Where does cooperation collide?

In evolutionary biology, cooperation is a behavior through which one individual provides a benefit to another, and its central puzzle is how such behavior can survive when natural selection generally favors selfish individuals who take benefits without paying costs. Nowak's 2006 Five Rules for the Evolution of Cooperation set out the main mechanisms that let cooperation spread, including kin selection, direct and indirect reciprocity, and spatial or network structure. Here the referent is a trait scored by its effect on reproductive success across a population, which differs from the game theorist's strategic move, the diplomat's bargain between states, and the child's shared activity, even though all four wear the word cooperation.[1]

Unit

A helping behavior, scored by its effect on reproductive fitness

Recovery means

Not applicable

Measured by

Modeled by whether a cooperative trait spreads or is lost under selection, and tested in populations of microbes, animals, or humans

In game theory, cooperation is the choice of the jointly beneficial action in a social dilemma, a situation such as the prisoner's dilemma where each player does better by defecting but both do worse when everyone defects. Axelrod and Hamilton's 1981 The Evolution of Cooperation, drawing on Axelrod's computer tournaments, showed that a simple reciprocating strategy can sustain cooperation among self-interested players who meet again and again. The referent is a strategic move defined against a payoff structure, not a biological trait, an accord between governments, or a coordinated joint task, though the single word covers them all.[2]

Unit

A player's move that raises the joint payoff in a social dilemma

Recovery means

Not applicable

Measured by

Studied through the payoff matrix of games like the repeated prisoner's dilemma, and through strategy tournaments and simulations

In international relations, cooperation is the problem of how self-interested states achieve mutual gains when no central authority exists to enforce their agreements, a condition scholars call anarchy. Axelrod and Keohane's 1985 Achieving Cooperation under Anarchy argued that shared interests, the expectation of future dealings, and institutions such as regimes can let states coordinate their policies despite the absence of a world government. The referent is a pattern of policy adjustment among governments, read from treaties and institutions, which is not a helping trait in biology, a move in a game, or a toddler's joint play.[3]

Unit

A pattern of policy adjustment among states toward mutual gain

Recovery means

Not applicable

Measured by

Traced through treaties, regimes, and international institutions, and through whether states' policies converge over repeated dealings

In developmental and social psychology, cooperation is a jointly coordinated activity in which partners share a goal and each keeps track of the other's part, a capacity that rests on what is called shared intentionality. Tomasello, Carpenter, Call, Behne, and Moll's 2005 Understanding and Sharing Intentions argued that from early childhood humans, unlike other apes, form shared goals and joint attention that underpin culture and language. The referent is a psychological ability to act together, observed in children and primates, distinct from an evolved fitness trait, a strategic move, or a bargain struck between nations.[4]

Unit

A joint activity built on a shared goal and joint attention

Recovery means

Not applicable

Measured by

Observed in collaboration tasks with young children and other apes, coding shared goals, role-taking, and spontaneous helping