The Altruistic Punishment Myth

In the ongoing research agenda aimed at understanding cooperation in groups in humans, the role of punishment continues to be the subject of substantial empirical work and theoretical debate (e.g., Fehr & Fischbacher, 2003). In particular, careful scrutiny has been given to third party punishment: inflicting costs on others in transactions in which the punishing individual is not directly involved (Fehr & Fishbacher, 2004). This work is important because third party sanctioning has been suggested as a potentially powerful force in sustaining social norms in groups (Boyd & Richerson, 1992), including norms associated with cooperation (e.g, Fehr, Fischbacher, & Gächter, 2002)...<READ MORE>