Theoretical and empirical investigation of linkages between altruism, sanction, parochialism, outgroup agression

Research Project

Project/Area Number	18H01077
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
Allocation Type	Single-year Grants
Section	一般
Review Section	Basic Section 10010:Social psychology-related
Research Institution	Hokkaido University
Principal Investigator	Takahashi Nobuyuki 北海道大学, 文学研究院, 教授 (80333582)
Project Period (FY)	2018-04-01 – 2022-03-31
Project Status	Completed (Fiscal Year 2022)
Budget Amount *help	¥15,860,000 (Direct Cost: ¥12,200,000、Indirect Cost: ¥3,660,000) Fiscal Year 2021: ¥4,030,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,100,000、Indirect Cost: ¥930,000) Fiscal Year 2020: ¥4,550,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,500,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,050,000) Fiscal Year 2019: ¥3,770,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,900,000、Indirect Cost: ¥870,000) Fiscal Year 2018: ¥3,510,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,700,000、Indirect Cost: ¥810,000)
Keywords	協力 / 利他性 / サンクション / 偏狭さ / 評判 / 外集団攻撃
Outline of Final Research Achievements	Homo Sapience is the only species that can attain large-scale cooperation. Although what aspects of Homo Sapience contribute to the maintenance of mutual cooperation has been studied extensively in various disciplines, from humanities to biology, however, there has been no clear answer. The current study focuses on the “strong reciprocity hypothesis,” considered one of the most popular theories, and examines its empirical validity. This hypothesis argues that there is a strong linkage between cooperation, punishment, parochialism, and outgroup aggression. The current study examined the relationship between these behaviors by conducting laboratory and online experiments. The results showed that cooperation has little or no relationship between the other three behaviors. These results are counter-evidence to the strong reciprocity hypothesis.
Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements	強い互恵性仮説によれば、他者に協力し、非協力者に罰を与え、かつ外集団を攻撃するのが人間の本質であるということになる。もしこれが真実だとすれば、社会科学全般において非常に大きな意味を持つことは言を俟たない。人間の本質的利他性と戦争は不可分であるということを意味するからである。このことは、戦争の正当化につながるばかりでなく、戦争のない世界の実現は極めて困難であることを含意する。従って、本研究は人間の本質に迫るという意味で自然科学及び人文学における最重要課題を扱うと同時に、社会科学全般においても、今まさに必要とされる研究と言える。