2005 HowAnimalsDoBusiness

• (de Waal, 2005) ⇒ Frans B. M. de Waal. (2005). “How Animals Do Business.” In: Scientific American, 292. doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0405-72

Subject Headings: Behavioral Economics, Reciprocity, Reciprocity Mechanism.

Cited By

• ~27 http://scholar.google.com/scholar?cites=1331560571720410802

2005

• (Mendez et al., 2005) ⇒ Mario F Mendez, Eric Anderson, and Jill S Shapira. (2005). “An Investigation of Moral Judgement in Frontotemporal Dementia.” In: Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology Journal, 18(4).

Quotes

Overview/Evolved Economics

• The new field of behavioral economics views the way humans conduct business as an evolved heritage of our species.
• Just as tit for tat and supply and demand influence the trading of goods and services in human economies, they also affect trading activities among animals.
• Emotional reactions — such as outrage at unfair arrangements — underlie the negotiations of both animals and humans.
• This shared psychology may explain such curious behaviors as altruism — they are part of our background as cooperative primates.

What Makes Reciprocity Tick

• Humans and other animals exchange benefits in several ways, known technically as reciprocity mechanisms. No matter what the mechanism, the common thread is that benefits find their way back to the original giver.
• Mechanism: Calculated Reciprocity.
  • Analogy: “What have you done for me lately?”
  • Key Features: Mutual affection between two parties prompts similar behavior in both directions without need to keep track of daily give-and-take, so long as the overall relationship remains satisfactory. Possibly the most common mechanism of reciprocity in nature, this kind is typical of humans and chimpanzees in close relationships.
  • Example: Chimpanzee friends associate, groom together and support each other in fights.
• Mechanism: Attitudinal Reciprocity.
  • Analogy: “If you’re nice, I’ll be nice”
  • Key Features: Parties mirror one another’s attitudes, exchanging favors on the spot. Instant attitudinal reciprocity occurs among monkeys, and people often rely on it with strangers.
  • Example: Capuchins share food with those who help them pull a treat-laden tray.
• Mechanism: Symmetry-based Reciprocity.
  • Analogy: “We’re buddies”
  • Key Features: Individuals keep track of the benefits they exchange with particular partners, which helps them decide to whom to return favors. This mechanism is typical of chimpanzees and common among people in distant and professional relationships.
  • Example: Chimpanzees can expect food in the afternoon from those they groomed in the morning.

More to Explore

• (de Wall, 1997) ⇒ Frans B. M. de Waal. (1997). “The Chimpanzee’s Service Economy: Food for Grooming.” In: Evolution and Human Behavior, Vol. 18, No. 6, pages 375–386; November 1997.
• (de Waal & Berger, 2000) ⇒ * Frans B. M. de Waal, and Michelle L. Berger. (2000). “Payment for Labour in Monkeys.” In: Nature, 404.
• (Bshary & Schäffer, 2002) ⇒ * R. Bshary, and D. Schäffer. (2002). “Choosy Reef Fish Select Cleaner Fish That Provide High-Quality Service.” In: Animal Behaviour, 63(3).
• (Henzi & Barrett, 2002) ⇒ * S. P. Henzi, and L. Barrett. (2002). “Infants as a Commodity in a Baboon Market. In: Animal Behaviour, 63(5).
• (Brosnan & de Waal, 2003) ⇒ * Sarah F. Brosnan, and Frans B. M. de Waal. (2003). “Monkeys Reject Unequal Pay.” In: Nature, 425.
• Living Links Center site: http://www.emory.edu/LIVING_LINKS/
• Classic cooperation experiment with chimpanzees: http://www.emory.edu/LIVING_LINKS/crawfordvideo.html,

	Author	volume	Date Value	title	type	journal	titleUrl	doi	note	year
2005 HowAnimalsDoBusiness	Frans B. M. de Waal			How Animals Do Business		Scientific American	http://www.emory.edu/LIVING LINKS/pdf attachments/SciAM business 2005.pdf	10.1038/scientificamerican0405-72		2005