title: Self-interested agents create, maintain, and modify group-functional culture.
abstract: We agree that institutions and rules are crucial for explaining human sociality, but we question the claim of there not being "alternatives to CGS [that] can easily account for the institutionalized cooperation that characterizes human societies" (target article, sect. 7). Hypothesizing that self-interested individuals coercively and collaboratively create rules, we propose that agent-based hypotheses offer viable alternatives to cultural group selection (CGS).
authors: Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Peabody Museum, Cambridge, MA 02138. manvirsingh@fas.harvard.edu http://www.manvir.org
authors: Manvir
authors: M
authors: Singh
authors: Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Peabody Museum, Cambridge, MA 02138. glowacki@fas.harvard.edu http://scholar.harvard.edu/glowacki/home
authors: Luke
authors: L
authors: Glowacki
authors: Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Peabody Museum, Cambridge, MA 02138. wrangham@fas.harvard.edu
authors: Richard W
authors: RW
authors: Wrangham
mesh_terms: D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D003469:Culture; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations