Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2015
Abstract
Bickerton (2009, 2014) hypothesizes that language emerged as the solution to a scavenging problem faced by proto‐humans. We design a virtual world to explore how people use words to persuade others to work together for a common end. By gradually reducing the vocabularies that the participants can use, we trace the process of solving the hominin scavenging problem. Our experiment changes the way we think about social dilemmas. Instead of asking how does a group overcome the selfinterest of its constituents, the question becomes, how do constituents persuade one another to work together for a common end that yields a common benefit?
Recommended Citation
Wilson, B.J, & Harris, S.R. (2015). Language and cooperation in hominin scavenging. ESI Working Paper 15-29. Retrieved from http://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/esi_working_papers/191
Comments
Working Paper 15-29
This working paper was later published as:
Wilson, B., & Harris, S. (2017). Language and cooperation in hominin scavenging. Evolution and Human Behavior, 38(3), 376-396. doi: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2016.11.009