An animal model of cooperating dyads: Methodological and theoretical' issues

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RICHARD SCHUSTERz

Abstract

Probably the most widespread form of cooperation in animals occurs when individuals learn to coordinate behaviors for joint outcomes. Coordination also characterizes courtship and aggression in a variety of species. Yet the social significance of coordinated actions is often neglected in favor of an individual behavior perspective with respect to what is learned and by what processes. Learning theory has generally followed the suggestion of Skinner that the same "laws of learning," based on behavior-outcome contingencies, are sufficient whether individuals cooperate or behave alone. Support comes from laboratory models of cooperation with animal or human subjects that minimize social interaction. Participants are physically isolated in separate chambers and individually reinforced according to how both behave. Isolation models have also been used by game theorists and behavioral ecologists to analyze how subjects choose between individual behaviors representing the options of cooperating and defecting. Field studies of cooperative coordination in both animals and humans demonstrate that outcomes alone are insufficient to explain why and how cooperation occurs. Cooperative behaviors and allocation of outcomes are shown to arise from social influences both during the performance and from shared membership insocial groups. In some cases, cooperation persists when participants benefit unequally or even when individual action seems to be more profitable. Research is described using a laboratory model to study social influences on cooperation. Pairs of laboratory rats are rewarded for coordinating back-and-forth shuttling within a shared chamber in which social interaction is unrestricted and pairs have considerable latitude in how the reinforcement contingency is satisfied. In addition, competition over outcomes can be evoked by periodic presentation of one or two reinforcements. Results are described showing that coordinated shuttling is a social behavior sensitive to the presence and type of partner and the reinforcement contingency. Pairs differ in levels of coordination and in the emergence of stable asymmetries in dimensions that include roles, aggressive dominance, and allocation of outcomes. Evidence is also presented that cooperation affects participants, modifying the preference between cooperative and individual options and increasing post-session consumption of the reinforcement.

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How to Cite
SCHUSTERz, R. (2011). An animal model of cooperating dyads: Methodological and theoretical’ issues. Mexican Journal of Behavior Analysis, 27(2), 165–200. https://doi.org/10.5514/rmac.v27.i2.23573