*This workshop was jointly held with Center for the Sociality of Mind.

Speaker: Dr. Masanori Takezawa (Sophia University)

Date: July 28th, 2011, 13:30-15:30

Location: Hokkaido University, Faculty of Letters, room E204

Participants: Tatsuya Kameda, Susumu Ohnuma, Masaki Yuki, Nobuyuki Takahashi, Joanna Schug, Satomi Higuchi, and others (total 21 participants)

Title: Evolutionary Studies on Cooperation: New Intersections between Theory and Evidences

Abstract:
Numerous theoretical models that attempt to explain the evolution of cooperative behavior in large groups have been proposed in recent years. However, these models contain problems and none provide a definitive theory that explains evolution of cooperative behavior that many would agree upon. In this presentation, the presenter will review the theoretical research that examines the evolution of punishment and cooperation in n-person prisoner’s dilemma, and will extract several principles that underlie the research. The presenter will then demonstrate that many of the laboratory experiments and field research on cooperation in small communities provide evidence for the existence of fundamental principles considered necessary for the evolution of cooperation. Lastly, while illustrating a new theoretical model, the presenter will discuss that expectation/belief—the core concept in institutional approach—has the potential to take on an important role in understanding the evolution of cooperation. By pursuing both old and new questions of the evolution of cooperation, the presenter will discuss how theory and evidence ought to intersect.