Reviews behavioral experiments on costly cooperation and intergroup conflict.
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Distinguishes parochial cooperation from parochial competition as distinct strategies underlying intergroup interaction.
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Calls into question the predictive value of social identification.
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Identifies the neurohormonal and sociocultural underpinnings of parochialism.
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Specifies how human preparedness for prosociality manifests in both parochial cooperation and competition.
Abstract
Intergroup conflict can be modeled as a two-level game of strategy in which prosociality can take the form of trust and cooperation within groups or between groups. We review recent work, from our own laboratory and that of others, that shows how biological and sociocultural mechanisms that promote prosocial preferences and beliefs create in-group bounded, parochial cooperation, and, sometimes, parochial competition. We show when and how parochial cooperation and competition intensify rather than mitigate intergroup conflict.