolved design of psychological mechanisms undergirding forgiveness and cooperation. This award ,under the East Asia and Pacific Summer Institutes program, supports summer research by a U.S. graduate student and is jointly funded by NSF and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.