LIFESCI 15 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Reciprocal Altruism, Master Sergeant, Blood Donation
Document Summary
Hamilton"s rule can help us see patterns that aren"t there. Among unrelated individuals, selfishness is the rule, kindness is the exception. Cooperation among non-kin is almost non-existent in the animal world. 10% of adults and 33% of juveniles fail to find a meal on any given night. They starve to death if it doesn"t get food on more than 2 consecutive nights. Full bat will sometimes regurgitate blood meal into a hungry bat"s mouth. *a bat is significantly more likely to give food to bats that have previously helped it. *bats shun individuals that do not help them. Cooperation is very rare in the animal kingdom. What conditions are conducive to reciprocal altruism: repeated interactions, high benefit to recipient relative to the cost to the actor, ability to keep tabs on people (and to punish cheaters) What is the big impediment to kindness? (from a biological perspective) Freeloaders over time its not going to make it.
