Cooperation and partner choice among Agta hunter-gatherer children: An evolutionary developmental perspective

Daniel Major-Smith*, Nikhil Chaudhary, Mark Dyble, Katie Major-Smith, Abigail E. Page, Gul Deniz Salali, Ruth Mace, Andrea B. Migliano

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Examining development is essential for a full understanding of behaviour, including how individuals acquire traits and how adaptive evolutionary forces shape these processes. The present study explores the development of cooperative behaviour among the Agta, a Filipino hunter-gatherer population. A simple resource allocation game assessing both levels of cooperation (how much children shared) and patterns of partner choice (who they shared with) was played with 179 children between the ages of 3 and 18. Children were given five resources (candies) and for each was asked whether to keep it for themselves or share with someone else, and if so, who this was. Between-camp variation in children's cooperative behaviour was substantial, and the only strong predictor of children's cooperation was the average level of cooperation among adults in camp; that is, children were more cooperative in camps where adults were more cooperative. Neither age, sex, relatedness or parental levels of cooperation were strongly associated with the amount children shared. Children preferentially shared with close kin (especially siblings), although older children increasingly shared with less-related individuals. Findings are discussed in terms of their implications for understanding cross-cultural patterns of children's cooperation, and broader links with human cooperative childcare and life history volution.

Original languageEnglish
Article numbere0284360
JournalPLoS ONE
Volume18
Issue number4 April
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Apr 2023
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Multidisciplinary

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Cooperation and partner choice among Agta hunter-gatherer children: An evolutionary developmental perspective'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this