Authors
Björn Lindström, Andreas Olsson
Publication date
2015/6
Journal
Journal of Experimental Psychology: General
Volume
144
Issue
3
Pages
688
Publisher
American Psychological Association
Description
Many nonhuman animals preferentially copy the actions of others when the environment contains predation risk or other types of danger. In humans, the role of social learning in avoidance of danger is still unknown, despite the fundamental importance of social learning for complex social behaviors. Critically, many social behaviors, such as cooperation and adherence to religious taboos, are maintained by threat of punishment. However, the psychological mechanisms allowing threat of punishment to generate such behaviors, even when actual punishment is rare or absent, are largely unknown. To address this, we used both computer simulations and behavioral experiments. First, we constructed a model where simulated agents interacted under threat of punishment and showed that mechanisms’(a) tendency to copy the actions of others through social learning, together with (b) the rewarding properties of …
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