title: Toward an evolutionary definition of cheating.
abstract: The term "cheating" is used in the evolutionary and ecological literature to describe a wide range of exploitative or deceitful traits. Although many find this a useful short hand, others have suggested that it implies cognitive intent in a misleading way, and is used inconsistently. We provide a formal justification of the use of the term "cheat" from the perspective of an individual as a maximizing agent. We provide a definition for cheating that can be applied widely, and show that cheats can be broadly classified on the basis of four distinctions: (i) whether cooperation is an option; (ii) whether deception is involved; (iii) whether members of the same or different species are cheated; and (iv) whether the cheat is facultative or obligate. Our formal definition and classification provide a framework that allow us to resolve and clarify a number of issues, regarding the detection and evolutionary consequences of cheating, as well as illuminating common principles and similarities in the underlying selection pressures.
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology, Oxford University, Oxford, OX1 3PS, United Kingdom. melanie.ghoul@zoo.ox.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Melanie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ghoul
authors.forename: Ashleigh S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Griffin
authors.forename: Stuart A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: West
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D008192:Deception; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D012641:Selection, Genetic
keywords: Cheat; cooperation; deception; exploitation; intentional language; social evolution