When there is an opportunity to gain a positive reputation, individuals are more willing to
sacrifice their immediate self-interest. Partner choice creates opportunities for competitive …

Gossip is believed to be an informal device that alleviates the problem of cooperation in
humans. Communication about previous acts and passing on reputational information could …

The possibility that gossipers may share dishonest reputational information is a key
challenge to claims that gossip can shore up cooperation in social groups. It has been …

Gossip, or sharing information about absent others, has been identified as an effective
solution to free rider problems in situations with conflicting interests. Yet, the information …

Prior theory suggests that reputation spreading (eg, gossip) and punishment are two key
mechanisms to promote cooperation in groups, but no behavioral research has yet …

Humans are often shown to cooperate with one another. Most of the mechanisms that foster
cooperation among humans rely on reputation, which itself relies on the acquisition of …

Explaining unconditional cooperation, such as donations to charities or contributions to
public goods, continues to present a problem. One possibility is that cooperation can pay …

When group interests clash with individual ones, maintaining cooperation poses a problem.
However, cooperation can be facilitated by introducing reputational incentives. Through …

Gossip—a sender communicating to a receiver about an absent third party—is hypothesized
to impact reputation formation, partner selection, and cooperation. Laboratory experiments …

Large-scale non-kin cooperation is a unique ingredient of human success. This type of
cooperation is challenging to explain in a world of self-interested individuals. There is …