Some Thoughts on the Adaptive Function of Inequity Aversion: An Alternative to Brosnan s Social Hypothesis
نویسندگان
چکیده
In this commentary, we review and question Brosnan’s hypothesis that inequity aversion (IA) evolved as a domain-specific social mechanism. We then outline an alternative, domain-general, account of IA. As opposed to Brosnan’s social hypothesis, we propose that IA evolved from more general reward mechanisms. In particular, we argue reference-dependence and loss-aversion can account for the evolution of IA in primates. We discuss recent work on reference-dependence and explore how it may have given rise to inequality-averse behavior in social settings. We conclude with suggestions for future work examining the proximate mechanisms that give rise to IA.
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Attending to the outcome of others: disadvantageous inequity aversion in male capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella).
Brosnan and de Waal [Nature 425:297-299, 2003] reported that capuchin monkeys responded negatively to unequal reward distributions between themselves and another individual when comparing their own rewards with that of their partner. It was suggested that social emotions provided the underlying motivation for such behavior and that this inequity aversion is specific to the social domain. Howeve...
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