The intentionality behind giving, the computation based on expected returns, in addition to the shared knowledge of the value of the traded items showed that calculated reciprocity underpinned the transfers of goods
2009
Key concepts
Scholarcy highlights
- 1. INTRODUCTION Economics in human societies constitute a notable anomaly compared with the animal kingdom
- Passive food transfers are frequently observed among conspecifics, active transfers are much less frequent and reciprocal food transfers are virtually nonexistent in non-human primates
- The present study aimed at exploring whether the propensity to give in orang-utans may depreciate over time and trial repetition owing to a lack of reciprocity or, instead, evolve towards balanced exchanges
- We observed an increase in the occurrence and length of consecutive turn taking. This is the first experimental demonstration in nonhuman primates of the occurrence of calculated reciprocity through the repeated exchanges of goods. It is currently unclear whether increasing the number of trials or slightly changing the procedure by compelling orang-utans to exchange with their partner to get valuable tokens was the reason for the appearance of a more sophisticated token transfer system
- The intentionality behind giving, the computation based on expected returns, in addition to the shared knowledge of the value of the traded items showed that calculated reciprocity underpinned the transfers of goods
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