Culture and group-functional punishment behaviour
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Espín Martín, Antonio Manuel; Brañas Garza, Pablo; Gamella Mora, Juan Francisco; Herrmann, Benedikt; Martín Rodríguez, JesúsEditorial
Cambridge University Press
Materia
Cooperation punishment Gypsy/Roma Culture Evolution
Date
2022-08-01Referencia bibliográfica
Espín, A., Brañas-Garza, P., Gamella, J., Herrmann, B., & Martín, J. (2022). Culture and group-functional punishment behaviour. Evolutionary Human Sciences, 4, E35. [doi:10.1017/ehs.2022.32]
Sponsorship
Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (PGC2018-093506-B-I00, ECO2013-44879-R); Regional Government ofAndalusia (PY18-FR-0007, P11-SEJ-8286 and P12-SEJ-1436); European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement no. 754446; UGR Research and Knowledge Transfer Fund – Athenea3i; Funding for open access charge: Universidad de GranadaAbstract
Humans often ‘altruistically’ punish non-cooperators in one-shot interactions among genetically unrelated
individuals. This poses an evolutionary puzzle because altruistic punishment enforces cooperation norms
that benefit the whole group but is costly for the punisher. One key explanation is that punishment follows
a social-benefits logic: it is eminently normative and group-functional (drawing on cultural group selection
theories). In contrast, mismatch-based deterrence theory argues that punishment serves the individual-
level function of deterring mistreatment of oneself and one’s allies, hinging upon the evolved human
coalitional psychology. We conducted multilateral-cooperation experiments with a sample of Spanish
Romani people (Gitanos or Calé) and the non-Gitano majority. The Gitanos represent a unique case
study because they rely heavily on close kin-based networks and display a strong ethnic identity. We
find that Gitano non-cooperators were not punished by co-ethnics in only-Gitano (ethnically) homogeneous
groups but were harshly punished by other Gitanos and by non-Gitanos in ethnically mixed groups.
Our findings suggest the existence of culture-specific motives for punishment: Gitanos, especially males,
appear to use punishment to protect their ethnic identity, whereas non-Gitanos use punishment to protect
a norm of universal cooperation. Only theories that consider normative, group-functional forces underlying
punishment behaviour can explain our data.