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. 2009 Dec 23;5(6):752-4.
doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2009.0332. Epub 2009 Jul 1.

Altruists are trusted based on non-verbal cues

Ryo Oda  1 , Takuya Naganawa, Shinsaku Yamauchi, Noriko Yamagata, Akiko Matsumoto-Oda
Affiliations

Altruists are trusted based on non-verbal cues

Ryo Oda et al. Biol Lett. .

Abstract

The identification of altruists based on non-verbal cues might offer a solution to the problem of subtle cheating. Previous studies have indicated that the ability to discriminate altruists from non-altruists emerges during evolution. However, behavioural differences with regard to social exchanges involving altruists and non-altruists have not been studied. We investigated differences in responses to videotaped altruists and non-altruists with the Faith Game. Participants tended to entrust real money to altruists more than to non-altruists, providing strong evidence that cognitive adaptations evolve as counter-strategies to subtle cheating.

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