Parochial cooperation in wild chimpanzees: a model to explain the evolution of parochial altruism.
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Publication Date
2022-04-04ISSN
0962-8436
Language
eng
Type
Article
This Version
VoR
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Lemoine, S. R. T., Samuni, L., Crockford, C., & Wittig, R. M. (2022). Parochial cooperation in wild chimpanzees: a model to explain the evolution of parochial altruism.. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2021.0149
Description
Funder: Max-Planck-Gesellschaft
Abstract
Parochial altruism, taking individual costs to benefit the in-group and harm the out-group, has been proposed as one of the mechanisms underlying the human ability of large-scale cooperation. How parochial altruism has evolved remains unclear. In this review paper, we formulate a parochial cooperation model in small-scale groups and examine the model in wild chimpanzees. As suggested for human parochial altruism, we review evidence that the oxytocinergic system and in-group cooperation and cohesion during out-group threat are integral parts of chimpanzee collective action during intergroup competition. We expand this model by suggesting that chimpanzee parochial cooperation is supported by the social structure of chimpanzee groups which enables repeated interaction history and established social ties between co-operators. We discuss in detail the role of the oxytocinergic system in supporting parochial cooperation, a pathway that appears integral already in chimpanzees. The reviewed evidence suggests that prerequisites of human parochial altruism were probably present in the last common ancestor between <i>Pan</i> and <i>Homo</i>. This article is part of the theme issue 'Intergroup conflict across taxa'.
Keywords
Primates, Oxytocin, Human evolution, Social Ties, In-group Out-group, Parochial Cooperation Model, Animals, Humans, Pan troglodytes, Altruism, Cooperative Behavior, Family, Group Processes
Identifiers
35369746, PMC8977654
External DOI: https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2021.0149
This record's URL: https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/336867
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