2-185 - Evolutionary Perspectives on Prosociality: Comparative Work with Human Children, Chimpanzees, Orangutans, and Rats

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

In the ongoing debate concerning the origins of human prosociality two main arguments have been put forward: The first proposes that prosociality is a biological predisposition shared to a great extent with non-human primates (e.g. Warneken, 2016). Another class of theories argues that prosocial bejavior is the result of socialization and the internalization of social norms (Bar-Tal, 1983; Eisenberg & Mussen, 1989). Crucial evidence can come from comparing human children motivation to help and collaborate with that of other non-human mammals. In this panel each paper investigates the psychological mechanisms underlying prosocial behavior in a variety of species including human children, chimpanzees, orang-utans, and rats, highly intelligent social animals that are not as closely related to humans as the great apes. In particular, the first paper investigates whether only human children in comparison to chimpanzees help others paternalistically. The second paper focuses on orang-utans, a semi-solitary great ape species that has received little investigation in terms of cooperation and shows that while being very capable of successfully cooperating, they do so mostly for self-serving purposed, disregarding their partner’s payoff. The third paper focuses on rats and shows how they can actively help robotic agents that have previously interacted with them, opening new avenues for more controlled studies of helping in non-human animals. Together theses papers provide novel insights into the mechanisms underlying helping and collaborating in human an non-human animals and further clarify to what degree human prosociality may be unique in the animal kingdom.

Sub Unit

• Moral Development

Chair

• Federico Rossano, UCSD Cognitive Science

Discussant

• Felix Warneken, Harvard University

Individual Presentations

• Paternalism in human children and non-human primates - Presenting Author: Robert Hepach, Max Planck Institute, Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig; Leila Benziad, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Antrhopology, Leipzig; Michael Tomasello, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology

• Strategic cooperation in adult zoo-living Sumatran orangutans (Pongo abelii) - Presenting Author: Federico Rossano, UCSD Cognitive Science; Christoph Johannes Voelter, University of St. Andrews; Josep Call, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology & University of St. Andrews

• Rats Show Reciprocity to Robots - Presenting Author: Luisa Schuster, UCSD; Laleh Quinn, UCSD; Marcelo Aguilar-Rivera, UCSD; Joshua Arnold, University of Queensland; David Ball, University of Queensland; Zinta Flodine, University of Queensland; Scott Heath, University of Queensland; Jesse Holt, UCSD; Alexia Lee, University of Queensland; Daeun Lee, UCSD; Jonathon Taufatofua, University of Queensland; Janet Wiles, University of Queensland; Andrea Chiba, UCSD