When deciding whom to choose for a cooperative interaction, two features of prospective
partners are especially relevant: ability to provide benefits, and willingness to provide those …

The early stage of partner selection is conceptualized as a decision-making process
amenable to at least two types of influence: contextual and procedural. An example of …

It has been shown that psychological predispositions to benefit others can motivate human
cooperation and the evolution of such social preferences can be explained with kin or multi …

Partner choice captures the idea that individuals exist in a biological market of potential
partners, and we can therefore choose or reject our social partners. While prior work has …

Game-theoretic experiments have revealed substantial individual differences where the
game allows for off-equilibrium behavior such as trust and reciprocity. We explore the …

Experiments can be used not only to test theory but also to measure preferences and assess
heterogeneity of behavior. I discuss the design of experimental measures of altruism and …

Highlights•People cooperate more when they can choose partners than when partners are
fixed.•Partner choice creates a 'biological market'for the best partners.•Partners are chosen …

Economists and psychologists have developed a variety of models to explain human
behavior in the ultimatum game, but none can adequately account for all of the available …

We design a novel experiment to examine the role of inertia in choosing partners, that is, a
preference for staying with one's original partner when offered an opportunity to switch. Our …

When a cooperative partner defects, at least two types of response are available:
Punishment, aimed at modifying behavior, and ostracism, aimed at avoiding further social …