Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science pp 1–7Cite as

Social Reasoning Affected by Rank (Mealey, Daood, Krage, 1996)

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:

  • 127 Accesses

Synonyms

Cheater detection; Dominance; Reasoning about social norms; Social exchange algorithms; Social rank

Definition

The influence of the social status of a person within a group or society on cheater detection and memory for cheaters.

Introduction

Most human societies and primate groups are pervaded by social dominance hierarchies. It is therefore plausible to assume that our cognitive system is shaped by selective pressures that require the individuals to adapt to the hierarchical organization of these social environments. Specifically, dominance theory (Cummins 1998, 1999, 2005) implies that the reasoning about social norms is affected by social rank. This hypothesis seems quite reasonable considering that social dominance hierarchies can be defined as a set of explicit or implicit social norms that define who is allowed to gain access to valuable resources (such as mates or food) and who is not. A social dominance hierarchy can only be maintained if the individuals in the group...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

References

  • Barclay, P., & Lalumière, M. L. (2006). Do people differentially remember cheaters? Human Nature, 17, 98–113. doi:10.1007/s12110-006-1022-y.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bell, R., & Buchner, A. (2012). How adaptive is memory for cheaters? Current Directions in Psychological Science, 21, 403–408. doi:10.1177/0963721412458525.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Buchner, A., Bell, R., Mehl, B., & Musch, J. (2009). No enhanced recognition memory, but better source memory for faces of cheaters. Evolution and Human Behavior, 30, 212–224. doi:10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2009.01.004.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cosmides, L., & Tooby, J. (2005). Neurocognitive adaptations designed for social exchange. In D. M. Buss (Ed.), The handbook of evolutionary psychology (pp. 584–627). Hoboken: Wiley. doi:10.1002/9780470939376.ch20.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cummins, D. D. (1998). Social norms and other minds: The evolutionary roots of higher cognition. In D. D. Cummins & C. A. Allen (Eds.), The evolution of mind (pp. 30–50). New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cummins, D. D. (1999). Cheater detection is modified by social rank: The impact of dominance on the evolution of cognitive functions. Evolution and Human Behavior, 20, 229–248. doi:10.1016/S1090-5138%2899%2900008-2.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cummins, D. D. (2005). Dominance, status, and social hierarchies. In D. M. Buss (Ed.), The handbook of evolutionary psychology (pp. 676–697). Hoboken: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fiddick, L., & Cummins, D. D. (2001). Reciprocity in ranked relationships: Does social structure influence social reasoning? Journal of Bioeconomics, 3, 149–270. doi:10.1023/A:1020572212265.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fiddick, L., & Cummins, D. (2007). Are perceptions of fairness relationship-specific? The case of noblesse oblige. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology (2006), 60, 16–31. doi:10.1080/17470210600577266.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fiddick, L., Cummins, D. D., Janicki, M., Lee, S., & Erlich, N. (2013). A cross-cultural study of noblesse oblige in economic decision-making. Human Nature, 24, 318–335. doi:10.1007/s12110-013-9169-9.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Francis, G. (2012). Evidence that publication bias contaminated studies relating social class and unethical behavior. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 109, 1587. doi:10.1073/pnas.1203591109.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gigerenzer, G., & Hug, K. (1992). Domain-specific reasoning: Social contracts, cheating, and perspective change. Cognition, 43, 127–171. doi:10.1016/0010-0277(92)90060-U.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Holyoak, K. J., & Cheng, P. W. (1995). Pragmatic reasoning with a point of view. Thinking and Reasoning, 4, 289–313. doi:10.1080/13546789508251504.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krupka, E. L., & Weber, R. A. (2013). Identifying social norms using coordination games: Why does dictator game sharing vary? Journal of the European Economic Association, 11, 495–524. doi:10.1111/jeea.12006.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mealey, L., Daood, C., & Krage, M. (1996). Enhanced memory for faces of cheaters. Ethology and Sociobiology, 17, 119–128. doi:10.1016/0162-3095(95)00131-X.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mehl, B., & Buchner, A. (2008). No enhanced memory for faces of cheaters. Evolution and Human Behavior, 29, 35–41. doi:10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2007.08.001.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Piff, P. K., Stancato, D. M., Cote, S., Mendoza-Denton, R., & Keltner, D. (2012). Higher social class predicts increased unethical behavior. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 109, 4086–4091. doi:10.1073/pnas.1118373109.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wason, P. C. (1968). Reasoning about a rule. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 20, 273–281. doi:10.1080/14640746808400161.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany

    Raoul Bell & Axel Buchner

Authors
  1. Raoul Bell
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Axel Buchner
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Raoul Bell or Axel Buchner .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Oakland Univ Dept of Psycholgy, Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Viviana Weekes-Shackelford

  2. Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Todd K. Shackelford

  3. Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Viviana A. Weekes-Shackelford

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

About this entry

Cite this entry

Bell, R., Buchner, A. (2016). Social Reasoning Affected by Rank (Mealey, Daood, Krage, 1996). 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_2631-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_2631-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation