The evolution of universal cooperation

Jörg Gross; Zsombor Z. Méder; Carsten K.W. De Dreu; Angelo Romano; Welmer E. Molenmaker; Laura C. Hoenig

doi:10.1126/sciadv.add8289

The evolution of universal cooperation

Jörg Gross
, Zsombor Z. Méder
, Carsten K.W. De Dreu
, Angelo Romano
, Welmer E. Molenmaker
, Laura C. Hoenig

Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

Humans work together in groups to tackle shared problems and contribute to local club goods that benefit other group members. Whereas benefits from club goods remain group bound, groups are often nested in overarching collectives that face shared problems like pandemics or climate change. Such challenges require individuals to cooperate across group boundaries, raising the question how cooperation can transcend beyond confined groups. Here, we show how frequent intergroup interactions allow groups to transition from group-bound to universal cooperation. With frequent intergroup interactions, reciprocity of cooperative acts permeates group boundaries and enables the evolution of universal cooperation. As soon as intergroup interactions take place frequently, people start to selectively reward cooperation aimed at benefitting everyone, irrespective of their group membership. Simulations further show that it becomes more difficult to overcome group-bound cooperation when populations are fragmented into many small groups. Our findings reveal important prerequisites for the evolution of universal cooperation.

Original language	English
Article number	eadd8289
Journal	Science Advances
Volume	9
Issue number	7
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.add8289
Publication status	Published - 17 Feb 2023
Externally published	Yes

Funding

We would like to thank N. Kurtenbach and T. Hibbert-Greaves for assistance with data collection. This project has received funding from the Netherlands Science Foundation (VENI 016.Veni.195.078) and the European Union (European Research Council Grant 101039296) to J.G. and the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (AdG agreement no. 785635) to C.K.W.D.D. Views and opinions expressed are, however, those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Council. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them. Acknowledgments:W ewouldliketothankN.KurtenbachandT .Hibbert-Greav es for assistance with data collection. Funding: This project has received funding from the NetherlandsScienceFoundation(VENI016.Veni.195.078)andtheEuropeanUnion(European ResearchCouncilGrant101039296)toJ.G.andtheEuropeanResearchCouncil(ERC)underthe European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (AdG agreement no. 785635)toC.K.W .D.D. Viewsandopinionsexpressedare,however,thoseoftheauthorsonly anddonotnecessarilyreflectthoseoftheEuropeanUnionortheEuropeanResearchCouncil. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them. Author contributions: J.G. conceived the research. J.G. designed the research with contributionsfromZ.Z.M.,C.K.W .D.D., A.R.,andW .E.M. J.G.andZ.Z.M.performednumericaland agent-basedsimulations.J.G.andL.C.H..performedtheexperiment.J.G.analyzedthedata.J.G. wrote the manuscript with critical revisions from Z.Z.M., C.K.W .D.D., and A.R. Competing interests:Theauthorsdeclarethattheyhav enocompetinginterests.Dataandmaterials availability:Alldataneededtoevaluatetheconclusionsinthepaperarepresentinthepaper and/ortheSupplementaryMaterials.

Funders	Funder number
European ResearchCouncilGrant101039296
Netherlands Science Foundation	VENI 016
NetherlandsScienceFoundation
Horizon 2020 Framework Programme	785635
European Commission
European Research Council	101039296

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The evolution of universal cooperation

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