Lu Yi-Ta, Hwang Wei-Hsiang, Hsieh Yi-Tsung, Ho Tsung-Yu, Da Zhu Jian-, Yeh Chun-I, Huang Chen-Ying
Department of Economics, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan.
Department of Psychology, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan.
PNAS Nexus. 2022 Sep 15;1(4):pgac188. doi: 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgac188. eCollection 2022 Sep.
An ongoing debate regarding the evolution of morality is whether other species show precursory moral behavior. The veil of ignorance (VOI) paradigm is often used to elicit human moral judgment but has never been tested in other primates. We study the division of resources behind the VOI in Formosan macaques. Monkeys choose the equal division more often when a conspecific is present than when it is absent, suggesting a degree of impartiality. To better understand this impartiality, we measure a monkey's reactions to two directions of inequity: one regarding inequity to its advantage and the other to its disadvantage. We find that disadvantageous inequity aversion correlates with the degree of impartiality behind the VOI. Therefore, seemingly impartial behavior could result from a primitive negative reaction to being disadvantaged. This suggests a mechanism to explain a tendency toward impartiality.
关于道德进化的一个持续争论是，其他物种是否表现出道德行为的先兆。无知之幕（VOI）范式常被用于引发人类的道德判断，但从未在其他灵长类动物身上进行过测试。我们研究了台湾猕猴在无知之幕背后的资源分配情况。当有同种个体在场时，猴子比没有同种个体在场时更常选择平等分配，这表明它们具有一定程度的公正性。为了更好地理解这种公正性，我们测量了猴子对两种不平等方向的反应：一种是对其有利的不平等，另一种是对其不利的不平等。我们发现，不利不平等厌恶与无知之幕背后的公正程度相关。因此，看似公正的行为可能源于对处于不利地位的原始负面反应。这提出了一种解释公正倾向的机制。
