title: A few misunderstandings about reciprocal altruism.
abstract: Current discussion about reciprocal altruism is plagued by a few points of continuing disagreement/misunderstanding. In order to facilitate progress in understanding the role of reciprocity in animal societies, in this paper we try to highlight these points of disagreement/misunderstanding. Our contribution can be summarized by the following statements: (1) A temporal contingency between action and reciprocation is not the sole valid evidence for reciprocal altruism; (2) Reciprocity is not (always) cognitively demanding; (3) Kin biases in altruism are not necessarily and entirely due to kin selection; (4) Mutualism can also involve reciprocal partner choice; (5) Biological market theory is an extension of reciprocal altruism theory.
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Scienze e Tecnologie della Cognizione; Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche; Rome Italy.
authors.forename: Gabriele
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Schino
authors.forename: Filippo
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Aureli