Behavioural Ecology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, Wohlenstrasse 50a, 3032 Hinterkappelen, Bern, Switzerland
Behavioural Ecology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, Wohlenstrasse 50a, 3032 Hinterkappelen, Bern, Switzerland.
Biol Lett. 2018 Feb;14(2). doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2017.0460.
Direct reciprocity can establish stable cooperation among unrelated individuals. It is a common assumption of direct reciprocity models that agents exchange like with like, but this is not necessarily true for natural interactions. It is yet unclear whether animals apply direct reciprocity rules when successive altruistic help involves different tasks. Here, we tested whether working dogs transfer help from one to another cooperative task in an iterated prisoner's dilemma paradigm. In our experiment, individual dogs received help to obtain food from a conspecific, which involved a specific task. Subsequently, the focal subject could return received favour by using a different task. Working dogs transferred the cooperative experience received through one task by applying an alternative task when they helped a previously cooperative partner. By contrast, they refrained from helping previously defecting partners. This suggests that dogs realize the cooperative act of a conspecific, which changes their propensity to provide help to that partner by different means. The ability of animals to transfer different tasks when helping a social partner by satisfying the criteria of direct reciprocity might explain the frequent occurrence of reciprocal cooperation in nature.
直接互惠可以在不相关的个体之间建立稳定的合作关系。直接互惠模型的一个常见假设是，代理人以相同的方式进行交换，但对于自然交互来说，这不一定是正确的。目前还不清楚当连续的利他帮助涉及不同任务时，动物是否会应用直接互惠规则。在这里，我们测试了工作犬是否会在迭代囚徒困境范式中从一个合作任务转移到另一个合作任务。在我们的实验中，个体狗从同种动物那里获得帮助以获取食物，这涉及到一个特定的任务。随后，焦点动物可以通过使用不同的任务来回报收到的恩惠。当工作犬帮助以前合作的伙伴时，它们会通过应用替代任务来转移通过一项任务获得的合作经验。相比之下，他们会拒绝帮助以前的背叛伙伴。这表明，狗意识到同种动物的合作行为，这会改变它们通过不同方式向该伙伴提供帮助的意愿。动物在通过满足直接互惠标准帮助社交伙伴时转移不同任务的能力，可能解释了自然界中互惠合作的频繁发生。
