Mayuko Nakamaru
(Tokyo Institute of Technology)
The coevolution of altruism and punishment: Role of the selfish punisher

Punishment is an important mechanism promoting the evolution of altruism among nonrelatives. We investigate the coevolution of altruism and punitive behavior, considering four strategies: a cooperator who punishes defectors (AP), a pure cooperator (AN), a defector who punishes defectors (selfish punisher or SP), and a pure defector (SN). We especially focus on the effects of SP on the coevolution of altruism and punishment, studying both the score-dependent viability model (whereby the game's score affects survivorship only) and the score-dependent fertility model (whereby the score affects fertility only). In the viability model of a completely mixed population, SP helps cooperators to evolve, but SP does not in the fertility model. In both models of a lattice-structured population, SP promotes the spread of AP, but AN discourages it. These results indicate that punishment is a form of spite behavior and that different models give different magnitude of advantage to spite behavior.