Synonyms
Definition
A mutually beneficial exchange of goods or services.
Introduction
The term “reciprocal altruism” was introduced by Robert Trivers in his seminal 1971 paper to characterize exchanges of goods or services between two or more unrelated members of the same or different species that increase the fitness of each partner to the exchange. Trivers’ (1971) paper had a great deal of impact on the field of evolutionary biology because it offered an explanation for the evolution of altruism that could not be accounted for by kin selection. However, the term reciprocal altruism is ambiguous. Although the proffering and reciprocation of goods and services by each member of a reciprocal exchange may be considered altruistic because actors suffer costs to bestow benefits on recipients, the ultimate effect of the exchange is biologically selfish when it produces a net gain in fitness for both participants. Adaptations that enable such exchanges have evolved...
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References
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Krebs, D. (2016). Ingredients of Reciprocal Altruism. In: Weekes-Shackelford, V., Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_3048-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_3048-1
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