Discounting, reciprocity and cooperation

University Of Minnesota Twin Cities, Minneapolis MN

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Abstract

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This study explores how strategic reciprocity and temporal discounting interact to influence animal cooperation (i.e. they must not discount too strongly, and they must implement some form of reciprocity). This study develops a technique to assess the strength of discounting within a cooperative situation, and uses this technique to study how the temporal organization of an interaction affects the intensity of discounting. These assessments provide the background necessary to directly test ideas about strategy-discounting interactions. The experiments use the techniques of operant psychology to test captive blue jays (Cyanocitta cristata) in controlled payoff games. This study addresses basic questions about the organization of social behavior. Asking specifically, how the general problem of evaluating delayed benefits influences cooperation and selfishness. An understanding of animal social behavior, and the forces that shape it, will enlarge our understanding of human sociality by providing a basis for comparison and generalization.